[Electronics-talk] Fwd: National Federation of the Blind Commends Amazon on Unveiling of New Accessible Kindle

[Grover Zinn]

It seems to me that making menus accessible only addresses part of the  
problem with the Kindle and Amazon's approach to and attitude about  
accessibility for blind/low-vision individuals.  Until the text to  
speech feature can be activated for all books  (under special  
conditions if necessary) by blind or low-vision persons, without  
paying any price beyond the price of the book (say, $9.99), the  
accessibility of the device is only partial.  In the case of the  
Arizona lawsuit and use in university settings, it would appear that  
the books will be available with text to speech enabled, if the  
statement about the lawsuit means what it says.

Once and optimist about the Kindle; now something of a pessimist.   
Publishers protecting their audio book market are the problem here.   
Things probably will change only when enough people with sight want to  
listen to their Kindle books.

best,

Grover Zinn

Grover Zinn
Oberlin, OH 44074
grover.zinn at oberlin.edu



On Jul 30, 2010, at 11:07 PM, David Andrews wrote:

> Well, blind persons are a small minority, so they only do what they  
> have to, and don't make a big deal about it.  Also, somewhere I read  
> that the accessibility stuff was listed somewhere under experimental  
> features -- so they may be gradually introducing it.
>
> They are making a big deal about changing and enlarging the font.
>
> Dave
>
> At 07:50 AM 7/30/2010, you wrote:
>> Good morning David.  I got an email from Amazon this morning about  
>> all their new models of the Kindle, but it doesn't mention anything  
>> about increased accessibility.  Any idea why that would be?  thanks
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Bob Hicks
>> Access Technology Specialist
>> Seeing Hand Association, Inc.
>> 304-232-4810
>> <bob at seeinghandassociation.com>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Andrews"  
>> <dandrews at visi.com>
>> To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 1:28 PM
>> Subject: [Electronics-talk] Fwd: National Federation of the Blind  
>> Commends Amazon on Unveiling of New Accessible Kindle
>>
>>
>>>
>>>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> CONTACT:
>>>>
>>>> Chris Danielsen
>>>>
>>>> Director of Public Relations
>>>>
>>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>>>
>>>> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>>>>
>>>> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>>>>
>>>> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> National Federation of the Blind Commends Amazon
>>>> on Unveiling of New Accessible Kindle
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Baltimore, Maryland (July 29, 2010): The National Federation of  
>>>> the Blind (NFB) today commended Amazon on the unveiling of a new,  
>>>> accessible Kindle. Amazon announced Wednesday that the new Kindle  
>>>> will come equipped with a voice guide that reads all menu options  
>>>> aloud so blind and other print-disabled people can navigate the  
>>>> device menus.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the  
>>>> Blind, said: "We commend Amazon on the unveiling of a new Kindle  
>>>> that blind and print-disabled people can use.  In order to  
>>>> compete in today's digital society, blind and print-disabled  
>>>> people must be able to access the same reading technologies as  
>>>> the sighted.  The National Federation of the Blind has long been  
>>>> urging Amazon to make its reading device accessible, and we are  
>>>> pleased that our efforts have come to fruition."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In June 2009 the National Federation of the Blind and the  
>>>> American Council of the Blind (ACB) filed suit against Arizona  
>>>> State University (ASU) to prevent the university from deploying  
>>>> Amazon's Kindle DX electronic reading device as a means of  
>>>> distributing electronic textbooks to its students because the  
>>>> device cannot be used by blind students.  The Kindle DX featured  
>>>> text-to-speech technology that can read textbooks aloud to blind  
>>>> students.  The menus of the device were not accessible to the  
>>>> blind, however, making it impossible for a blind user to purchase  
>>>> books from Amazon's Kindle store, select a book to read, activate  
>>>> the text-to-speech feature, and use the advanced reading  
>>>> functions available on the Kindle DX.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> For more information on the National Federation of the Blind,  
>>>> please visit <http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ###
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> About the National Federation of the Blind
>>>>
>>>> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the  
>>>> Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization  
>>>> of blind people in the United States.  The NFB improves blind  
>>>> people's lives through advocacy, education, research, technology,  
>>>> and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence.  It is  
>>>> the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of  
>>>> the nation's blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened the National  
>>>> Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research  
>>>> and training center in the United States for the blind led by the  
>>>> blind.
>
>                        David Andrews:  dandrews at visi.com
> Follow me on Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/dandrews920
>
>
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