Jonathan Mosen, who has been blind since birth, spent a recent evening snapping photos of packages in the mail, his son's school report and labels on bottles in the fridge. In seconds, he was listening to audio of the printed words the camera had captured, courtesy of a new app on his Apple iPhone.

"I couldn't believe how accurate it was," said Mosen, an assistive technology consultant from New Zealand.

The newly available app is receiving rave reviews and is being heralded as a life-changer by many people.