SAN ANTONIO – If you are over the age of 40, chances are you've joined the club.
Your arms just don't seem to be long enough for you to read the print on the page or your phone.
A product called One Power Readers comes with the claim they'll be the only readers you ever need -- even if you need different power for different situations.
Do the readers work?
The "As Seen On TV" specs sell for $14.99 and come with the claim that they can correct up-close vision from 0.5 to 2.5 power -- all in the same pair.
The secret is what the ads call flex focus optical lens technology so you can read small print and computer screens without changing glasses.
The packaging says the pair "adjusts to different strengths depending on your need" and you can share your pair with family and friends.
Mark Mendez, a KSAT 12 News photojournalist, agreed to give them a look. He uses low-strength readers to help him read books and restaurant menus.
With the naked eye, Mendez could not read the small print on a page, but with the One Power Readers, he could see it clearly.
"Right there," he said.
But, as Mendez moved the page closer, he said it was out of focus. And, when he moved the page farther back, he said, "Here, it's blurry again."
Homer Martinez with the Rosenberg School of Optometry at the University of the Incarnate Word agreed to provide an expert's view.
"I'm anxious to take a look at these," he said.
Martinez examined the readers on two separate lensometers that detect lens power.
"I didn't' see the 0.5 in there. I didn't see anything close to a 1, a 1.5. All I saw inside there was a 2.5," he said. "This is the equivalent of just a reader, a reading pair of glasses."