Apps

April 16, 2013 — The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) announced that AT&T, Best Buy, Panasonic, Regal Entertainment Group and Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) are the 2013 Access Award winners. This award is given annually to those individuals, corporations and organizations that AFB recognizes as substantially improving the accessibility experiences of individuals with vision loss. Carl R.

March 27, 2013 — On April 16, 2013, Sprint will be honored as the Marketplace winner at the Seventh Annual U.S. Disability Matters Awards Banquet and Conference for innovative accessibility solutions. Sprint will receive the award for the Sprint Relay ID pack and four accessibility-themed Sprint ID packs. The packs were funded and developed through Apps4Android and the Apps Factory project of the Wireless RERC.

AccessNote is an iOS app that enables users who are blind or visually impaired to take notes, create documents, and access applications.  In addition to being a low-cost alternative to traditional notetakers costing $2000 or more, AccessNote allows users to combine efficient notetaking with many other features and functions of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Download AccessNote from the App Store.

BrailleTouch is a smartphone app that allows blind and visually impaired people to type on a touchscreen. It is based on the familiar six-key braille keyboard found on the Perkins Brailler and many electronic Braille notetakers. Both the free trial version and full version are available for download.  BrailleTouch was made possible, in part, by the Wireless RERC’s App Factory and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). Download BrailleTouch

"IDEAL Group Reader" is a fully-accessible eBook reader app that can read text aloud, just like an audio book.  It was developed by Apps4Android with support from Wireless RERC's App Factory.  The Beta version of this ePub3 reader has been tested by thousands of users in 116 countries.

Apps4Android's CEO Steve Jacobs showcased the IDEAL Group Reader (IGR) at the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) International CES 2013 in Las Vegas on January 8-12.