Text-to-Speech Tech Helps Visually Impaired Access the Net
From: Computer Shopper - 09/2008 - page 13
By: Jonathan Rougeot

It can be difficult, of course, for the visually impaired to use the
Internet, but thanks to advancements in voice technology, accessing e-mail
and the Web is easier than ever. 

Voice Terminal Service, or VTS, is a new offering from Audiopoint that allows
the blind and visually impaired to have Internet access in real time over any
landline or cell phone.  

With text-to-speech technology, VTS subscribers can surf the Web and use
e-mail. VTS recognizes colloquial language, dialects, and accents, and users
can interrupt the system with commands at any time.  

VTS does not require special equipment or any software download, but the
company says the initial setup is easier with the aid of a person with sight.
Audiopoint offers various pricing plans, but one year of unlimited access
will cost $500. 

According to the American Foundation for the Blind, although there are 10
million blind or visually impaired people in the US, very few understand
Braille. Voice, therefore, is a far more natural and effective form of
communication. Audiopoint tested its system with hundreds of blind people,
who provided information on how to tweak and better the system, says CEO
Brian Lichorowic; Audiopoint's first two testers, in fact, have been blind
since birth and have never previously accessed the Internet 

Links:
VTS
http://www.voiceterminal.net/

Audiopoint's New Voice Terminal Service Breaks the Silence of the Internet
http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/545963

For visually impaired, instant news alerts via phone
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9959807-1.html

Surfing the Web Via Voice
http://www.telecomdirect.pwcglobal.com/do.php/110/32062