Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung isn’t limiting itself to software when it comes to improving its mobile hardware’s accessibility – the Korean company has introduced a trio of new accessories for the Galaxy Core Advance mid-range device that beefs up its existing ability to cater to visually and otherwise impaired users. There’s the Ultrasonic Cover, which can detect obstacles in the environment… Read More

The latest upgrade to the iPhone and iPad version of Amazon’s Kindle reading app brings a bunch of new features aimed at blind and visually impaired users. At the top of the list is the ability to read aloud 1.8 million Kindle Store titles, with help from Apple’s VoiceOver technology. The update also brings better library and book navigation and search, as well as features like notes, highlights, bookmarks, font size, background color and brightness. Standard Kindle features like X-Ray, End Actions and sharing via Facebook and Twitter are also made more accessible through the update. Amazon’s promised a similar update for non-iOS versions of the app at some point in the future — in the meantime, a full list of new features can be found in a press release after the break.

Filed under: Amazon

Comments

Barnes & Noble’s Nook app has reached version 3.3 on iOS and Android, bringing a handful of new features in tow. Headlining the iOS update are screen magnification and support for Apple’s VoiceOver feature, which can assist the blind and visually impaired by reading content aloud. The app has also been gussied up for the iPhone 5’s additional screen real estate. Both Android and iOS flavors of the application pack language support for French, Italian, German, Spanish and British English — and indeed they’ve now cozied up to the Nook’s UK storefront following the arrival of the latest hardware in that land a few days back. If you’re fixing to download the spruced up app, Barnes & Noble recommends syncing your library before making the leap.

Continue reading Nook app packs new features on iOS and Android, makes UK debut

Filed under: Software

Comments

Via: Maccessibility, Daring Fireball

Source: iTunes, Google Play

Smartphones are changing the world and making it easier for all kinds of people to access information. Except for blind people, who miss out on several of the aspects of smartphones and touchscreens that make them so cool. Qualcomm, which produces the Snapdragon SoC that powers many Android phones, has built features for blind people that could make life significantly easier for the 285 million visually impaired people worldwide. Qualcomm is calling the software  ”Project Ray,”  and it features a user interface that’s completely reconsidered from the point of view of a blind person. For instance, a user touches the screen, and that point becomes the starting point for other interactions with the device. The devices also use vibration to provide useful feedback. Currently, the UI can make calls, text with a vocal read-out, and do most social networking. Also, the Central Library for the Blind, Visually Impaired and Handicapped is making a lot of blind-accessible media available for download. Sounds like a good program.

The Project Ray handset is built on top of Android and is currently in testing in Israel.

The photo is courtesy of RedEyedRex.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: EyeRing voice-activated augmented reality device for the blind, Busalert app helps blind people in identifying the arrival time of buses,

While there are a number of ways to make existing smartphones more accessible for the elderly, there are very few on the market designed specifically with them in mind. There’s devices like the Jitterbug, but they’re not particularly “smart.” Fujitsu’s latest entrant in its RakuRaku line, however, is loaded with friendly features and hardware designed specifically with the elderly in mind — and it runs Android. When it lands in Japan this August it’ll sport a customized UI with large text and oversized virtual buttons. Even the few physical buttons are large and easy to operate for those whose agility may be waning. The screen is even able to distinguish between accidental touches and purposeful taps. To see the device in action check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Fujitsu intros RakuRaku accessible smartphone for the elderly

Fujitsu intros RakuRaku accessible smartphone for the elderly originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 20:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  Fujitsu  | Email this | Comments