Access For All

Four U.S. universities have agreed not to promote the use of Amazon’s Kindle DX electronic reader in the classroom until the device can be used by students who are blind or have poor vision. Any e-reader adopted by the universities must allow all students to access and acquire the same materials and information, to engage in the same interactions, and to enjoy the same services.
The Kindle DX, which has nearly a 10-inch digital paper display, is designed for viewing professional documents, textbooks, and other content where a large screen is desirable. Amazon also sells the Kindle, which has a six-inch screen that’s best-suited for reading e-books.
The Kindle DX has a text-to-speech feature to make content accessible to the visually impaired. However, the device does not include a similar function for the menu and navigational controls, making it impossible for blind students to find content or access the device’s other functions.
On a sidenote, Forrester Research estimates 3 million e-book readers by various manufacturers were sold in 2009 in the United States and expects sales this year to reach 10 million units.
Source: InformationWeek