Software Deals, Sales, and News

Code Factory has released version 4.01 of their Mobile Speak aplication for symbian phones. This maintenance update adds support for the Nokia x6 and 6700 slide, support for the web browser on touch-screen devices, and more. This is a free upgrade to existing users of Mobile Speak 4.

Blind Bargains has obtained presentation information for ATIA Orlando 2010. A handout concerning the new features in OpenBook 9 is available. The new version of Freedom Scientific's OCR software contains improved image acquisition times which claim to provide almost instant access to documents, better support for image files, and additional features for low-vision users such as a virtual X-Y table. In addition, users will be able to restart reading where they left off when reopening a document. Support for the Unified English Braille code is also included as well as other unnamed features, according to the abstract. Freedom Scientific published their complete ATIA presentation schedule in their December 2009 newsletter. Blind Bargains will be in Orlando providing both written and audio coverage for the conference, so stay tuned for more details.

According to a video news report posted to CNN, the next version of the KNFB Reader Mobile software will include color recognition capabilities. The reader is heard saying "recognizing color" and identifying the color blue in the video. Watch the full report which is linked to this post.

An EBay seller and Blind Bargains reader has posted a copy of JAWS for Windows Professional with a starting bid of $499. Or, Buy It Now for $595. Add about $6 for shipping. Either way, that's about half the cost of this software new. From the description, it sounds like the transfer fee is also included in this price. This is the latest version of Freedom Scientific's screen reading software. Auction ends December 1, if not sold sooner. Update: This item has sold.

In this podcast, featured on the CandleShore Blog, CodeFactory offers a closer look at MobileSpeak 4 in action. Along with cross platform capability, this software upgrade will allow for true portability and migration by allowing users to license their software to an existing telephone number. Please navigate to the link above to learn more!

An EBay seller has listed a 10-user license for Zoomtext Magnifier 8.1 with a current bid of $44.98. Shipping adds about $10. If everything checks out, this is a gigantic savings over purchasing this directly from AI Squared. This is one version removed from the current Zoomtext 9 series, so upgrade and possibly transfer fees may apply. Auction ends November 8.

Earlier today, we let you in on a security vulnerability found in JAWS 10 as reported on Tyler Spivey�s blog. According to the blog, a security vulnerability exists in JAWS 10 allowing a user to gain access to the command prompt as an administrator from the login screen. It allows an attacker to gain full system access to the computer, according to the post. We were not able to verify the claim, but you can listen to an audio demonstration of the process and try it yourself by navigating to the link above.

A press release from book and content distributor Baker & Taylor speaks of a new partnership with K-NFB Reading Technology and mentions an upcoming electronic book reader. According to the release, "K-NFB Reading Technology’s new e-reader will operate seamlessly on a variety of electronic
devices, including
personal computers
, smart phones and cell phones." This could allow for speech and braille access to a vast library of books of a magnitude never seen before.
Baker and Taylor distributes and manages over 1.1 million E-books, though it is unclear how many will be available on the upcoming software. Here's another press release from the National Federation of the Blind, using the term millions in reference to the amount of books which may be commercially available. Watch Blind Bargains for more news on this new product as it develops.

Our sister site, ATGuys.com, is now offering the KNFB Reader Mobile with the more powerful Nokia N86 cell phone.
Purchase the software with a Nokia N86, your choice of Mobile Speak or Talks, and Wayfinder Access GPS software for $2,095 plus shipping. Or get the reader, phone, and screen reader for $1,770 plus shipping. Other bundles are also available. The N86 offers high-speed 3G data coverage, 8GB of built-in memory, a faster processor, and FM transmitter among other features.

An EBay seller and Blind Bargains reader has posted a copy of the PAC Mate Scan Talker bar code software with a starting bid of $1. No bar code scanner is included, though the Metrologic scanner at A T Guys is compatible, among many others. The software normally retails for close to $500. Auction ends August 31.

Our sister site, ATGuys.com, is now an authorized reseller of the KNFB Reader Mobile software and bundled packages. Purchase the software with a Nokia N82, your choice of Mobile Speak or Talks, and Wayfinder Access GPS software for $1,895 plus shipping. Or get the reader, phone, and screen reader for $1,595 plus shipping. Other bundles are also available.

