Written by tjchan on Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Mobile Speak Pocket: A PPC Screenreader for the Visually Challenged


mspeak_pocket4

When I went to the CoffeeCup Software’s Webmaster Jam Session last year, the one thing that I came back with was the need to create web pages that are friendly to those who are visually impaired. I never saw how one who was visually challenge used a computer and it really opened my eyes with the difficulty it can be to fill out web forms and the such as well as the flaws in design that cause some users to just keep blaming themselves. It was heart wrenching to see a person spend 20 minutes trying to fill in a web form when the web form itself was poorly designed to the point that labels did not correspond to items that were supposed to be labled.

With CodeFactory’s Mobile Speak Pocket, a screen reader solution that provides text to speech in 15 languages makes mobile devices more accessible to the visually impaired.

 

 

 

Some of the features that Mobile Speak Pocket has are:

  • Flexibility to choose and upgrade to any mainstream Pocket PC device meeting the system requirements.
  • Several Text-to-Speech voices to choose from over 15 supported languages, allowing multiple TTS engines to be installed on the same device and easily selected anytime.
  • Drivers for different Braille devices such as Braille displays, keyboards with or without refreshable Braille lines, and Haptic Braille printers.
  • A full-screen Magnifier plug-in that both enlarges and enhances visibility of screen text and icons.
  • Opportunity to install and use third-party applications such as Audible® Player, GS Player, Resco File Explorer, and Pocket Skype among others.
  • Multiple input methods through MSP software input panels, as well as integrated and external QWERTY keyboards.
  • Frequently used commands assigned to virtual buttons accessible to the blind through the touch screen.
  • A logically structured command layout that is easy to learn and remember.
  • Support for an advanced scripting language, LUA, to make more applications accessible.
  • A comprehensive on-board help system for learning commands and available functions.

    I’m certainly happy to see that those who are visually challenged are not left out in the Pocket PC arena.

    Source: Jason Langridge’s WebLog

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