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<b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br><br>
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<div align="center"><h1><b>New Accessibility Features Coming to
PrestoPrime EMV System</b></h1>E la Carte, Applebee’s® Grill + Bar,
National Federation of the Blind, and LightHouse for the Blind and
Visually Impaired of San Francisco Announce Collaboration to Make
In-Restaurant Table-top Tablets Accessible to Blind Guests<br><br>
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<b>Redwood City, Calif. (January 9, 2018):</b>
<a href="https://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9925&qid=2094787">
E la Carte</a>, Inc., creators of the PrestoPrime™ EMV System™ for
full-service restaurants, and Applebee’s® Neighborhood Grill + Bar,
announced today a partnership with the National Federation of the Blind
(NFB) and LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San Francisco
to produce a text-to-speech capability for the PrestoPrime EMV System
that will be incorporated into all current and future Presto tablets,
including those used in Applebee’s Grill + Bar restaurants nationwide.
This enhancement is a result of collaboration among these organizations
and several blind members of the NFB in California to develop new
functionality that enables blind persons to interact with the Presto
System.<br><br>
The new Presto tablet functionality enables blind persons to
independently order menu items, pay their bills, and perform other
functions using the tablet that is provided for guests to enhance their
in-restaurant dining experience. By performing certain gestures, blind
patrons can turn on the text-to-speech capability of the tablets in order
to access the new functionality. In addition, blind patrons can take
advantage of the audio jack available on newer PrestoPrime EMV tablets to
activate the text-to-speech capability by simply plugging in a pair of
headphones. The audio jack on PrestoPrime EMV tablets can be found and
identified by a Braille tactile label located next to the jack.<br><br>
E la Carte and Applebee’s have been working with the National Federation
of the Blind and Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San
Francisco for the past several months to develop the new functionality,
which has been tested by blind consumers. This continued testing, and the
related feedback, will help E la Carte to fine-tune the technology to
provide a user-friendly experience for blind consumers that is similar to
other mobile and small screen device applications.<br><br>
“Like many new technologies, the E la Carte system has the potential to
provide the blind with greater independence than ever before, since we
will now be able to access a restaurant’s menu choices in the same way
that other customers do,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National
Federation of the Blind. “We therefore applaud E la Carte in its efforts
to provide to blind diners the same access to the Presto System that
sighted persons enjoy, while also helping the restaurants who deploy the
system comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other
applicable laws.”<br><br>
“E la Carte is proud to have produced a PrestoPrime EMV user experience
for blind persons,” said Rajat Suri, founder and CEO of E la Carte. “The
assistance we received from the National Federation of the Blind and
Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San Francisco was
invaluable to the achievement of a user experience that is familiar and
comfortable for blind users.”<br><br>
“We are thrilled with this outcome,” said LightHouse CEO Bryan Bashin,
“Thanks to this collaboration, the E la Carte tablet will work for blind
people, not just at Applebee’s, but at any restaurant that uses it. We
hope others will follow their lead.”<br><br>
The new accessibility functionality will be included as a standard part
of the Presto System and tablets and is available to all E la Carte
customers.<br><br>
Attorneys at Brown Goldstein & Levy LLP, Disability Rights Advocates,
and TRE Legal Practice helped facilitate this collaboration.<br><br>
<b>About E la Carte and PrestoPrime EMV System<br><br>
</b>E la Carte, developers of the PrestoPrime EMV tablet and PrestoPrime
EMV System, leads the table-top dining revolution with its guest-facing,
pay-at-the-table, e-commerce system. Installed in over 1,800 restaurants
across the nation, including Applebee’s (a division of DineEquity,
NYSE:DINE) and selected Outback Steakhouse Restaurants (a division of
Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., Nasdaq: BLMN), the Presto System enables
restaurant guests to take greater control over their dining experience by
allowing them to order from a full menu, play exciting interactive games,
and pay their bill directly from the table. The PrestoPrime EMV tablet
also provides operational and financial benefits to restaurant operators
which drives increased profitability, and unlocks restaurant data that
was previously inaccessible, enabling smarter decisions around guest
satisfaction. E la Carte’s new dual processor, secure PrestoPrime EMV
System is software compatible with the current generation Presto System -
more than 90,000 of which are at work every day in more than 1,800
restaurants across the United States - and includes twice the memory and
four times the flash storage of the current generation, and a securely
partitioned payment module that enables point-to-point encryption (P2PE)
security, EMV, and multiple forms of payment, including PIN-entry
payment, Magstripe, and NFC capability for contactless payment systems
such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.<br><br>
<b>About National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
</b>The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in
Baltimore, is the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind
Americans. Founded in 1940, the NFB consists of affiliates, chapters, and
divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. The NFB
defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides information
and support to families with blind children, older Americans who are
losing vision, and more. We believe in the hopes and dreams of blind
people and work together to transform them into reality. Learn more about
our many programs and initiatives at
<a href="https://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9733&qid=2005373">
www.nfb.org</a><br><br>
<b>About LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired of San
Francisco<br><br>
</b>Founded in 1902, San Francisco’s LightHouse for the Blind and
Visually Impaired promotes the independence, equality and self-reliance
of people who are blind or have low vision. We offer blindness skills
training and relevant services such as access to employment, education,
government, information, recreation, transportation and the environment.
We also pursue the development of new technology, encourage innovation,
and amplify the voices of blind individuals around the world.<br><br>
<br><br>
<b>CONTACT:<br><br>
</b>Chris Danielsen<br><br>
Director of Public Relations<br><br>
National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<br><br>
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<br><br>
<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br><br>
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