Skip to main content

Making cell phones more accessable to the blind/visually impaired

Here's another tidbit I'm just passing along because I thought some would be interested.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


CONTACT:Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)cdanielsen@nfb.org


Jennifer EricksonMotorola, Inc.(847) 435-5320

Jennifer.erickson@motorola.com


National Federation of the Blind and Motorola to Cooperate on Making Cell Phones Accessible to the Blind


Baltimore, Maryland and Libertyville, Illinois (September 14, 2009): The National Federation of the Blind, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of blind people and the leading advocate for making mainstream devices accessible to the blind, and Motorola Inc., a leading manufacturer of cell phones and other mobile communications devices, announced today that they have entered into a cooperation agreement to promote technologies that improve the accessibility of cell phones to blind consumers.


Certain future Motorola cell phones will provide verbal readouts of information such as the time and date, battery level, signal strength, user’s phone number, caller ID information for incoming calls, missed and received calls, and voice mail alerts. Blind users will also be able to take advantage of verbal readouts and voice-command features for ring tone status, inputting and accessing contacts, and various other settings. Motorola expects these cell phones to be available in 2010. The parties have also agreed to work together to make additional phones and features accessible to blind users.


Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “In an age where productivity and success increasingly depend on access to mobile technology such as cellular telephones, it is critical that blind Americans have equal access to today’s cell phones through user interfaces that do not require vision. The National Federation of the Blind appreciates Motorola’s commitment to making the features of its cell phone products accessible to blind users without the need for third-party software, and we look forward to working together with Motorola to make future improvements to the accessibility of telecommunication technology.”


###

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ratner's Cheesecake

Here's another recipe from Toby! Thanks Toby......and I'll get the others posted soon! Ratner's Cheesecake and plain cookies Ratner's was a Jewish dairy restaurant in the lower East Side of Manhattan. This recipe, from my disintegrating, no longer in print Ratner's cookbook, is the closest I've ever gotten to reproducing the rich, heavy cheesecake my mother made when I was a kid. It's worth the time it takes to prepare and every last calorie. Dough Can be prepared in advance. Makes enough for two cakes. Can be frozen or used to make cookies – see recipe below. 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup shortening 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1 cup butter 2 eggs 3 cups sifted cake flour ½ teaspoon salt 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients with hands. Refrigerate 3 -4 hours, or preferably overnight. Filling (for...
1 comment
Read more

Some good news about Pirfenidone

Below is a press release from Intermune, the company that makes Pirfenidone. They have essentially reviewed the various clinical trials going on, and decided that Pirfenidone is safe and well tolerated. That would pretty much go along with what we've observed in the HPS community as well. We have a few folks that have been on the drug since the late 90s and continue to do well. Of course, as a journalist, I do have to say consider the source - but at the same time, as someone in a Pirfenidone trial, it's good to know. Results of Comprehensive Safety Analysis of pirfenidone In IPF Patients Presented At European Respiratory Meeting - Analysis shows safety and tolerability of pirfenidone across four clinical trials - VIENNA, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- InterMune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITMN ) today announced that the results of a comprehensive review of safety data from four clinical studies were presented at the 2009 European Respiratory Society Annual Congress in Vienna, Austria...
Post a Comment
Read more

The next generation with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome

I'm so behind on posting about the trip to Puerto Rico. Since the episode of Mystery Diagnosis on Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome ran right after we got home, it's been a little busy. These, however, are my favorite pictures from Puerto Rico. I know, not pretty senery etc - but these little guys and gals inspire me. They are the next generation of folks with HPS, and if we keep up the hard work, they will live better lives because of it. They motivate me.
Post a Comment
Read more