AT&T Offers New Services For Vision Impaired

by Heather McLaughlin

AT&T recently announced the addition of two new services that will help wireless customers that are blind or have low vision. The company partnered with Code Factory to offer Mobile Speak and Mobile Magnifier work with Windows Mobile and Symbian Series 60 operating system devices.

Mobile Speak is a powerful, full-fledged screen reader with an easy-to-learn command structure, intuitive speech feedback in several languages and Braille support, which can be used with or without speech. Unlike other screen readers for mobile phones, Mobile Speak automatically detects information that the blind user should know, just as a user with sight would easily find highlighted items or key areas of the screen at a glance. Supported applications and functions include:

— Speed dial, call lists and contacts
— Text messaging
— Calendar, tasks, notes and calculator
— Internet browser
— Word, Excel and PowerPoint
— Voice Recorder, Media Player, voice speed dial and voice command
— Phone/device settings, profiles, alarms and ringtones

Mobile Speak is offered with a choice of three Text-To-Speech engines, Fonix, Acapela or Loquendo, allowing the phone to speak English, Spanish or both.

Mobile Magnifier is a flexible, full-screen magnification application that supports low- and high-resolution screens and can be used with or without speech feedback. Magnification software is compatible with a wide range of mobile devices. Unique features include:

— Magnification levels from 1.25x to 16x
— Font-smoothing for easier readability
— Three different layouts: a full-screen, split and distributed view
— Different color schemes, including inverted color
— Automatic panning and cursor-tracking
— Automatic zoom function that detects areas of interest on the screen

Supported phones include Nokia N75, Nokia E62, Cingular 3125, Samsung BlackJack (Windows Mobile version 5), and Pantech Duo (Windows Mobile version 6). Additional compatible devices will be available soon.

These programs are available for a one time charge of $89.00. To learn more or to order these services, please visit AT&T Wireless Disability Resources.