[nfb-db] Humanware announces iPod/iPhone face to face communication app

[Scott Davert]

Just passing this along for your information...
PRESS RELEASE

New HumanWare iPhone app will get deaf-blind and sighted people talking
Montreal, July 12, 2012 - HumanWare, in partnership with Institut
Nazareth et Louis-Braille (INLB), has unveiled the HumanWare
Communicator, the first multilingual face-to-face conversation app for
deaf-blind people. This unique app will help deaf-blind individuals
communicate on an everyday basis by connecting a HumanWare Braille
device (BrailleNote Apex or Brailliant) with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod
touch.
Now a deaf-blind person can use Bluetooth connectivity to pair their
HumanWare Braille device to an iPhone, iPod, or iPad. In the absence
of an interpreter, the HumanWare Communicator app then facilitates a
conversation. The deaf-blind person converses through the Braille
device and hands his or her tethered Apple device to the sighted
person who uses the touch screen keyboard to respond. The face-to-face
conversation appears in real time on both the refreshable Braille
display and the iOS devices' screen.

HumanWare is the leader in digital communication for deaf-blind
people, introducing DBC, the first portable face-to-face chat solution
in 2008. The system combined the simplicity and portability of the
popular BrailleNote with a companion visual interface running on a
cell phone. For the first time, a deaf-blind person had portability
and independence when having a face-to-face conversation, and since a
familiar cell phone keyboard was used, the sighted individual had a
very small learning curve to engage in a conversation.
"With the popularity and inclusion of assistive technology features in
Apple's iOS devices, HumanWare has received a high demand to bring the
face-to-face concept of the popular Deaf-Blind Communicator to the
popular Apple devices. "The HumanWare Communicator app breaks everyday
face to face communication down to its simplest form and will get
everyone talking," says Greg Stilson, HumanWare product manager.
In 2000, HumanWare introduced the first BrailleNote. In 2005, the
BrailleNote mPower was launched bringing USB connectivity and
increased speed and efficiency to this range of productivity tools.
Launched in December of 2009, the BrailleNote Apex, with a completely
redesigned look, while maintaining the successful ergonomic design of
past BrailleNotes, saw HumanWare pack the most powerful BrailleNote
into the thinnest package available.
The HumanWare Communicator app will be available for standard download
from Apple's app store at the end of July 2012. This app marks a major
step forward in using mainstream technology to bring everyday
communication to the deaf-blind population.
Find out more about HumanWare Deaf-Blind communication solutions at:
www.humanware.com/deafblind