Special article to mark a special anniversary
Good morning! I'm Kerry J Harrison at the business desk and this morning I'd like to do something very special for a very special group of persons.
To mark the anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and due to heavy demand from our special needs readers, I'd like to share an article with you that befits this anniversary. I'll let you be the judge of it all.
US mobile phone industry turns a deaf ear to blind mobile phone customers.
by Andrew Beutmueller
TelecomTV - London,UK
27/07/2007.
Today is the 17th anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a
piece of historic legislation dealing with the civil rights of disabled US
citizens. But, amongst those that will not be joining in with the the
congratulations and cork-popping are US mobile handset makers and carriers
who, according to the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) have so far
failed to "meet the needs of blind or visually impaired customers" in many
ways.
The AFB says that in the US mobile industry in general, handset
manufacturers in particular do not take the ADA law or handset
"accessibility" seriously as is evidenced by the fact that the overwhelming
majority of phones are not fully usable for low-vision or no-vision users.
According to the AFB some of the chief obstacles posed by cell phone for the
visually impaired run the gamut from 1) having no audio output of
information displayed on the screen, 2) having hard to read displays, 3)
having keys that are not easy to distinguish by touch, and 4) having product
manuals and phone bills that are not available in Braille, large print or
other easier-to-read formats.
The aging US baby-boomer population is now in its sixties and many
individuals are suffering natural attrition of their vision. This
inevitability is driving massive demand for so-called "vision loss-friendly
phones" with large font screens or voice output of menus or text messages.
Paul Schroeder, the vp of Programs and Policy Group at AFB says there is no
excuse for not meeting the needs of a major section of the population. He
says, "Given today's technological advancements, advertised constantly by
cell phone carriers, it is particularly shameful that access features are
not being made available."
Blind callers are indeed becoming increasingly frustrated with the mobile
industry's apparent indifference to the issue. Complaints to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), which enforces Section 255, a part of the
Federal Communications Act requiring all phones to be made usable for people
with disabilities, are reportedly flooding in from across the United States.
Earlier this month, the AFB began a campaign to help the vision-impaired to
understand access requirements and help them file complaints with the FCC if
necessary.
The action also includes a letter writing campaign asking what leading cell
phone makers and carriers "are doing to meet the needs of people with vision
loss."
The AFB does however admit that not all carriers are insensitive to the
needs of the visually-impaired; in fact AT&T for one has taken steps to
ensure the provision of accessible phones.
And last year Samsung unveiled one of the first Braille mobile phones for
the visually impaired. Called the "Touch Messenger," the phone enables
visually impaired users to send and receive Braille text messages. The 3?4
button on the cell phone is used as two Braille keypads and text messages
can be checked through the Braille display screen in the lower part.
Nokia does not yet offer a device specifically for the visually-impaired,
but the Finnish company's handsets do come with a number of features for
low-vision and blind users.
Keith Nowak, a Nokia spokesperson says, "All of our devices include a raised
nib on the 5 key to help facilitate dialing, voice dialing and voice
commands and some new devices include user-selectable font sizes to help
make text more legible."
Mr. Nowak adds, "Nokia also offers a so-called "voice aid" application, that
allows frequently-used functions such as messages, phonebooks, battery and
signal strength, call logs and more to be read aloud on some smartphones, as
well as a dialing application that reads numbers aloud as the user scrolls
through them. We have also included audio features like talking clocks and
audible status indicators on some of our lower end cell phones as well."
? 2007 Decisive Media.
by Andrew Beutmueller
TelecomTV - London,UK
27/07/2007.
Today is the 17th anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a
piece of historic legislation dealing with the civil rights of disabled US
citizens. But, amongst those that will not be joining in with the the
congratulations and cork-popping are US mobile handset makers and carriers
who, according to the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) have so far
failed to "meet the needs of blind or visually impaired customers" in many
ways.
The AFB says that in the US mobile industry in general, handset
manufacturers in particular do not take the ADA law or handset
"accessibility" seriously as is evidenced by the fact that the overwhelming
majority of phones are not fully usable for low-vision or no-vision users.
According to the AFB some of the chief obstacles posed by cell phone for the
visually impaired run the gamut from 1) having no audio output of
information displayed on the screen, 2) having hard to read displays, 3)
having keys that are not easy to distinguish by touch, and 4) having product
manuals and phone bills that are not available in Braille, large print or
other easier-to-read formats.
The aging US baby-boomer population is now in its sixties and many
individuals are suffering natural attrition of their vision. This
inevitability is driving massive demand for so-called "vision loss-friendly
phones" with large font screens or voice output of menus or text messages.
Paul Schroeder, the vp of Programs and Policy Group at AFB says there is no
excuse for not meeting the needs of a major section of the population. He
says, "Given today's technological advancements, advertised constantly by
cell phone carriers, it is particularly shameful that access features are
not being made available."
Blind callers are indeed becoming increasingly frustrated with the mobile
industry's apparent indifference to the issue. Complaints to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), which enforces Section 255, a part of the
Federal Communications Act requiring all phones to be made usable for people
with disabilities, are reportedly flooding in from across the United States.
Earlier this month, the AFB began a campaign to help the vision-impaired to
understand access requirements and help them file complaints with the FCC if
necessary.
The action also includes a letter writing campaign asking what leading cell
phone makers and carriers "are doing to meet the needs of people with vision
loss."
The AFB does however admit that not all carriers are insensitive to the
needs of the visually-impaired; in fact AT&T for one has taken steps to
ensure the provision of accessible phones.
And last year Samsung unveiled one of the first Braille mobile phones for
the visually impaired. Called the "Touch Messenger," the phone enables
visually impaired users to send and receive Braille text messages. The 3?4
button on the cell phone is used as two Braille keypads and text messages
can be checked through the Braille display screen in the lower part.
Nokia does not yet offer a device specifically for the visually-impaired,
but the Finnish company's handsets do come with a number of features for
low-vision and blind users.
Keith Nowak, a Nokia spokesperson says, "All of our devices include a raised
nib on the 5 key to help facilitate dialing, voice dialing and voice
commands and some new devices include user-selectable font sizes to help
make text more legible."
Mr. Nowak adds, "Nokia also offers a so-called "voice aid" application, that
allows frequently-used functions such as messages, phonebooks, battery and
signal strength, call logs and more to be read aloud on some smartphones, as
well as a dialing application that reads numbers aloud as the user scrolls
through them. We have also included audio features like talking clocks and
audible status indicators on some of our lower end cell phones as well."
? 2007 Decisive Media.
At the business desk, I'm Kerry J harrison wishing you a pleasant day.
posted by Kerry at
9:14 AM
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