MOBILE ACCESS SOLUTIONS –
POCKET HAL FOR PDAs
Presenter(s)
Steve Bennett
Dolphin Computer Access
Technology House
Worcester WR3 STJ United Kingdom
Day Phone: +44 (0) 1905 754577
Fax: 4 44 (0) 1905 754559
Email: steve.bennett@dolphinuk.co.uk
This
session is designed for access technology consultants, access hardware
manufacturers and anyone researching solutions to Section SOS and
Many
portable handheld devices use the Windows Mobile or Windows CE operating
system, including PDAs and portable Braille devices. PDAs are fast becoming the
preferred mobile information system in the mainstream market, however, until
now very few screen readers have been developed and marketed to work with an
off the shelf PDA, so blind and visually impaired computer users have been
excluded from this technology.
Pocket
Hal is a full screen reader, complete with Braille support for the PDAs. This
allows blind and low—vision users to access the same mainstream technology as
that enjoyed by fully sighted users. Pocket Hal users can now access a word
processor or spreadsheet, send and receive email or check their schedules on a
calendar whilst away from the home or office and on the move. Pocket Hal gives
access to Pocket Word®, Pocket Excel®, Pocket Outlook® and Pocket Internet
Explorer®, as well as many other applications including MSN and phone services.
In
this practical session, we will look at:
 Using Pocket Hal on a handheld PDA, using a blue tooth keyboard
input device &4t6l607; Using Pocket Hal through an OEM portable Braille note-taker
We will demonstrate the ease of use and ease of access to many applications
such as:
&*61607; Calendar within Outlook
&*61607; Contacts
&*61607; To—Do lists
&*61607; Reading, reviewing and editing documents in Word
At
time of writing still further development is expected prior to CSUN 2006
therefore other areas may be included at the session.
About
the company
Dolphin has a simple goal: to create software products that allow people with a
vision impairment to use mainstream information technology. With proven
expertise in screen reading with speech and Braille, screen magnification and
products in many languages, Dolphin is constantly developing new technologies.
Founded in 1986 in the
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