From the Associated Press/MSNBC:

Amazon.com Inc. has announced that it will add two features to the Kindle that are intended to make the e-book reader more accessible to users who are blind or have limited vision.

The company has come under fire from disability advocacy groups for allowing publishers to opt out of a read-aloud feature on the device that converts text to robotic speech. They say the decision will unfairly limit access for the estimated 15 million Americans who have difficulty reading printed material, including people with limited vision; dyslexia; learning or processing issues; seniors; people with spinal cord injuries, and people who have had strokes.

Amazon said it is developing audible menus and an extra-large font for people with limited vision.

Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y., and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have said they will not adopt the device until it is accessible to all students. The National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind have launched legal challenges to the use of Kindle for distribution of textbooks.

Earlier posts here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 1:02 pm and is filed under blindness/visual impairments, dyslexia, elderly, learning disabilities, technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.