Screen Magnification Software

The main methods of magnifying the image of a visual display unit are conventional optical aids, enlargement of the display using a larger monitor, enlargement of the characters using special software, and closed circuit television. This section lists software products that magnify by increasing the size of the image displayed on the screen.

Ai Squared

PO Box 669, Manchester Center, Vermont 05255, USA.
Tel: +1 802 362 3612
Fax: +1 802 362 1670
Email: info@aisquared.com
Web: www.aisquared.com

BigShot Screen Magnifier

BigShot software magnifies the screen up to 200% while the user works. It magnifies all Windows programmes and works on desktops and laptops.
Price: $99.00 (new product); $25.00 (upgrade)
Last updated: 22/05/2008

ZoomText Magnifier

Advanced screen magnification for vision impaired computer users. Features new 'xFont' advanced text magnification. ZoomText Magnifier allows the user to see everything on their computer screen.
Price: $395.00 (new product on CD); $495.00 (new product on USB); $149.00 (CD upgrade); $249.00 (USB upgrade)
Last updated: 22/05/2008

ZoomText Magnifier / Reader

Integrated magnification and screen reading for vision impaired computer users. With new 'xFont' and NeoSpeech technology, ZoomText Magnifier/Reader allows the user to see and hear their computer with perfect clarity.
Price: $595.00 (new product); $695.00 (new product on USB); $199.00 (CD upgrade); $299.00 (USB upgrade)
Last updated: 22/05/2008

BAUM Retec AG

Schloss Langenzell, D-69257 Wiesenbach, Germany.
Tel: +49 6223 49090
Fax: + 49 6223 490999
Email: info@baum.de
Web: www.baum.de

Galileo 4

Galileo 4 is the screen magnification software for Windows NT/2000/XP. Though Galileo 4 is an independent and autonomous program that offers every comfort of a modern screen magnification software, it has especially been developed for use with the screen reader Virgo 4. By combining these two solutions all former compatibility problems between screen readers and screen magnification software now belong to the past. Features include: magnification factor - 1x to 48x; font smoothing; 10 magnification modes (fullscreen, lens etc.); supports multiple zoom windows; application specific zoom and speech settings; intelligent focus tracking; powerful script engine to make applications accessible; supports any speech synthesis based on SAPI; easy, speech guided installation; the hotkeys can be customized; supports color depth from 256 colors to 32 bit. System requirements: PC with 1 GHz (or more); Video card with 800 x 600 pixels (or more); Sound card (if you want to use speech); Internet-Explorer 5.5 (or higher); MS Office 2000 SP3 / Office 2002 SP2 / Office 2003 (incl. Hotfix KB838899) if user wants to use MS Office.
Last updated: 22/05/2008

Code Factory, S.L.

Rambla d'Egara, 148, 2-2, 08221 - Terrassa ( Barcelona), Spain.
Tel: +34 93 733 70 66
Fax: +34 93 789 30 51
Email: info@codefactory.es
Web: www.codefactory.es

Mobile Magnifier for Symbian Phones

Mobile Magnifier is a screen magnification software for mobile phones for the vision impaired. It enlarges and enhances all items of the mobile phone display, automatically detecting and magnifying the area of interest as the user navigates through the phone’s user interface. Easy to use; no training necessary. Several Hot Keys provide access to the most common features of the Magnifier. Auto zoom function. Different areas of display can be zoomed. Mobile Magnifier can be configured to start automatically when the phone is switched on. 30-day trial version available. Supported phones: Nokia 3230, 3650, 3660, 6260, 6600, 6620, 6630, 6670, 6680, 6681, 6682, 7610, 7650, N70, N90, N Gage, N Gage QD, Samsung SGH-D720, Siemens SX1, Panasonic X700 and Panasonic X701.
Last updated: 23/05/2008

Mobile Magnifier for Windows Mobile Smartphones

Screen magnification application for Windows Mobile-based smartphones. Enlarges and improves readability of screen contents, detects areas of interest to make them more visible, and offers various options for configuring screen layouts, color schemes, and cursor-tracking functions. This access solution: Enlarges screen contents in ten variable levels of magnification; Smoothes curves and edges of magnified fonts and graphics; Offers seven different color schemes for better visual contrast; Makes the text cursor and highlighted items easier to track on the display; Magnifies the whole screen or just areas of interest; Allows easy panning and scrolling of screen contents even in magnified view; Functions either as a standalone product or with Mobile Speak providing speech output.
Last updated: 23/05/2008

Mobile Magnifier for Pocket PCs

Screen magnification application for Pocket PC phones and PDAs. Enlarges and improves readability of screen contents, detects areas of interest to make them more visible, and offers more than 30 options for configuring screen layouts, color schemes, cursor-tracking functions, and many more. It uniquely allows movement of the magnifier via the Pocket PC touch screen and using the stylus. This access solution: Enlarges screen contents in ten variable levels of magnification; Smoothes curves and edges of magnified fonts and graphics; Offers seven different color schemes for better visual contrast; Makes the text cursor and highlighted items easier to track on the display; Magnifies the whole screen or just areas of interest that can also be zoomed in with a lens-like tool; Allows easy panning and scrolling of screen contents even in magnified view; Functions either as a standalone product or with Mobile Speak providing speech output.
Last updated: 23/05/2008

