A New Cellphone Nods to the Needs of the Disabled
Usability in a cell phone? What a concept.
A complaint filed at the FCC against Verizon Wireless and cellphone maker Audiovox has lead to the Toshiba VM4050 which can talk to users. In a recorded voice, the phone tells a user, for example, that the battery is low or the phone is in roaming mode. “This is certainly a significant step
forward,” said Darren Burton, a technology associate for the American Foundation for the Blind who is testing the phone. He said he most appreciated the voiced reports on battery level, signal status, roaming, new voice-mail messages and missed calls. But he said it still had “a way to go” in making other features equally accessible, like the phone’s menus, e-mail in-box, text messaging and Internet browser. Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires telephone makers and service providers to make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities. “We were hoping that Section 255 would be the impetus” for improvements to cellphones, Dr. Bonnie O’Day said. “Unfortunately, we had little compliance up until last year.”