400 DPI is definitely enough for OCR.  OCR is typically either performed on 300 or 400 DPI.  Though I have not worked with the DocuPen, watching the video which they provide on their web site and reading the information makes me think of the following concern which a blind person will have/experience.

You need to keep the device as straight as possible and moving at a constant rate throughout the scan.  If you are too shaky, the device flashes a red LED signafying that the scan must be redone.  Blind people will not see this flashing light.  Since the device does not actually OCR and provides no audible feedback, this is a major limitation for those of us who are blind.

A new technology which is now making the news is using a digital camera to take multiple pictures of a page which the software then stitches together to become a proper image.  Publishers are very much up in arms about this one.  Nokia has a model in preproduction according to what I recently read.

David Chittenden

Change is the only constant in the universe.


-----Original Message-----
.From: "severine"<[log in to unmask]>
.Sent: 2/7/06 5:07:56
.To: "[log in to unmask]"<[log in to unmask]>
.Subject: [VICUG-L] Can't any rehab agency test it?
.
.Dear listers,
.If any of you can get their hands on a DocuPen RC800 from PlanOn, I would be most happy to hear if it is usable and useful to blind people. It seems greatly appealing, but I wonder if 400 dpi which is the maximum resolution will be enough to perform OCR on the results. I also wonder how easy it is for a blind person to scan a page with this handheld device.
.Thanks a lot for any feed back.
.
.Met vriendelijke groeten / Cordialement / Best regards
.Séverine Renard
.Employée commerciale 
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>  
.
.INTEGRA 
.tel. +32 16 35 31 30
.http://www.integra-belgium.com <http://www.integra-belgium.com/>  
.
.Integra: van consulent tot partner in hulpmiddelen!
.Integra: du conseil à l'achat des aides techniques!
.
.
.VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
.To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
..

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