Dolphin Computer Access Ltd

Technology House, Blackpole Estate West, Worcester WR3 8TJ, UK.
Tel: +44 1905 754 577
Fax: +44 1905 754 559
Email: info@dolphinuk.co.uk
Web: www.YourDolphin.com

Lunar

Lunar Screen Magnifier works with Windows and Windows applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, the Internet and email. It allows the user to continue working with the computer in exactly the same way and is therefore highly practical for both office and home situations. Lunar Screen Magnifier's advanced technology means that even on high magnification, text and images remain smooth, clear and easily readable. Further clarification of activity on-screen is available thanks to strong, high contrast colours. Compatible with Windows 98, Me, NT 4, 2000, XP Home and XP Professional.
Price: £295.00
Last updated: 23/05/2008

LunarPlus

Lunar Screen Magnifier works with Windows and Windows applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, the Internet and email. It allows the user to continue working with the computer in exactly the same way and is therefore highly practical for both office and home situations. Lunar Screen Magnifier's advanced technology means that even on high magnification, text and images remain smooth, clear and easily readable. Further clarification of activity on-screen is available thanks to strong, high contrast colours. Has the added advantage of speech output. Any text on screen is read out so not only can the user check for accuracy as they type in documents or emails but they can also hear information on menus and web pages. Compatible with Windows 98, Me, NT 4, 2000, XP Home and XP Professional.
Price: £395.00
Last updated: 23/05/2008

Supernova

Combined magnification, speech and braille for Windows. Supernova intelligently recognises the text and graphics which make up Windows including dialog boxes, icons, buttons, menus and other controls. Features include: Magnification - Text and images are smooth and clear up to 32 times bigger; Control colour, contrast and brightness; Choice of high visibility mouse pointers; Smooth scrolling for browsing long documents; Synchronised Document Read highlights each word as spoken; Choice of screen magnification styles: whole screen; split screen; window; lens; auto lens; hooked areas; Speech features include: Easy browsing of Internet web pages and other applications with the Dolphin Virtual Cursor even where there is little or no keyboard access; Internet Updater for fast, automatic updates; Comprehensive online and context sensitive help; Intuitive hotkeys for easy operation; Reads or spells out any text on screen: documents, menus, web pages, emails; Reads icons and Internet graphics labels and announces font and style information; Talks as the user types, by character, by word or both; Choice of two software speech synthesisers: Dolphin Orpheus Speech System and Microsoft's MSAPI Speech Synthesiser; Choice of 9 Orpheus languages including: English (UK and USA), Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish (Latin and Castilian) and Swedish; Automatically recognises many other hardware and software synthesisers. Braille features include: Fast and responsive Braille output; Text and graphical information at users fingertips; Choose computer or literary Braille (Grade 1 or Grade 2); Works automatically with a wide range of Braille displays and note takers; Accurate information on formatting, style and physical layout; Intelligently reads ahead so dialog information is conveyed in context; Programmable Braille hotkeys, speed up and facilitate operation. Supernova comes with a print manual, quick reference cards in print and Braille, audio manual and interactive tutorials on CD. Compatible with Windows 98, ME, NT v 4.0, 2000 and XP.
Price: £835.00
Last updated: 23/05/2008

Freedom Scientific

11800 31st Court North, St Petersburg, Florida 33716 1805, USA.
Tel: +1 727 803 8000; 800 444 4443 (USA and Canada only)
Fax: +1 727 803 8001
Email: info@freedomscientific.com
Web: www.freedomscientific.com

MAGic

MAGic® combines magnification features with low vision screen reading when purchased with the speech option. It gives the user the ability to choose the information they want read from the screen as they navigate their applications. MAGic is easy to use with its talking large print installation, colour-coded user interface, and hot keys that avoid conflicts with Windows® and popular software applications.
Price: MAGic Pro Scripting Edition - $995.00
Price: MAGic Professional with Speech - $595.00
Price: MAGic Professional no Speech - $395.00
Price: MAGic Standard with Speech - $545.00
Price: MAGic Standard no Speech - $345.00
Last updated: 23/05/2008

Innovation Management Group Inc

21350 Nordhoff St, Suite 112, Chatsworth, California 91311, USA.
Tel: Order - 800 889 0987 (USA and Canada only - Toll Free)
Tel: Office - +1 818 701 1579
Fax: Order - 877 464 7763 (USA only - Toll Free)
Fax: Office - +1 818 701 1581
Email: sales@imgpresents.com
Web: www.imgpresents.com

The Magnifier

A 2x -10x area screen magnifier with cursor tracker/locator for all Windows applications. Works in Windows 3x, 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000 and XP.
Ref: 12202
Price: $49.95
Last updated: 23/05/2008

