An App for Low-Vision Users

Many of us are fortunate that we can pick up a menu, medicine bottle or business card and read it directly as is. Unfortunately, not everyone is that lucky. Ai Squared, a TriplePoint client, has developed products for the low-vision community for over twenty years. This week, they expanded their services with the launch of their iPhone application ZoomReader.

Designed specifically for anyone in need of visual assistance, ZoomReader takes a picture of any text, converts the text digitally using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and reads the text aloud through an integrated voice synthesizer. Standalone OCR devices are very expensive and not usually portable. The ZoomReader app provides a much less expensive on-the-go alternative to these devices, and helps make reading and seeing easier for people with low vision.

Since launch on Tuesday, ZoomReader reached the #2 Grossing App in the Lifestyle Section of the App Store and in the Top 200 Grossing Apps in the entire App Store.

Through TriplePoint’s efforts ZoomReader has been featured in the Wall Street Journal’s App Watch, WIRED as well as The Daily.

PAX East: Disney World for Gamers

Last Friday, a few of us headed up to Boston for the Penny Arcade Expo. Gamers at PAX East As a first-timer to the show, I was in awe at the sheer size at one of the biggest gaming events for consumers in the US.  I could feel the excitement as soon as I walked through the door; I’d equate it to an insane amount of eight year olds at Disney World for the first time. Wait times to play games were up to three hours long and there were no complaints about the lines (you won’t find that at Disney World).

PAX East broke records this year with 69,500 attendees, surpassing every US industry event to date (including PAX Prime and E3).  Attendees were able to play the newest and best games the industry has to offer, including getting sneak peeks at Battlefield 3, Duke Nukem Forever, L.A. Noire, Portal 2, Mortal Kombat 9, SOCOM 4, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Red Faction: Armageddon, Brink, The Hunted: Demon Forge, Gears Of War 3 and Bioshock’s Infinite.

We also saw some great work coming from the indies, too, including new games from Twisted Pixel Games, Halfbrick, Fire Hose Games, Hothead Games, Moonshot Games and Ska Studios. No matter what kind of games you like to play, there was something for everyone, including a separate section for tabletop games with its very own library in which attendees could use to check out games.

If you didn’t get the chance to check out PAX in Boston, make sure you attend PAX Prime this August in Seattle and mark off April 6-8 for PAX East in 2012.

See you in August!

Borgias
Jenzy and Sam at PAX East