This may well be one of the most amazing ideas I’ve heard in a long time, and definitely one of the most useful aside from my own idea to get a camera to take pictures in Word document format so you could literally scan a document into usable form and screw around with it digitally.

But Intel’s bringing us a camera that will take pictures of print matter, and then convert it, via text to speech applications, into a sound file.  It’s basically the first ever camera that can read aloud.

Admittedly, applications for this are…somewhat slim.  And worse yet, it comes with a fifteen hundred dolalr price tag, which in a bad economy is generally earmarked for things like food and ammunition to protect said food.  So this news is a bit underwhelming, and probably couldn’t come at a worse time for Intel, who’s already finding itself flagging a bit in the chip sector as people buy fewer PCs.

Still though, it’s a cool idea, and for the blind it’s probably a lifesaver, but the limited appeal and hefty price tag will probably make this one a flop.

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