Dear AccessWorld readers,
Occasionally, we need to take a step back and look at the big picture, so to speak. This is true in our personal lives, professional lives, and even in our relationships with technology. Everyone who experiences vision loss and uses technology certainly has a "love-hate" relationship with it at times. Both mainstream and access technology have changed radically over the past 10 years. Even the past two or three years have brought about substantial changes and improved access for people with vision loss. This rate of change was brought into sharp focus for me as I looked back at past issues of AccessWorld. In the June 2011 Editor's Page devoted to cell phone accessibility, I wrote:
We all know the cell phone commercial where the guy with the glasses asks, "Can you hear me now?" With the constantly shifting sands of the cell phone industry, including the introduction of new technologies, mergers of cell service carriers, changing rate plans, and the appearance and disappearance of specific cell phone models, a better question for those of us in the vision loss community may be, "Is it accessible now?"
If you're looking for a cell phone that is completely accessible "out of the box," good luck. At this moment, AccessWorld is aware of two—that's right, two—cell phones that provide built-in speech output support for all the phones' features. Those two phones are the Haven, a clamshell-style feature phone offered by Verizon Wireless, and the iPhone, offered by Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
In the rest of the cell phone market, many models do not offer the ability to adjust display font size or to use speech output at all. Others offer adjustable display fonts and partial speech output. However you look at it, real built-in cell phone accessibility is hard to come by.
It's very disappointing and frustrating to me that at this point in time there is such a lack of built-in speech output functionality for mobile devices. By law, telecommunication devices must be accessible to people with disabilities, but in practice most simply are not. When cell phone manufacturers don't include accessibility features in the designs of their products, they are overlooking millions of potential customers. Likewise, when cell service providers sell inaccessible cell phones, they perpetuate this disservice.
The Haven cell phone is a very basic feature phone and, comparatively speaking, very inexpensive. It's unfathomable to me why the same type of technology used in the Haven is not employed in all feature phones, regardless of manufacturer or service provider. In the same vein, when the iPhone with its many, many features is fully accessible via built-in speech output, I'm unable to justify the inaccessibility of the many other smartphones on the market. When taking into account the complexity of technology that enables feature phones and smartphones to perform all the tasks they currently do—placing calls, text messaging, emailing, web surfing, and receiving Twitter and Facebook updates in real time—is it really that complex or expensive to provide speech output for these features?
Come on…Really?
That excerpt from June 2011, reads like a lifetime ago, but it wasn't really. Six years ago, AccessWorld could only name two accessible cell phones, and now there are numerous choices for those looking for speech output. I don't know of any cell phone models that do not offer adjustable font size and display options to assist people with low vision, nor do I know of any models without volume enhancements. In 2011, tablets barely existed. So, true mobile productivity was almost non-existent if you were blind or visually impaired. Today, whether you choose Apple or Android, there is no question that you can accessibly make and receive calls, use text messaging, send and receive emails, surf the Web, check your stocks, check the weather, download and listen to music, read a book, and take a picture and share it with friends. You can make purchases from your phone, check your newsfeed and post to Facebook, tweet, and catch up on the latest political goings on around the world as they happen with your news organization of choice, just to name a few. So, just think "big picture" for a moment and how improvements in technology have literally changed our lives for the better.
As technology changes and evolves, so do the devices we use to access it. Feature phones, for example, with clamshell design and tactile buttons are all but gone from store shelves, and it won't be long until they are but memories. Touchscreen phones and devices with elevated capabilities and means of access are here now, and they are the way of the future.
I know some people, visually impaired and fully-sighted alike, who hold tightly to older technologies and form factors, and I write this message as a form of encouragement to them to embrace the future of technology and all the possibilities it has in store. Moving away from older, more familiar form factors can be challenging and yes, there is a learning curve, and yes, sometimes the learning curve is quite steep. And, yes, you can master it, and by doing so, become more efficient, gain more independence, and reap countless personal, social, and professional benefits.
When you start on your transition to updated technologies, plan smart. Make sure you have data backed up securely. You may need to investigate and invest in some formal training; you may need to find sighted assistance; and you may need to blow off steam when things get frustrating, but the frustration will pass as you gain proficiency. My best advice is to never stop looking for the next best thing, and never allow yourself to get too far behind the ball. Technology builds upon itself, so don't allow yourself to get three or four versions behind, or to keep relying solely on devices or technologies that are no longer supported. This will only increase your learning curve and frustration. When you wait too long to upgrade your technolgoy, you are, in fact, placing limits upon yourself. Stay current!
There will be pitfalls, of course, and unfortunately everything will not always be accessible. However, more is at the fingertips of people who are blind or visually impaired than ever before, and more access is on the way.
Efforts by consumer and grassroots groups, advocacy, and legislative action have all come into play to bring about all the access we have today, and these efforts are on-going. The American Foundation for the Blind and AccessWorld do our best to help keep you informed and up to date on information and technologies that can have a positive impact on your life. However, it remains your responsibility to seek out the information and to keep learning about technologies, devices, apps, or techniques that will work for you in your circumstances.
I challenge all AccessWorld readers to seek out, embrace, and use the best in newer technology to the best of your ability, and to join the American Foundation for the Blind in our vision of a future with no limits!
At AccessWorld, we know that a world without limits starts with education. We also know that pursuing a good education can be particularly challenging for people with vision loss. In the upcoming July issue, the AccessWorld team will again turn our focus to providing valuable information and resources for students, parents, teachers, and professionals in the vision loss field to help make educational pursuits less stressful and more enjoyable. Be sure to check back in July for our Back to School issue.
With best regards,
Lee Huffman
AccessWorld Editor-in-Chief
American Foundation for the Blind
