The era of affordable, accessible technology

Transcript

16 March 2013

Roberta: Many listeners will be familiar with hearing that accessible products are priced at a premium. Not that long ago, the only smartphone with accessible technology on the market cost hundreds of dollars. Now, accessible technology is becoming widely available and more affordable. Eliza Cussen from Media Access Australia is here to share some good news. Welcome, Eliza.

Eliza: Hi, Roberta.

Roberta: What new gadgets have you got to tell us about this week?

Eliza: Well, we’ve just had the Mobile World Congress happen in Brazil, which was a massive affair, which showcased all kinds of new mobile phones and tablets. The most exciting development for us comes from Mozilla, which is the not-for-profit technology company. They’re the people behind the Firefox web browser a lot of people use. They have actually launched their own operating system called Firefox OS. So that in itself makes them a competitor to Apple IOS and Google Android, which is very exciting because we really want to see more diversity and more kind of challenge to the big companies in this space. There are already a few phones on the market overseas that run on Firefox OS. They are kind of just at the beginning of launching new phones and the most exciting thing for us is the one that Mozilla is making themselves. It’s a very basic smartphone with all the usual features, such as email and text messaging and web browsing, but the amazing thing is that it will only cost US$25.

Roberta: My goodness.

Eliza: I know. Considering I just bought a new iPhone for about $500 this is an amazing development that should really shake things up.

Roberta: What accessibility features does this new set of phones have?

Eliza: Well, so far there’s a screen reader, voice control and a fully accessible settings menu, which is impressive. What it’s lacking, though, is the screen magnifier, so that’s one of the things that we’re hoping that Mozilla will develop before the system really gets going into the Australian market.

Roberta: I suppose that will come back with the feedback that they need to do that.

Eliza: Yes, exactly. I think the users will be a major part of improving the accessibility. There is a team of people hard at work to make this system fully accessible. What makes Mozilla different is that it’s open source. That means rather than having a regular company such as Apple having their team of developers working kind of in a closed space, working slowly to develop a product, there is a community of people all working together, all across the world, to improve the product very, very quickly. So that means that Firefox OS, even if it isn’t completely crash hot on accessibility right now, it’s going to be on par with IOS and Android very quickly.

Roberta: That’s what I was just going to ask. Are they going to be as good as iPhones or Androids?

Eliza: Well, we’re optimistic. We know a few of the people involved in the development of the use of this technology and I think it’s going to be a matter of trial and error. I think they are going to make the system and the phones available to the public, get feedback and then that team of people, the community of very dedicated accessibility developers, is going to take that feedback back to the team and fix it.

Roberta: Yes, well, that’s the way to go, isn’t it?

Eliza: Yeah, it’s going to be a gradual process but within a few years I predict that it will be a major competitor.

Roberta: So when do you think that we will be able to get them in Australia, Eliza?

Eliza: Well, I can’t give you a specific date, I’m afraid. There are a couple of models released by companies such as LG overseas. They’re also relatively low-cost but the US$25 model is currently just a prototype and it’s been designed specifically for the people in developing countries who obviously cost is a higher barrier for. If our listeners are getting super excited I would actually hold off from seeking out a Firefox OS phone from overseas, if you’re thinking of buying one online. I would wait at least a few months, maybe a year, so that the accessibility features have more time to become, I guess, robust.

Roberta: That’s something to look forward to, isn’t it?

Eliza: Yes, I mean, the good news is that this phone and others with Firefox OS, they’re likely to bring down the cost of accessibility generally. If you’ve got something that isn’t quite as good but comparable to an iPhone, I think apple is going to have a harder time releasing phones for $700 like they have lately. It’s quite disruptive, I think.

Roberta: For more information on accessible devices and much, much more, visit Media Access Australia’s website, which is www.mediaaccess.org.au, or you can call Eliza and the team on 02 92126242. Thank you for all of that, Eliza.

Eliza: Thanks, Roberta.

Roberta: I’ve been speaking with Eliza Cussen from Media Access Australia and Media Access Australia are supporters of this program.

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