This repository archives the source code for the TALX screen reader for the Nokia 9110 Communicator smartphone. It was developed by Marcus Groeber and Torsten Brand in 2001, and to my (mg's) knowledge was the first available screen reader for mobile phones.
It served as the proof-of-concept for the TALKS 9210 screen reader for Symbian that we later updated for Series 60, over time adding support for screen magnification and touch screens, before Nokia stopped production of Symbian phones in 2011.
TALX included a number of unusual technical features:
- Text-to-speech output by using pre-synthesized word
recordings.
- Recordings were compressed using the built-in RT24 codec (2400 bps) because this was the only way for outputting audio on the Communicator.
- Unknown words would be spelled letter-by-letter
- Support for a full-featured external speech synthesizer, attached via the serial port.
- Built-in drivers for Braille displays (also via serial port).
I am planning to add some more in-depth documentation to this repository over time. For now, you can find a snapshot of the original web page at https://web.archive.org/web/20020206063258/http://www.talx.de/index_e.htm.