News

An accessible Android email reader, an Android-based barcode reader, an Android magnification app, and a fully accessible Web access plug-in for Android mobile devices have been developed and released as free, open source products by IDEAL Group Apps4Android, Inc., as part of Raising the Floor, an international coalition led by the Trace Center.

• The IDEAL K9 E-Mail reader^® is an open source Android-based email client that is accessible using Google’s Talkback and other Android screen readers.
• The IDEAL Item Identifier^® is an open source Android-based barcode reader that enables smartphone users to take a picture of standard UPC and QR codes and then hear a description of the item read out loud using Google’s TTS voices.
• The IDEAL Video Magnifier^® is an Android smartphone-based handheld magnification app designed for individuals with low vision who need support reading documents.
• The Web Access Plug-in adds speech capabilities to WebView by adding a local JavaScript server. This makes all of the browsers and other applications that use WebView to render HTML compatible with TalkBack (a screen reader built into Android).

“One of the goals of Raising the Floor is to fill gaps and ensure that people facing disability, literacy, and aging-related barriers have access to all technologies, including newer mobile technologies, along with everyone else,” explained Trace Center Director Gregg Vanderheiden, naming the new open-source applications as great advances toward these goals for Android.