[bksvol-discuss] Fw: [MSS] Bookshare and Code Factory announce partnership
- From: "Chela Robles" <cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:51:28 -0700
This is stupendous for those like me who own a smartphone or simian phone,
check it out!
Chela
----- Original Message -----
From: Caroline Ragot
To: Mobile Speak/Magnifier Smartphone Users List ; Mobile Speak Pocket Mailing
List ; Mobile Speak Smartphone Mailing List
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 12:52 PM
Subject: [MSS] Bookshare and Code Factory announce partnership
Individuals with Print Disabilities Gain New Opportunities to Read Bookshare
Digital Books Using Mobile Speak Phone Technologies
Bookshare and Code Factory Announce Partnership
Contact:
Ann Harrison, 415-637-5262, ann.h@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Valerie C. Chernek, 410-871-2670, valerie.c@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
July 7, 2009, Palo Alto, CA – Individuals with print disabilities can now
choose new, low-cost mobile technologies to read more than 50,000 digital books
and periodicals thanks to a partnership between Bookshare, the world’s largest
online library of accessible books for people with print disabilities, and Code
Factory, Barcelona Spain; a leading global provider of screen readers, screen
magnifiers, and Braille interfaces for a wide range of mainstream mobile
devices.
The Mobile Speak screen readers for mobile phones developed by Code Factory use
synthesized speech to read aloud information displayed on the mobile phone
screens including ebooks stored on their phones. Using this technology,
Bookshare members who are blind or have visual impairments will have new
alternatives and features like navigation, bookmarking and text search, to
access digital books for work, study or reading pleasure.
“For years, individuals with print disabilities have needed the ability to read
books on a readily-available, low-cost, portable device such as the mobile
phone,” said Jim Fruchterman, CEO of Benetech, the nonprofit organization which
operates Bookshare. “We envision students with visual impairments or learning
disabilities on the bus reading textbooks and other assignments with their
phones; in rural areas or homes without computers, individuals can download
digital books at school or a community center with computer access and read the
content anywhere using their mobile phone. Mobile phone technologies will bring
Bookshare books to people and students who previously lacked a portable
technology solution to read digital books, magazines and newspapers on the go.”
To read Bookshare books, users of Mobile Speak can download books and
periodicals from the Bookshare website (http://www.bookshare.org) to their PC
and transfer them to their mobile phones or PDAs. Code Factory provides
accessible solutions for Symbian phones as well as Windows Mobile Smartphones
and Pocket PCs.
If users have a Symbian phone (e.g. Nokia phone) they can install the Mobile
DAISY Player application in addition to the Mobile Speak screen reader
application. Mobile DAISY Player is a book reader which will allow users with
sight and visual impairments to read Bookshare files in DAISY (Digital
Accessible Information System) format. Mobile DAISY Player is the first and
only mobile phone DAISY application to support both DAISY 2.02 and DAISY 3.0
(NISO) book formats. Users can adjust the speed of reading without changing
the pitch, set bookmarks to favorite places in the contents screen, navigate by
character, word, sentence or paragraph, and configure font sizes and screen
colors.
Individuals with a Windows Mobile device can also read Bookshare books in BRF
(Braille Ready Format) through the built-in Braille reader implemented in
Mobile Speak Smartphone and Mobile Speak Pocket. The Braille reader
application will read Bookshare BRF files in English through users’ active
speech synthesizer whether or not a Braille display is connected. Users having
a refreshable Braille display can read Bookshare books in Braille which is
particularly useful for deaf-blind users.
Bookshare member Larry L. Lewis, Jr., President and Founder of Flying Blind,
LLC, uses the Mobile Speak application to read Bookshare books on the go. “My
Mobile Speak-equipped Smartphone is convenient and allows me to accomplish more
tasks while carrying fewer devices,” said Lewis. “Code Factory's BRF reader
allows me the flexibility to read Bookshare books with a wireless Braille
display or to simply listen to the text while it is read by Mobile Speak.”
“Bookshare and Code Factory share a vision to provide individuals with
disabilities around the globe with greater access to a vast collection of
digital books and information,” said Eduard Sanchez, CEO of Code Factory. “We
value this introduction from Bookshare, a social enterprise, to identify the
latest mobile technologies as a solution that will raise the level of access
for these individuals.”
Product Information Links:
Bookshare Membership – Code Factory Promotion Code
Bookshare offers memberships to individuals in the U.S. and around the world
for a nominal fee. The library has tens of thousands of books including
fiction, non-fiction, textbooks, educational reading, newspapers and magazines,
plus two free software applications that read digital content. To learn more
visit http://www.bookshare.org/signUpType.
Applicants, other than U.S. students who qualify for free memberships, will
receive a $25 waiver on a set up fee. To receive this waiver, you must: 1)
enter promo code: Codefactory in your registration form and 2) send an email to
membership@xxxxxxxxxxxxx to request the waiver
(http://www.bookshare.org/signUpType?promoCode=Codefactory)
Mobile Speak Pricing and Distribution Information
Code Factory’s accessible solutions are available in the U.S. through several
distributors, including AT&T. Prices for Mobile Speak or Mobile Speak
Smartphones start at $89 from AT&T. For more information about the AT&T and
Code Factory partnership visit
http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/disability-resources/mobile-speak-magnifier.jsp.
To find the closest distributor visit
http://codefactory.es/en/purchase.asp?id=54.
To download Mobile Speak screen readers, visit
http://www.codefactory.es/en/downloads.asp?id=44.
To learn how to get a trial, visit
http://www.codefactory.es/en/purchase.asp?id=285.
Mobile DAISY Player Information
To download Mobile DAISY Player for a free trial for 30 days, visit
http://codefactory.es/en/downloads.asp?id=43#version_2_57.
To buy Mobile DAISY Player, contact the following distributors or look for
other Code Factory distributors at http://codefactory.es/en/purchase.asp?id=54:
a.. Adaptive Technology Resources at http://www.adaptivetr.com or call
262.375.2020
b.. Handy Tech North America at http://www.handytech.us or call 651.636.5184
c.. Vision Cue at http://visioncue.com/contact.php or call 888.318.2582
About Bookshare
Bookshare, www.bookshare.org, is the world’s largest accessible online library
for people with print disabilities. Through its technology initiatives and
partnerships, Bookshare seeks to raise the floor on accessibility issues so
that individuals with print disabilities have the same ease of access to print
materials as people without disabilities. In 2007, Bookshare received a $32
million five-year award from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of
Special Education Programs (OSEP), to provide free access for all U.S. students
with a qualified print disability. The Bookshare library now has more than
56,000 members. Bookshare is an initiative of Benetech, www.benetech.org, a
Palo Alto, CA-based nonprofit that creates sustainable technology to solve
pressing social needs.
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 including Symbian-based and Windows Mobile-powered
Smartphones, as well as Pocket PC phones and PDAs. 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. Code Factory has also
built strong partnerships with mainstream companies like Nokia, Microsoft, and
HP as well as leading AT companies like Baum, HumanWare, Optelec and Sendero.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Code Factory: Moving accessibility forward! (www.codefactory.es)
To view list archives, go to
http://list.codefactory.cat/mailman/private/codefactory.cat.mss_mailing
To post: Send message to mss_mailing@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TO unsubscribe: Send blank email to mss_mailing-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To change subscription options and list password: GO to
http://list.codefactory.cat/mailman/listinfo/codefactory.cat.mss_mailing
Other related posts:
