Here's an article on software developed by Ray Kurzweil for the mobile phone which snaps a picture of text, deciphers the text, and produces audible speech:
On how far his technology has come:
Kurzweil released his first reading machine, developed in partnership with the National Federation for the Blind, in 1976; on the day it was unveiled, TV anchor Walter Cronkite used its speech synthesizer as he signed off the air. The device could scan printed pages, decipher the letters, and speak the words aloud. It was about the size of a washing machine and cost $50,000. Stevie Wonder bought the first production model, Kurzweil recalls.