Did you know you can use your ReaderPen and scan text directly to your Android smartphone?
First, your smartphone needs to support USB On-the-Go. One way to check this is to go to Settings\System on your Android phone and see if there is any reference to OTG. How this looks may differ between phone brands but this is what it looks like on my phone.
Make sure to enable this feature when establishing the physical USB connection between ReaderPen and the smartphone.
Your phone will most likely have a USB-C connector, or perhaps a mico USB connector. Therefore you will also need an adapter like this one (image shows a USB-C adapter). They are available in most electronic stores or webshops at around US$ 5-10.
Devices with serial number 241531903xxxxxxx and higher are compatible with this firmware version. Do note that upgrades are incremental and if your device has firmware version 7.1.75 or lower, it needs to be upgraded in two or more steps.
Not too long ago we launched our Connect Desktop app with the main objective to enable our Bluetooth digital highlighter C-Pen Connect to scan text to computers.
But Connect Desktop app has a hidden superpower that makes it a great companion to our ReaderPen as well. ReaderPen’s Scan-to-File function saves your scans as .txt files – and these files are easily accessed by Connect Desktop.
How-to
After you have digitized the content you want to save, read, remember and learn simply connect the ReaderPen to your computer and select U-disk. Right-click on the text file saved in your ReaderPen and open with Connect Desktop. From here, the text file can be edited, it can be listened to, and a local copy can be saved on your computer.
The procedure in images
The images show how it looks on Windows, but it is just as powerful on MAC.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
Connect ReaderPen to your computer, select U-disk, and it shows up as a portable drive.
Windows File Manager showing “scan-to-file” files stored on ReaderPen.
Windows File Manager showing saved text file on ReaderPen.
Right click on the file of interest, and select to Open with Connect Desktop.
And voilá, the file opens in Connect Desktop where it is possible to edit and/or listen to it. Or save a local copy for later/repeated use.
Some background…
Check the videos below if you need some more background on Connect Desktop app or some ReaderPen user advice.
LingoPen(TM) is the most recent member in the C-Pen product family. While ExamReader is your assistive reader and ReaderPen improves your literacy – LingoPen is angled towards language learning.
With LingoPen you easily challenge and boost yourself reading and learning an additional language.
Like it’s siblings, LingoPen is stand-alone device with display, rechargeable battery, internal memory and a powerful CPU and features text reading, text storageand voice memo recording.
The NEWS here is the 21 bilingual Oxford dictionaries, assisting with language understanding.
Whether you are challenged by pronunciation or understanding, LingoPen supports you. To practice and learning, it is simple to scan and store text snippets to allow repeated reading/listening for improved learning.
LingoPen also connects to MAC, Windows, Linux or ChromeBook computers – with no need to install any specific software. Connect it to the computer and upload your previously stored local text files, or use the C-PEN Keyboard feature and scan text directly into e.g. MS Word och Google Docs.
There are typically four main reasons to use pen scanners.
As an alternative to traditional keyboards.
To capture notes and quotes from books and papers.
Language understanding and literacy.
Assistive tech, or more specifically a reading assistant.
C-PEN Keyboard is our solution to item#1, and adds an optional solution to #2.
When you capture notes and quotes you may not always prefer the scan & save companion apps provided us, but instead prefer to use Google Docs (or another Google service), Microsoft office apps, Evernote, or something else completely. C-PEN Keyboard allows you to do just that by being the bridge between text printed on paper and your favorite note taking/saving/word processing solution.
With C-PEN Keyboard it is possible to transcribe printed text into practically any app or system, whether on a smartphone, a tablet or a computer.
Mobile
Mid 2019 we released our Bluetooth enabled C-PEN Connect together with traditional companion apps for Android and iOS/iPADOS. With these apps it is possible to scan and save text, have text read out aloud, and have text translated. It is also possible to upload and share the saved text to e.g. cloud drives in order to collaborate more easily.
Now, brand new from the C-PEN dev team, we launch C-PEN Keyboard for Android. And it is compatible with C-PEN Connect.
EDIT 2020-02-18: C-PEN Connect app for iOS now featuring C-PEN Keyboard.
Desktop
On MAC OSX and Windows TS1 pen scanner is used with C-PEN Core software – which includes keyboard support.
EDIT 2020-03:
Recently, using Connect Desktop app, the keyboard function is also supported on MAC and Windows using C-Pen Connect.
Embedded
Our ReaderPen, LingoPen and DictionaryPen models have embedded support for C-PEN Keyboard and supports English, French, Spanish (ReaderPen) and English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish (DictionaryPen) respectively.
Below is a video showing ReaderPen used to capture text to a Google Docs document on a Chromebook.
Need help reading, understanding and learning? We have some news for you.
This is our Summer 2019 update for ReaderPen!
In our ever-ongoing quest to promote reading confidence, independence and literacy we have not only updated ExamReader but also ReaderPen.
Our latest updates
Applies to ReaderPen software version 7.0.102.
