Crip Talk: As Crips Slide By

In some ways, the hype about amazon.com’s Kindle reading device appears to carry the same "revolutionary" tone as did the much-anticipated Apple iPhone.  having received glowing reviews from Newsweek in its seven-page feature, the Kindle has gone through multiple reviewers with a very small skeptical tone to all reviews.  With a price point of $399.00, the device certainly remains one of the most expensive products on the market for the upcoming holiday shopping season.

But, more important than its price, the Kindle leaves a significant population out when it comes to access to its features–the millions of people with disabilities who might actually be inclined to use digital text as a method of accessing printed material.  In fact, as a matter of benefit, people with disabilities are the largest group of individuals who can gain by having access to a device such as the Kindle.  Specifically, the group of individuals with a large interest in purchasing a device such as this one includes those who are typically categorized as having some form of "print" disability–e.g., blindness or partial sight, those with some form of reading disability that prevents her from reading the typical printed page, etc.  The first iteration of this device leaves much to be desired when it comes to access.

No thought appears to have been given to making the interface of the Kindle accessible.  How, for example, does a blind person read books available through this device?  Is there any Text-to-speech capability built-in that would allow e-books, magazines, newspapers, and rss feeds to be read out loud?  Evidently not!  The simple capability of enlarging the text–only included due to the small size of the screen on this device and not by considering the needs of partially sighted potential consumers–is lacking, judging from all evidence. 

Here are some additional points to consider:

• For a device designed for the consumer market, the shape and the feel does not make it conducive for use by someone who may have fine motor dexterity difficulties.
• The buttons appear to be a bit difficult to control and are misplaced.
• the e-ink technology may not provide the best results for background color changes, font variations, flickerless experience, or a good visual contrast.
• Other than page turns, no other methods of navigation appear to be implemented in the Kindle.  In other words, the Kindle appears to lack any type of content awareness with the sole exception of page boundaries.  This is especially poignant for e-books.

The inclusion of audio capabilities make the possibility of having some type of auditory interface entire possible for the future.  As the audio player included in the device appears to support MP3 playback capability, the plans for this device are quite ambitious.  However that evidence is no conclusion that Amazon is committed to making this device any more accessible than it currently is.  The Ipod line of devices have sported audio capabilities since the beginning.  After years of successful marketing campaigns by Apple, native accessibility to Ipods remains as elusive and as  unlikely as a group of talking ducks.

I can imagine several vivid scenarios for the Kindle.  First, it succeeds beyond our wildest imaginations and begins to start the process of becoming a large reason for the death of the printed book.  That, in turn, leaves millions of people with disabilities to fend for themselves to gain access to the plethora of e-books and other e-content supported by this device.  The second scenario would be to allow users to be more accustomed to e-book content and more competitive devices come on the market–all, of course, with no accessibility features, relegating accessibility to handful of small companies with highly expensive products.  This process might then lead to a wider digital divide among the global population of disabled people.  The third possibility is that the Kindle is a failure.  The e-book format, at least for now, is a failure.  In any event, people with disabilities continue to suffer due to copyright restrictions and a general lack of access to printed material.

I would hope that my cynicism is proven completely unjustified and that the almost dire scenarios are somewhat mitigated by some global conversations occurring in the publishing arena.  The wider acceptance of XML as a base for future e-text distribution leaves some possibilities open.  Yet, Amazon will play an important role in the next few years .  Its success with the Kindle will shape a large part of the market for e-books.  I certainly hope that it can use its influence to push for some accessibility features in its own devices or others as they become available.