The Kindle Fire Is Not Accessible

Earlier this week Amazon released the Kindle Fire, a 7 inch touch screen tablet at a cost of $199. The Kindle Fire has a great web browser called silk that claims to load web pages faster then other tablets. The Kindle Fire runs a variant of the Android operating system with a custom user interface. With a great price and fast web browser is the Kindle Fire accessible to people with disabilities.

Unfortunately, the Kindle Fire does not have accessibility features. Unlike the iPad the Kindle Fire does not have text-to-speech, braille display support or mono audio. Not to mention a number of new accessibility features in iOS 5. To learn more about iOS 5 click here. The Kindle Fire may be a great tablet for the main stream market but unfortunately is not accessible for disabled users. Below is the National Federation for the Blinds (NFB.org) condemnation of the Kindle.

"Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “Blind Americans have repeatedly asked Amazon to include accessibility for the blind in its Kindle product line.  The feasibility of including accessibility in similar products has been demonstrated.  The Department of Education and the Department of Justice have made it clear that Kindle devices cannot be purchased by educational institutions, libraries, and other entities covered by this country’s disability laws unless the devices are fully accessible.  Despite all this, Amazon has released a brand new Kindle device, the Kindle Fire, which cannot be used by people who are blind.  Enough!  We condemn this latest action by Amazon and reiterate that we will not tolerate technological discrimination.  The National Federation of the Blind seeks nothing less than equal access to all technology for blind people.  It is one of the most critical civil rights issues facing blind Americans in the twenty-first century, and we will do everything in our power to see that this right is secured.”

To read more about accessible e-readers click here. Click read more below to watch a video about the Kindle Fire.

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Daisy to ePub

Don Johnston, maker of Read:OutLoud and other software, has made Daisy to ePub converter software. The Daisy to ePub software works with Macs and PCs. The software converts accessible books such as NIMAS, DASIY and Bookshare to ePub format which can be read on popular eReaders. The software is very simple and converts books at the touch of a button. The Kindle is not compatible with ePub created with Daisy to ePub. It even coverts images within accessible books to ePub images. Daisy to ePub  works with iOS devices, Nooks and Sony Reader. If you are interested in reading your Daisy, NIMAS or Bookshare books with your eReader; Daisy to ePub is a great tool. Once you have your book on your eReader you can use its built in accessibility features to read the book aloud. (Such as VoiceOver on iOS devices) Daisy to ePub costs $99 for use on one computer.

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E-Reader show down (Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad)

E-readers have become very popular for main stream consumers but do they help people with print disabilities? People with print disabilities can benefit from electronic text but only if it is in the right format. The Nook does not have text-to-speech. This means that Nook is no better than a paper back for people with print disabilities. The Kindle does offer a text-to-speech option but many publishers choose to disable this function. In contrast the iPad has a built in feature called VoiceOver which reads any text on screen aloud, including text in the iBooks app. Unfortunately the voice is not great quality but you are able to change the specking rate.

For people with print disabilities the iPad is the e-reader to get. The Nook and Kindle are cheaper, lighter and have screens that are readable outside they lack a text-to-speech feature.

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