[Electronics-talk] . Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That TheAccessibility Be Waived for E-Readers

[Anna Givens]

Yeah.....seems like a pretty weak argument to me....but i really dont know much about electronics and how theyre made, etc

Anna E Givens

On Aug 8, 2013, at 1:09 PM, "Poppa Bear" <heavens4real at gmail.com> wrote:

> Good points Sarah.
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sarah Clark" <sarah at sarahaclark.com>
> To: <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2013 9:20 AM
> Subject: [Electronics-talk] . Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That TheAccessibility Be Waived for E-Readers
> 
> 
>> Hmm, their arguments are interesting..
>> 
>> E-readers, sometimes called e-book readers, are mobile
>> electronic devices that are designed, marketed
>> and used primarily for the purpose of reading
>> digital documents, including e-books and
>> periodicals." Since Ebook readers are primarily
>> designed for print reading, the companies are
>> arguing that the disabled community would not
>> significantly benefit from these devices
>> becoming accessible.
>> 
>> That's right, because blind people don't need to read anything. Say what?
>> 
>> They also argue that because the devices are so simple, making the
>> changes to the devices to make them accessible,
>> would cause them to be heavier, have poorer
>> battery life, and raise the cost of the devices.
>> 
>> Heavier? The iPhone and other smart phones are much lighter and they manage to allow for speech capabilities. How much heavier did the iPhone 3gs become over the iPhone 3 when Apple added text to speech capability with the 3gs?
>> Poorer battery life? There could be an option to turn the speech function on and off, so that it would not impact the battery life for those who don't need it. For those who do need the speech, I'm sure they'd give up a bit of battery life on a product they can't use to get a product they can use.
>> Raise the cost? If this happened, it would be a small difference that I doubt would be noticeable to the average consumer. And from what I have read when sighted people are asked if they'd be ok with paying an extra few cents for a product if the added cost would allow blind people to be able to use it, they don't mind. And raising the cost somewhat has never really been a good excuse for companies not wanting to provide accommodations.
>> 
>> Finally, these companies argue that since their apps are accessible on other devices such as the iPad and other full featured tablets, that they
>> are already providing access to their content.
>> 
>> Well, I guess they're saying no one needs the stand alone e-readers then. Everyone can just use the apps. Except, the fact that they still see a need to develop and provide the stand alone e-readers means that there must be a need for something besides the apps, and if that is the case, why should blind people be excluded from that need?
>> And maybe not all blind people have or can afford a tablet computer. But wait! I got it! Maybe this is one of the reasons Amazon sees a need for the stand alone e-readers! So perhaps there is a good explanation for this particular argument they are making. Perhaps Amazon et al are planning to supply blind people with such tablets for no more than the cost of their least expensive e-reader, so they can use these apps. Hmm, if this is in their plans, it somehow got left out of their filing. They really might want to get it in there. It could help them, at least on this particular silly argument they are making.
>> 
>> Sarah
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> 
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