A new app called the KNFB Reader for iOS is helping blind people see more clearly. This app reads everything from restaurant menus to postcards, so that the blind can understand what’s happening in their world.

The app was recently developed and released by K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc, and it was just unveiled at the 74th Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind. In tests so far, the app is changing lives - here’s what you need to know about the KNFB Reader.

Costs and Details

The app works like this: users ask Siri to take a photo, and the app proceeds to read any text that was captured in that photo. For example: a KNFB Reader user could snap a photo of a restaurant menu, and shortly after taking the photo, the app would read everything on the menu out loud, so that users can hear what’s on the menu without relying on anyone else to read the menu. In short, this app provides the blind with complete freedom to read anything from a sign on a store window to the message on a piece of paper or memo.

The app can also store any information read, users can adjust font and screen size, and various other adjustments can be made. Those that have tested the reader thus far have told press that it is life-changing, and that the app will help those people to get rid of any guides or human translators that are usually needed to do anything from visiting a historical center to reading a menu. The only drawback to this technology is the price. At $99.99, this isn’t an app that everyone can afford.

Costly But Necessary

Then again, this is one app that’s easy to justify where costs are concerned. It’s also the only app on the market of its kind, and the KNFB Reader can also read various languages from Italian to Swedish and many others. So while expensive, this might be the one app that you will want to purchase if you have an iPhone, and you are blind or struggle with your eyesight. While the app was developed for the blind, there’s also some potential here for another market: those that have a hard time reading due to weak eyesight.

Right now, the app is only available through the App Store and for iOS devices. Hopefully, the app will expand to other platforms soon, though no word of that possibility has been mentioned quite yet. The one thing that almost every reviewer of this app has stated, too, is that the reader is really fast. While some blind people might be used to using scanners and other technologies to read text, this app is really a lot faster than others. So, that’s something to consider if you are thinking about spending the $100 for the new app.

Where to Get It

Check out the App Store to download the KNFB Reader app. You will see that many people have already reviewed the app, and that it has gotten rave reviews across the board. This app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.