Feature Writer John Christie – Talking Barcode Scanner Takes Aim at iPhone
Would you like a device that can scan barcodes and then inform you of what a particular product is with either text to speech tags or digital voice recordings? What about having the ability to go on the internet via wifi to access a large items database, go on Skype using the product’s camera, read items that don’t have a barcode and that aren’t in the database, and recognize currency? Well, the ID Mate Quest can perform all these tasks and more. This talking bar code scanner can help a blind or visually impaired person live a more independent and autonomous lifestyle and be less dependent on others for sighted assistance.
The ID Mate Quest can work with a variety of labels as well as a variety of products. Just scan the barcode and you can make a voice recording or have pieces of text read back to you. You can also have an extended database of products at hand using the on-board camera and an available wireless internet connection. In addition, the scanner comes with programmable barcodes, allowing the user to make their own labels on items without barcodes.
This amazing device comes with a built-in database of items. Some of these items include grocery items, CDs, health and beauty products, cleaning items, as well as a variety of other products. The database also has product instructions and warnings, as well as ingredient information. This information is not limited to only one country, either, and encompasses items from other countries as well. Since its database includes items from different countries, the ID Mate Quest can also operate in a variety of languages including English, German, French, and Spanish.
The ID Mate Quest is a great product, but does have its drawbacks. To start, it’s on the pricy side at $1,299. This gives them some seriously stiff competition with available apps such as Digit-Eyes, which only costs $19.99, and has the ability to read barcodes in more languages than the ID Mate Quest. In addition, Digit-Eyes can read five types of barcodes, while the ID Mate Quest can only read one barcode type.
Another disadvantage of the ID Mate Quest lies with connectivity. Say that you’re in a grocery store and you want to identify a product, but don’t have access to a wireless internet connection and the product you want to identify isn’t in the database on the device. Well, the ID Mate Quest wouldn’t be much help to you.
As with other product identifiers, there’s still the problem of camera and object positioning, too. How would a totally blind person know how to position or angle the camera in order to identify the product in a timely manner? It could be very difficult. As a matter of fact, I could imagine people wasting quite a few minutes trying to position the camera correctly.
These are all issues that En-vision America will have to work on in order to improve this product. But with all of that said, it is still a decent device with a lot of features that could be very useful to blind consumers, and it’s great to see a company thinking outside of the box and getting creative.
For more information on the ID Mate Quest call En-vision America at 1-800-890-1180 or visit their website at: www.envisionamerica.com/products/idmate