[CEUD-ICT] Apple using a screen reader as a marketing feature

[Alan M. Dalton]

Hi,

I was impressed to see Apple using their "VoiceOver" screen reader software
as a marketing feature for their new iPod shuffle MP3 player [1]. The iPod
shuffle doesn't have a screen, so it can't give visual information, so
Apple have included their screen reader to announce the names of songs and
play-lists, and whether your battery is about to die.

It's nice to see assistive technology being pushed as a high profile
marketing feature. Apple's main webpage about the iPod shuffle features the
screen reader as prominently as other features such as the size and the
available colours [2].

Speaking as someone who teaches about accessibility in IT, it's nice to
have another example of assistive technology and why people use it.

Without wanting to sound like an Apple fan-boy, there's an interesting
video of an iPhone and VoiceOver being used on their website too [3].
Unfortunately, the video doesn't have captions.

[1] http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/voiceover.html
[2] http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/
[3] http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/accessibility.html#video

Regards,
Alan.
_
Alan Dalton
Accessibility Development Advisor for EtA http://www.nda.ie/eta
Access Officer for NDA http://www.nda.ie

Address: National Disability Authority, 25 Clyde Road, Dublin 4.

"Safe Evacuation For All", 23 September: http://tinyurl.com/SafeEvac2009
EtA recipients from 2008: http://tinyurl.com/EtA2008
_


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