Future Narrator-like functionality in Android?

[blindfold]

Hi Charles and all,

Most blind people that I know are basically waiting for a generic
screen reader for Android, and are only moderately interested in self-
voicing Android apps even when these apps individually approach full
accessibility once running (like my app in combination with your TTS
does in speaking focus and selection changes in menu, dialogs, etc).
Within a given app one can use your TTS to approach a level of
accessibility similar to that of a basic screen reader, but there is
no way that one can access apps that are not prepared for TTS use. For
that, there need to be lower level hooks in the Android native code to
optionally catch focus and selection change events and use these to
speak any View item labels. Android application developers cannot
reach down to that (OS) level. Do you and T.V. Raman have plans to add
those lower level hooks to Android? I imagine that Android could then
offer some equivalent of Narrator in Microsoft Windows for basic
accessibility, while leaving room for commercial screen readers that
offer more and more refined functionality for those who can afford it.
Right now, prospective blind users have no means to even find the
accessible Android apps that they want to use, unless some sighted
person first installs those apps and creates keyboard shortcuts for
them, whereas with Nuance Talks and Mobile Speak on other phone
platforms (notably Nokia Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile), blind
users can be fully independent in using most of a phone's
functionality.

I think that selling Android phones to federal agencies in the US is
currently also restricted by not yet fulfilling the Section 508
requirements (http://www.section508.gov) for ensuring that electronic
and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities.

Regards

Peter


The vOICe for Android
http://www.seeingwithsound.com/android.htm