The possibilities of a ‘portable eye’. Ray Kurzweil says device for blind has much broader uses

When Peter Alan Smith pulls out his phone in a crowded Back Bay restaurant, there’s no clue that his Nokia is by far the most expensive mobile phone in the entire place. He has about $2,400 in software loaded onto the $600 device.

But then it becomes apparent what’s unique about Smith’s phone: A flash goes off when he snaps a picture of the menu, and a few seconds later, his phone has translated the page of text into speech, and started reciting the options through his earpiece at a rapid clip.

Smith developed a degenerative eye disease when he was 18, and he is now legally blind. It has been about two decades since he could read a restaurant menu independently. He first heard about the phone on a podcast series called "Blind Cool Tech" and took out a low-interest loan to buy it.

"At work, I can take a picture of two different documents to figure out which is which," says Smith, who works for John Hancock. "At home, if I’m making chili, I can take a picture of a can to make sure it’s the kidney beans before I open it."

By Scott Kirsner

Full Story: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/10/26/the_possibilities_of_a_portable_eye/