Simputer reviewed by Scientific American - text to speach feature

[ECOslin]

But how will illiterate people be able to use the Simputer if they can't read the directions on the screen? There are two answers. One is the simplicity of the device's interface: because each display page shows only a few possible commands, even illiterate users should be able to learn by trial and error the purpose of the icons and buttons on each page. The second answer is software that can turn text into speech. The Simputer holds a database of phonemes-- basic linguistic sounds-- and from these it can generate an audio representation of any word as long as it is spelled phonetically and in characters from the Roman alphabet. It will work for various Indian languages, including Hindi, Kannada and Tamil, allowing the Simputer to read the text aloud on its tiny built-in speakers. The Simputer Trust says the software will be made available in other languages as well, depending on where the device is used.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?art...FB809EC5880000

PREPRODUCTION MODEL of the Simputer has a black-and-white screen and built-in speakers. A Bangalore company named Encore Software plans to sell the device for about $250.

[ECOslin]

But how will illiterate people be able to use the Simputer if they can't read the directions on the screen? There are two answers. One is the simplicity of the device's interface: because each display page shows only a few possible commands, even illiterate users should be able to learn by trial and error the purpose of the icons and buttons on each page. The second answer is software that can turn text into speech. The Simputer holds a database of phonemes-- basic linguistic sounds-- and from these it can generate an audio representation of any word as long as it is spelled phonetically and in characters from the Roman alphabet. It will work for various Indian languages, including Hindi, Kannada and Tamil, allowing the Simputer to read the text aloud on its tiny built-in speakers. The Simputer Trust says the software will be made available in other languages as well, depending on where the device is used.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?art...FB809EC5880000

PREPRODUCTION MODEL of the Simputer has a black-and-white screen and built-in speakers. A Bangalore company named Encore Software plans to sell the device for about $250.