Mobile Accessibility, developed by CodeFactory, consists of a suite of 10 accessible applications for everyday online activities such as email, phone calls and contact lists, SMS, calendar and web. It also has a screen reader that works with these applications, as well as outside the suite to navigate the standard interface.
An apple iPad can be used as an eReader through the use of an app called iBooks, which is free in the apple store. iBooks can read aloud eBooks downloaded or purchased through the book store. It can also open ePub and PDF documents available on the device.
The accessibility features for iBooks are:
The latest survey, with 1245 valid responses, was a follow-up to the original WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey of January 2009 and the follow-up survey from October 2009.
The survey showed that the usage of free and low-cost screen readers such as NVDA and VoiceOver has increased significantly since the last survey.
The program, which airs on TVNZ, was selected to be the first to be audio described by the Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand.
It is planned that the audio description of Coronation Street will continue until the end of the year. The success of the service will then be evaluated, and it is expected that more programs will follow. The service can be received on Freeview HD and Freeview Satellite TV receivers, and has been funded by a grant of NZ$500 from NZ on Air.
