[Trainer-talk] Mobile Speak and Windows Phone 7

[Code Factory News (no reply)]

Logo Code Factory


Caroline Ragot - Marketing Director
<mailto:marketing at codefactory.es>marketing at codefactory.es

Windows Phone 7


Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile, 5 years of successes and challenges




Code Factory products will not be compatible with 
the initial versions of Windows Phone 7




Terrassa (Barcelona), Spain, September, 1st, 2010

Code Factory has always shown a great commitment 
to keep up-to-date with the latest mobile phone 
technology. Back in 2005, Code Factory launched 
Mobile Speak Pocket. “Many of our users were 
asking us to make Windows Mobile Pocket PCs 
accessible, because at the time they were the 
only professional-oriented mobile devices,” 
explained Eduard Sánchez, Code Factory’s CEO. 
“One of our top priorities has always been to 
allow our professional blind and visually 
impaired users to be as efficient and productive 
as their sighted peers. Therefore, based on the 
experience of Mobile Speak for Symbian phones 
released two years earlier, we put together all 
our passion, knowledge and effort and developed 
Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile”.

In five years, Code Factory took up many 
challenges with the Windows Mobile platform, 
including support for the first touchscreen 
devices; support for hundreds of devices from 
more than fifteen different manufacturers such as 
HTC, HP, Motorola, and Samsung; support for 
customized firmware from carriers from all over 
the world; and support for five new operating 
system (OS) versions, from Windows Mobile 2003 SE to Windows Mobile 6.5.

Microsoft has announced the upcoming release of 
Windows Phone 7. Windows Phone 7 is not an 
upgraded version of Windows Mobile 6.5. It is a 
brand-new OS, which means that applications built 
for Windows Mobile 6.x or earlier will not run on Windows Phone 7.

As a software developer, Code Factory is facing 
the same issues as mainstream companies such as 
Mozilla, Adobe or Skype. “Windows Phone 7 doesn't 
support native code development, which means that 
it is technically impossible to develop a screen 
reader application without the direct help of 
Microsoft, the OS maker”, explained Eduard 
Sánchez. “Therefore Mobile Speak, Mobile Geo, and 
Mobile Magnifier will not run on the initial version of Windows Phone 7”.

However, Mobile Speak, Mobile Magnifier and 
Mobile Geo will of course keep running on 
supported Windows Mobile devices. Also, the 
Windows Mobile 6.5 devices won't disappear from 
the market all at once, and Code Factory’s 
customers should still be able to acquire them 
for a reasonable period of time after the release of Windows Phone 7.

“We have been talking with Microsoft for the last 
few months to try to remedy the situation and 
come up with an accessible solution for Windows 
Phone 7 as soon as possible. In fact, we waited 
until now to make this announcement because we 
were hoping that together with Microsoft we could 
find a solution before the release of the first 
Windows Phone 7 devices, but unfortunately this 
will not be the case” added Eduard Sánchez. 
“Microsoft has always been willing to put 
accessibility on its road map, however it hasn't 
been possible for the first release of Windows 
Phone 7. We at Code Factory are at their entire 
disposal to provide our assistance and expertise”.

Greg Sullivan, Senior Product Manager at 
Microsoft Mobile Communications Business Group 
said, "We understand that the initial Windows 
Phone 7 release doesn't live up to some 
expectations in specific scenarios but as we work 
on future versions of the technology we hope to 
learn from the Accessibility Community about what 
scenarios and features will allow Windows Phone to appeal to more users."

Eduard Sánchez concluded, “Developing Mobile 
Speak for Windows Mobile has taught us a lot and 
we are proud of our development team for those 
five years of hard work. We are very excited with 
the future of mobile phones and all the new 
platforms which are coming out. We hope that soon 
we will be able to add Windows Phone 7 to the 
list of our successful challenges”.

For more information about Microsoft 
Accessibility, visit 
<http://www.microsoft.com/enable/>http://www.microsoft.com/enable/

For more information about Code Factory’s 
accessible solutions, visit 
<http://www.codefactory.es>http://www.codefactory.es 
or submit a ticket through Code Factory’s Help 
Desk at 
<http://www.codefactory.cat/helpdesk/>http://www.codefactory.cat/helpdesk/



About Code Factory

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Terrassa 
(Barcelona), Spain, Code Factory is the global 
leader committed to the development of products 
designed to eliminate barriers to the 
accessibility of mobile technology for the blind 
and visually impaired. Today, Code Factory is the 
leading provider of screen readers, screen 
magnifiers, and Braille interfaces for the widest 
range of mainstream mobile devices. Among Code 
Factory's customers are well known organizations 
for the blind such as ONCE, and carriers such as 
AT&T, Bouygues Telecom, SFR, TIM and Vodafone.

For more information, feel free to contact Code Factory S.L.:


Code Factory, S.L., Rambla d'Egara 148 2-2, 08221 Terrassa (Barcelona)
<http://www.codefactory.cat/helpdesk/>HelpDesk, www.codefactory.es
Code Factory, S.L. - 2010