Motorola to Release Blind-user-friendly Cell Phones in 2010

To improve the accessibility of cell phones to people who are visually impaired, handset maker Motorola and the National Federation of the Blind, the largest organization of blind people in the U.S., have recently decided to team up to introduce handsets that are equipped with features tailor-made for blind users.

Following their cooperation agreement, some of the future Motorola cell phones will provide verbal readouts of information on the screen to blind users, giving them better accessibility to mobile technology. The information for readout includes date and time, battery level, signal strength, user’s phone number, voice mail alert, incoming caller ID information, as well as missed and received call records. On top of that, there will also be a voice-command function for ring tone status, inputting and accessing contacts, and some other settings. The first Motorola phone boasting these features is expected to come to the market next year.

The aim of their cooperation is to promote technologies that improve the accessibility of cell phone to consumers. Other than the aforementioned, they have agreed to work together to develop additional handsets and features for the consumers suffering from vision loss.

Dr Marc Maurer, President of the Federation, said they appreciate Motorola's commitment to introduce the features of its cell phone products accessible to blind users without the need for third-party software, and they look forward to working together with the manufacturer to make improvements to this.

In fact, apart from Motorola, iPhone maker Apple has also taken part in equipping its device with voice readout functions. The iPhone 3G S, launched in June, includes a screen reader called VoiceOver that speaks what appears on the display, enabling visually impaired people to make calls, read emails, browse web pages, play music and run applications.

Hopefully, the new features will allow blind people to enjoy easier mobile usage, while other handset giants, such as Nokia, Samsung and LG, will also make effort to develop devices that are more accessible to people with visual disability.

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