The largest carrier in the US (that's AT&T now, not Verizon, remember?) is offering a pair of applications from developer Code Factory to help out folks with limited vision in the use of their handsets. Of course, dialing numbers is one thing, and that all can probably be accomplished without the assistance of accessibility software in most cases -- but Code Factory aims to bring full smartphone functionality to the table with its Mobile Speak and Mobile Magnifier packages. The functions of both can pretty much deduced by their names, but the real story here might be the fact that they're being made available through AT&T for both Windows Mobile and S60-based devices; specifically, AT&T's Nokia N75 and E62, Cingular 3125, Samsung BlackJack, and Pantech Duo are currently supported. We're a little shocked at the pricing -- a stiff $89 per app -- but at least they're good enough to offer a 30 day trial.

Apart from Steve's not-so-subtle hatred of buttons, Apple has traditionally been a fairly accessibility-aware company, and its latest patent application, for the "Multimedia data transfer for a personal communication device," outlines a method by which the visually-impaired can use services like SMS. The system eliminates the need for backend servers and data transfers by having the transmitting device first read the text and then send it over a voice channel to the receiver. The application also details an extension of the system where received voice transmissions are forwarded to a mail server and stored for later retrieval -- kind of like reverse voicemail. As always, Apple's pretty vague about how we might see this patent applied, but that doesn't make trying to read the patent tea leaves any less entertaining.

[Thanks, Brian]

[Via MacNN]

Typically, when we think of cellphones improving one's quality of life, we're speaking in terms of broadband data, big honkin' autofocus cams, and gobs of flash memory. Researchers in IBM's British facilities are looking at it a little differently, though, looking into how mobile devices might be used to help alert the deaf to PA announcements near their location -- something hearing folk take for granted in airport terminals, train stations, and sports venues, just to name a small few. Their LAMA system (Location Aware Messaging for Accessability) was originally designed with the hard of hearing in mind, but they're pointing out that it could come in handy for pretty much anyone: voice-based services to read signage to the blind, directions to various nearby places for the navigationally challenged, and so on. Better yet, the system may not be that far off, with European trials in train stations possibly coming before the year's out. No word on whether new handsets are required to take advantage of the system, but then again, we're always looking for an excuse to upgrade.

[Via textually.org]