Several leaked hints appear to lead to the imminent release of version 6.0 for the KNFB Reader Mobile, the software-based mobile scanning solution for the Nokia N82 phone. First off, a new version of the reader for people with learning disabilities, the kReader, has been released as version 6.0.7. Here's a link to the release notes. These notes mention the ability to translate between different languages using a data or wireless Internet connection. It also appears from these notes that additional language support is licensed separately, though no exact cost is given. In addition, James Gashel, Vice President of Marketing for KNFB Reading Technologies, mentions a release around the first part of January in this message posted to the Reader-users mailing list. Other messages have also mentioned the possible support for the Nokia 6220 Classic as an additional phone model. Current users are promised a year of free upgrades, though we expect the language support to carry an additional charge. We'll post more information as it becomes available.
Update: Based on the user manual for version 5.6.3 of the KNFB Reader Mobile in Europe, the volume keys on the phone can now control the reader volume. Also, two voices: a message voice and a reading voice are selectable. We're unsure if these features will be available in the U.S. release.

Some assistive technology companies are also offering holiday weekend deals. Starting Friday, Serotek offers a $200 discount of orders of $399 or more. Use it to purchase System Access 3.0, System Access Mobile Network subscriptions, Neospeech, Document Scan, or the
MSI Wind Netbook computer with System Access pre-installed.
Follow the link on this post to go to their site, or call 866-202-0520. System Access 3.0 is the first mainstream screen reading product to offer support for newer 64-bit operating systems, sold on many newer desktops and laptops. Deal ends December 1.

JAWS 10, the latest screen reading version from Freedom Scientific, was released last week. We've linked to the list of new features for all the dirty details. The most talked-about feature, perhaps, is called Tandom and allows for remote training and support opportunities.

As a follow-up to our previous post, here's a list of the 42 changes and improvements for Sendero GPS version 5. The new version was released Monday.

The Sendero Group has released version 5 of its groundbreaking GPS software for the BrailleNote family of PDAs. This version includes expanded points of interest data with more than 3 gigabytes of new data for the United States alone. Among the most interesting new features is the ability to find a business in a particular direction from you. This would make it possible to find upcoming restaurants on a highway, for example. Borrowing from many of the mainstream GPS programs, a speed alert feature can tell you if you are going too fast on the highway. Enhancements to the replay capability, and simpler route creation are also included. The upgrade costs one SMA count or $149 and is available now.

Another free screen reading option has recently been introduced, which offers speech access from virtually any computer, regardless of the operating system. WebAnywhere is the latest entrant in the field of web-based access products, and offers access to websites using a centralized program. The software was developed at the University of Washington and is currently available in English, though other languages are planned. Programmers may be interested to know that the source code of this project has been released, making this what we believe to be the first web-based screen reading product with publicly available source code. We'll be watching this one as it develops over the coming months.

GW Micro has released the hugely anticipated free public beta of Window-Eyes 7.0. The big news for this release is the robust support for scripting, as demonstrated by the dozens of scripts already available on their Script Central site. These include highly-advanced scripts for the Winamp media player, a handy script which speaks chat history and other info in Skype, and many scripts for performing tasks from converting units of measure to looking up dictionary terms. Not to be overlooked, this version also includes improved support for international languages, a website place marker feature, better support for Firefox 3, and new commands to navigate through web pages.

Over at our sister site, ATGuys.com cut the price on the Mobile Speak Pocket screen reader to $295. That's a $200 drop and the lowest price we could find. This screen reader works with many Pocket PC phones such as the HTC Tilt and XV6800. Update: the price has fallen to $265.50 through July 31.

The accessible GPS market is getting even more crowded with the announcement of a beta program for Code Factory's Mobile Geo. This forthcoming software will run on Windows Mobile and Pocket PC smart phones and is based on the features of the Sendero GPS. Code factory is currently looking for beta testers, and we've linked to the details. Update: the link has been fixed.