JBliss Low Vision Systems

PO Box 7382, Menlo Park, California 94026, USA.
Tel: +1 650 940 4115 (888 452 5477 Toll free USA)
Fax: +1 650 903 4136
Email: info@jbliss.com
Web: www.jbliss.com

ezVIP

ezVIP software is adjustable for optimal viewing with users specific visual impairment. Once configured, ezVIP operation is performed with four large buttons on a trackball mouse. This interface quickly enables the user to learn to read and listen to printed documents, magazines and books with less effort and more efficiency. ezVIP scans and automatically converts text into the type font, letter size, letter spacing, colors, format, and presentation that suits the users low vision needs. Reading views include: Word Wrap fills the screen with text; RSVP displays one word at a time; Marquee smoothly scrolls a single line across the screen; Image View shows you the original page and a magnified line of text scrolling beneath it; Page View is an enlarged image of the page; Hear the text spoken in any of nine different voices. The speech (available only in Word Wrap and RSVP Views) may be turned on or off at will. Magnify images (colour pictures, handwriting, etc.) and store them in an album for future viewing.
Price: $195.00
Last updated: 23/05/2008

Screenreader.net CIC

7 The Rookery, Orton Wistow, Peterborough PE2 6YT, UK.
Tel: +44 1733 234441
Web: www.screenreader.biz/

LIGHTNING

Screen magnifier with the following features: Magnifies everything from 2 to 32 times including menus, dialog boxes, icons, emails, typing in your word-processor, the internet and video clips; Changes the shape or size of letters and pictures; Improves contrast by inverting colours; Font smoother for easy reading; Magnification choices - Full Screen Magnification for reading documents - The area around the mouse pointer for detailed work - Strip Magnifier for reading one line at a time - Vertical And Horizontal Split Screens so that one part of the screen is magnified, the other normal size - Easy-to-adjust horizontal or vertical ruler; Comes with WebbIE internet browser; Full set of manuals on CD. System Requirements: Windows 2000, XP, Vista.
Price: £99.00
Last updated: 23/05/2008

STORM

Speech and magnification software. Features include: Choice of two, high quality British RealSpeak voices; Variable reading speed, pitch and volume; Repeat option of what you have just heard; Reads letter by letter, word by word, line by line or whole document; Other reading options for precision editing; Musical tones to help navigate around the screen; Marker system helps move you round the screen; Options for moving the mouse pointer; Automatic, sophisticated restart to prevent crashing; Basic scripting to access complex programs; All Microsoft keystrokes available. LIGHTNING features also included. System requirements: Windows 2000, XP, Vista; Speakers or ear-phones; 180 MB hard disk space.
Price: £159.00 (on disk); £159.00 (on memory stick); £199.00 (on disk with memory stick)
Last updated: 23/05/2008

Screen Ruler

Screen Ruler is a strip magnifier for those with moderate visual disabilities. As the user moves the mouse anywhere across the screen a horizontal strip area is magnified two times. The rest of the screen remains normal. The background can be dimmed out and the cursor colour changed if required. Compatible with Windows XP and 2000.
Price: £34.00
Last updated: 23/05/2008

Software Express Limited

The Old Bakery, 5 Station Road, Ushaw Moor, Durham DH7 7PX, United Kingdom .
Tel: +44 845 22 55 005
Fax: +44 191 373 44 22
Email: sales@SoftwareExpress.co.uk
Web: www.softwareexpress.co.uk

Guide Software

Guide is an all-in-one computer package, for people who are blind or partially sighted. It has been specifically designed to be easy-to-use and easy-to-learn. Guide has its own in-built screen reader, so it will read out the text on every screen, even while the user is typing. It also has its own in-built screen magnifier, so the user can enlarge the text on every screen, whether they are writing a letter or surfing the Internet. It also turns their computer into an easy-to-use Reading Machine. Printed text documents are placed on the scanner and then both spoken out and magnified on the screen. Guide is available as a CD to be loaded onto an existing computer, or as a complete computer package, all setup and ready to be used. Features include: Write letters and documents; Spell-Checker; Dictionary and thesaurus; Magnify handwriting, diagrams or pictures; Print or edit photos from your digital camera; Send and receive emails; Surf the Internet; Addresses and contacts; Calendar and reminders and playing CDs and MP3s.
Price: £395.00
Last updated: 21/05/2008

Thales Group

45 rue de Villiers, 92526 Neuilly-sur-Seine Cedex, France.
Email: portanum@thalesgroup.com
Web: www.portanum.com

PortaNum Software

PortaNum is a software vision aid specially designed to facilitate the reading of documents at a distance (eg. blackboard, video-projection screen). To enable this the computer is connected to a good quality video-camera, or a camcorder which films what the user is not able to read and the software enlarges it and applies image processing in order to render it in a suitable way for their vision (negative, false colours, contrast, light, sharpness enhancement). Portanum also allows the user to snapshot the image for studying later and can be used to watch pre-recorded images, including scanned documents. It can also be used as a video-magnifier for paper documents on the user's desktop. For this application, a simple webcam can be used.
Last updated: 28/05/2008