New HumanWare iPhone app will get deaf-blind and sighted people talking

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July 12, 2012
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New HumanWare iPhone app will get deaf-blind and sighted people talking

MONTREAL, July 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - HumanWare, in partnership with
Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille (INLB), has unveiled the HumanWare Communicator, the first multilingual face-to-face conversation app for deaf-blind
people. This unique app will help deaf-blind individuals communicate on
an everyday basis by connecting a HumanWare Braille device (BrailleNote
Apex or Brailliant) with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Now a deaf-blind person can use Bluetooth connectivity to pair their
HumanWare Braille device to an iPhone, iPod, or iPad. In the absence of
an interpreter, the HumanWare Communicator app then facilitates a
conversation. The deaf-blind person converses through the Braille
device and hands his or her tethered Apple device to the sighted person
who uses the touch screen keyboard to respond. The face-to-face
conversation appears in real time on both the refreshable Braille
display and the iOS devices' screen.

HumanWare is the leader in digital communication for deaf-blind people,
introducing DBC, the first portable face-to-face chat solution in
2008.  The system combined the simplicity and portability of the
popular BrailleNote with a companion visual interface running on a cell
phone. For the first time, a deaf-blind person had portability and
independence when having a face-to-face conversation, and since a
familiar cell phone keyboard was used, the sighted individual had a
very small learning curve to engage in a conversation

"With the popularity and inclusion of assistive technology features in
Apple's iOS devices, HumanWare has received a high demand to bring the
face-to-face concept of the popular Deaf-Blind Communicator to the
popular Apple devices. "The HumanWare Communicator app breaks everyday
face to face communication down to its simplest form and will get
everyone talking," says Greg Stilson, HumanWare product manager.

The HumanWare Communicator app will be available for standard download
from Apple's app store at the end of July 2012. This app marks a major
step forward in using mainstream technology to bring everyday
communication to the deaf-blind population.

Find out more about HumanWare Deaf-Blind communication solutions at: http://www.humanware.com/deafblind

A high resolution photo is available at: ftp://ftp1.humanware.ca/Public/mrk-com/deafblind_com.jpg

About HumanWare

HumanWare (http://www.humanware.com) is the global leader in assistive technologies for the print disabled.
HumanWare provides products to people who are blind or have low vision,
and students with learning disabilities. HumanWare offers a collection
of innovative products, including BrailleNote Apex, the leading
productivity device for the blind in education, business and for
personal use; the Victor Reader product line, the world's leading
digital talking book players; the SmartView family of handheld and
desktop electronic magnifiers; and Trekker Breeze, the all-in-one
handheld talking GPS.

SOURCE  HumanWare

HumanWare

CONTACT: Media contact: 
Nicolas Lagace
Marketing Communications
P: (450) 463-1717
E: Nicolas.lagace@humanware.com

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