Easier – guided setup
The experience when using ReaderPen is dependent on it being setup properly. To make that easier, a setup guide is added. The guide runs automatically at power up. When the guide has been completed once, it does not appear again unless manually executed (Settings/Run wizard). The guide includes e.g. selection of preferred language, menu options, voice accents and left/right hand usage.
More accessible – talking menu
To improve accessibility further, a Talking Menu is implemented. When talking menu is activated, menu items and brief instructions are spoken to the user to assist menu navigation. This is especially useful for visually impaired and users with severe reading challenges but may also be a nice feature for any user. Talking Menu supports the same languages as the visual/written menu (English, French, Spanish).
New content – American dictionary
The English section of the Dictionary function already includes Collins dictionary and Oxford Primary dictionary. In this release an American English dictionary is added. To select it, use navigation buttons in Dictionary mode.
All dictionaries support definitions to be read out to the user. Should this not be wanted, it is possible to turn it off. In Dictionary mode, press Menu button to access settings.
More localized – multiple accents
When you listen to text being read out, it is preferred that it is spoken with your own accent. Especially when listening to pronunciations. In Spanish and English it is possible to chose between different accents according to your preference. Spanish supports traditional Spanish and Latin American Spanish. In English we have added Australian, Irish, Scottish and Indian English to previously available British and American English. Select your preferred accent in the sub-menu.
Literacy
Supporting the user to become an independent and confident reader is the primary, but not only, objective. Once passed the threshold of actually reading a text, literacy and learning obviously follows. To support this even better, dictionary access is integrated into the Text Reader mode. If a word is especially difficult to read or pronounce, simply select it and press-and-hold the OK button to zoom in on the word and repeat the pronunciation. In a similar manner it is now possible to select a word and swiftly look it up in the dictionary through the sub-menu. And even have the definition read out.
Flexible – Exam Lock mode
We have previously impemented Exam Lock, a feature locking down functions not allowed to use in tests (subject to regulation in each individual school or district). In this release it is now possible to limit the accessible functions to either only Text Reader, or Text Reader + Dictionary. The latter making understanding easier.
Genral improvements
Aside from that, we have improved usability. In Text Reader mode it’s made easier to clear the screen from text and start over with a blank screen. It is also possible to disable the automatic reading of each scanned line, allowing the user to scan and listen to larger paragraphs more conveniently. With Pause/Resume it is possible to halt the speech whenever there is a need to take a breath and digest the information. This feature also makes it possible to stop, scroll back, and re-listen to a specific part of the text that is especially important or complicated.
Contact us
Do not hesitate to contact us or our exclusive distributor Scanning Pens if you represent people with special needs related to the languages we support, and are interested in knowing more about products and best practice.
Upgrade?
Visit our Download page and check if your ReaderPen is upgradeable.
Summer 2019 and we have a major update for ExamReader!
In our ever-ongoing quest to promote reading confidence, independence and literacy as well as usability we have some great news to share.
More languages
To enable and assist even more people to read on their own we have added several new languages and accents and now support people with reading difficulties reading British, American, Scottish, Irish, Indian and Australian English, Spanish and Latin American Spanish, the Scandinavian languages Swedish (our native tongue), Danish and Norwegian as well as Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese.
New features
Aside from that, we have improved usability. To make it easier to customize the pen a setup guide walking you through the most important settings is shown the first time the product is powered up. The guide can also be run manually – see Settings\Run wizard. In Text Reader mode it’s made easier to clear the screen from text and start over with a blank screen. It is also possible to disable the automatic reading of each scanned line, allowing the user to scan and listen to larger paragraphs more conveniently. With Pause/Resume it is possible to halt the speech whenever there is a need to take a breath and digest the information. This feature also makes it possible to stop, scroll back, and re-listen to a specific part of the text that is especially important or complicated.
All in all this does not only help with reading, but also literacy. And better understanding makes learning easier.
Since earlier versions, but it’s worth mentioning again, there is a Talking menu, enabling menu navigation even for e.g. visually impaired users.
Contact us
Do not hesitate to contact us or our exclusive distributor Scanning Pens if you represent people with special needs related to the languages we support, and are interested in knowing more about products and best practice.
Upgrade?
Visit our Download page and check if your ExamReader is upgradeable.
To all Shottish, Irish, Australian and Indian users out there…
Our ReaderPen can now be upgraded with more voices. Check ReaderPen firmware upgrade for details.
ReaderPen is our daily-use assistive reader. It reads text out loud (built-in speaker & headphones), capture and stores notes and quotes, and contains word defining dictionaries in English (Oxford & Collins), French (Cordial) and Spanish (Larousse).
Scan word, text lines or paragraphs and have them read out, as many times as you like. Is there a difficult word? Look it up in the dictionary and have the definition read out.
For more information check our Youtube videos HERE, or check product description HERE.
If you find reading and writing challenging it may make you want to avoid these two tasks. But we really can’t, can we? Check this article about various assistive tools making it easier.
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