A software add-on to mobile phones could help sight impaired people read.

Developed by K-NFB Reading Technology, the mobile phone-based software turns scanned text on photographed documents into speech. It can be used to read anything that is photographed, whether it's a restaurant menu, a phone book or a fax.

Currently, sight impaired people have been using light pens to scan limited amounts of text, read it aloud and even translate from other languages. K-NFB has installed the software into a Nokia smart phone. All told, it costs $2,100 NFB, but it combines all the functions a sight challenged person could want.

It means that while the person is talking on the phone they can receive and read information. It will give sight impaired people the mobility which they have been previously been shut out from, according to the company. The software will cost $1,595 and the mobile about $500. It will go on sale in February.