----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Pattison" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "GUI-TALK" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2003 5:50 AM
Subject: Fwd: PhoneAnything 1 Million blind and partially sighted now
offered affordable and mobile net access; New web-over-phone service bridges
digital divide with voice access to web pages


*********** BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE  ***********
On 27/11/2003 at 8:09 AM adam Morris <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
M2 PRESSWIRE
Tuesday, November 25, 2003

PhoneAnything   1 Million blind and partially sighted now offered
affordable and
mobile net access; New web-over-phone service bridges digital divide with
voice
access to web pages

London
PhoneAnything has launched the UK's first web-over-phone service for the
visually impaired. The new service allows the UK's 1 million blind and
partially
sighted individuals to listen to complete web pages, rather than
voice-specific
content such as VoiceXML, using any landline or mobile phone. Until now,
blind
and partially sighted individuals wanting to surf the net, shop, or pay
bills
online have had to use proprietary and cumbersome computer equipment, such
as
screen readers. The web-over-phone service offers instant voice access to
the
Internet for the cost of a local call.

PhoneAnything's technology will also benefit organisations wishing to
comply
with the Disability Discrimination Act. The Act requires all service
providers
to make reasonable adjustments to the way they deliver services to ensure
disabled people can use them. PhoneAnything's web-over-phone technology
can make
an organisation's website instantly available to any blind or partially
sighted
user with a phone - organisations can license the technology and provide
their
website to visually impaired customers through specific phone numbers. The
technology will allow businesses to reach the large number of visually
impaired
consumers in the UK cost-effectively.

Steve Tyler, Senior Strategic Manager for Digital Technology at the Royal
National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) said, "The Internet can transform
the
lives of people who are visually impaired. With PhoneAnything's new
technology,
visually impaired users can now browse the web and even carry out
transactions
using just their phone, without the need for a costly computer or other
technology. The RNIB is delighted that there is now an affordable and
easy-to-use way for visually impaired people to get online.

"The RNIB has worked with PhoneAnything before developing phone based
services
to make a wide variety of information available to blind and partially
sighted
individuals. This new technology is a major step towards giving visually
impaired users the same access to information as sighted people."

Stefan Haselwimmer, Managing Director of PhoneAnything said, "The Internet
is a
potentially invaluable resource for blind and partially sighted
individuals, yet
a significant proportion of visually impaired people do not own a
computer. We
believe that our web-over-phone service offers a cheap and easy way for
visually
impaired people and anyone without a computer to access the net."

The web-over-phone service has been extensively tested by a large number of
blind and partially-sighted users to ensure it meets the needs of these
users.
Sighted individuals will also benefit from the new technology.

According to recent research, around 50% of UK households do not have
Internet
access. PhoneAnything's new service provides full access to Internet web
pages,
in addition to voice access to mobile Internet content (WAP), to anyone
with a
phone.

The service can be accessed by dialling the local rate number 0845 333
0845.

There are no subscription charges to pay to use the service.

Key features

The key features of PhoneAnything s web-over-phone service include the
ability
to:

- Navigate standard Internet pages (HTTP) and secure Internet pages
(HTTPS).

- Navigate web pages using the keypad. Users can skip through text items,
select
links and fast-forward through a web page.

- Complete Internet forms containing text fields, popups and radio buttons.

- Open external links within a page such as e-mail links or streaming audio
links (RealAudio, Windows Media, MP3).

- Bookmark web pages for access at a later date.

- Increase or decrease the speed of the text-to-speech engine used to read
out
the page.

- Enter any Internet address using the telephone keypad.

About PhoneAnything

PhoneAnything delivers voice access to Internet content through any
telephone.
It was the first company in the UK to launch a comprehensive phone
information
service (July 2001). PhoneAnything main phone service provides phone
access to
web pages, WAP pages, streaming audio and e-mail and offers truly mobile
access
to the Internet from any phone.

In August 2003, PhoneAnything partnered with the RNIB to build a phone
system
for delivering TV listings and talking books to the visually impaired. In
September 2003, PhoneAnything received a SMART award from the DTI to
develop a
phone-based method of delivering consumer information to the blind and
partially-sighted.

PhoneAnything has extensive experience with visually impaired users, with a
significant proportion of its existing phone users being blind or partially
sighted.

www.phoneanything.com
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Regards Steve,
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