March 22, 2007

For immediate release: Thursday, 22 March 2007

Los Angeles, California – HumanWare, the global leader in assistive technologies for vision, today announced the launch of myReader2 at the California State University Northridge (CSUN) Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference 2007. myReader2 is the new, improved version of myReader, the first of its kind low vision “auto-reader” launched by HumanWare in 2004.

Breakthrough multi-page storage capability, improved page processing and low contrast improvements, together with user interface improvements allow even greater freedom and comfort for sustained reading.

• Easy page viewing. With myReader2, the user can simply capture a page image, then pan around the image onscreen – no need to move an X-Y table around. All with flexible features like image resizing, contrast and color controls.
  
• “Auto-reader” capability. myReader2 can process the captured image and convert it into a flexible stream of words. This allows myReader2 to display the text in a single column, a single row or a word at a time – no panning left to right, up and down to read.
  
• Compact, flexible, attractive unit. myReader2 has the same size and shape as the original myReader – a single, compact, folding unit with a built-in color LCD screen. myReader2 is easy to transport to and from school, home and office.

Vinnie Rappa, Vice President of Sales for Low Vision Products at HumanWare USA, said: “myReader has been an amazing breakthrough for thousands of customers here in the US and around the world. It’s a ‘reading machine’ that has brought learning, productivity and simple joy to so many. myReader2 will make that promise a reality for thousands more.”

myReader2 new features

myReader2 adds a breakthrough new feature and three key improvements:

• Multi-page storage. The breakthrough feature in myReader2 is multi-page storage. Users can capture up to 10 pages, then read through them as quickly or slowly as desired. An additional three reference pages can also be stored and used again and again.
  
• Easier user interface. myReader2 has a simplified user interface, based on extensive hands-on user testing, that makes the most-needed features easier to access.
  
• Improved page processing. myReader’s key capability is recognizing columns and word breaks on a page to convert all of the text into a single stream. myReader2 improves on this, handling a wider variety of pages quickly and easily.
  
• Low contrast improvements. myReader2 does a better job of handling low contrast paper/print combinations found in many publications.

Stewart Pegg, Product Manager for myReader2, said: “HumanWare is a global company, and myReader has sold strongly worldwide. So it was quite an effort to pull together just the right mix of new capabilities and improvements for myReader2. From the early feedback we’re getting, all the work has been worth it. The team is very proud of what all of us at HumanWare have accomplished.”

myReader2 will be launched today at the California State University Northridge (CSUN) Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference 2007 in Los Angeles, California. The product will be demoed to attendees during the day. HumanWare will hand out free myReader2 shirts and award one attendee a free myReader2.

HumanWare will be selling myReader2 as a replacement for myReader from March 22nd, 2007. myReader users can also upgrade easily to myReader2. Details are available from HumanWare.

New case study shows benefits

HumanWare also took the opportunity of the myReader2 launch to publicize a comparison by Visio Het Loo Erf, a rehabilitation centre for visually impaired people in the Netherlands. The comparison is available in PDF format. The centre compared myReader to a CCTV magnifier – devices that magnify pages, but don’t capture an image nor reformat text.

CCTV magnifiers are good for tasks such as filling out forms, for looking at pictures, and for spot reading such as reading a prescription bottle. But sustained reading is difficult, with users having to move an X-Y table with the document left and right, up and down as they read.

Three case studies revealed:

• Improvements in comfort. All respondents found myReader more comfortable to use than a CCTV – no nausea, sore muscles or eyestrain.
  
• Improvements in reading speed. Reading speed improved significantly, almost tripling in one case.
  
• Improvements in comprehension. All users understood more; one went from almost no comprehension to 100% correct on a follow-up test.
  
• An increase in time spent reading. With a CCTV magnifier, ten minutes was found to be too long for some users. With myReader, one user went on reading for two hours.

The case studies supported the verdict of thousands of users that myReader – and now, myReader2, especially with multi-page storage capability – remains the best tool for sustained reading.

A summary of the case studies, in PDF format, is available from HumanWare or on the HumanWare Web site, http://www.humanware.com/Products/Auto_reader/Visio-Het-Loo-Erf.pdf   

For further information please contact:

Floyd Smith
VP, Marketing and Customer Experience
HumanWare
Ph: +44 7949 818966
floyd.smith@humanware.com

About HumanWare
HumanWare is the global leader in assistive technologies for vision, including products for the blind and visually impaired. HumanWare’s products include BrailleNote, the leading productivity device for blind people in education, in business and in their personal lives; the Victor Reader product line, the world’s leading digital talking book players; and myReader2, the new version of HumanWare’s unique "auto-reader" for people with low vision.