Apple’s iBooks page describes its accessibility thus:

Unlike a paper book — or e-books on other devices — you can change iBooks on iPad to suit the way you read. Turn iPad to portrait to view a single page. Or view two pages at once by rotating to landscape. Change the text size. Even change the font. Touch and hold any word to look it up in the built-in dictionary or Wikipedia, or to search for it throughout the book and on the web. iBooks works with VoiceOver, the screen reader in iPad, so it can read you the contents of any page. Even with all these extras, reading is so natural on iPad, the technology seems to disappear.

Our readers will remember the controversy last year when the Authors’ Guild tried to block text-to-speech on Amazon’s Kindle book reader, claiming that text-to-speech was equivalent to audio book performances by human narrators.

The guild will find it much harder to argue that bizarre stance this time, as the access is being offered via VoiceOver rather than a generalized text-to-speech option. By taking this approach, Apple will be providing VOiceOver users with a streamlined experience, and putting the Authors’ Guild in a position of specifically having to oppose access for visually impaired users to their content. We do not believe the guild will want to try to take such a hostile stance.

The iBooks application will also work as a reader for free books in ePub format, whether that content was purchased from the iBooks store or not.

Once again, Apple is putting visually impaired users on equal footing with their sighted fellows.

One shareholder and former Apple employee, asked why Apple will not be attending this year’s national accessibility conference. Jobs responded to the question himself, noting Apple doesn’t participate in conferences, as it would mean "we wouldn’t be here working." He went on to point out that Apple’s customers have been doing a great job keeping the company informed of outstanding issues and pointing out when it’s falling short.

He concluded his comments with something that anyone who has followed the accessibility of Apple products over the last five years already knows: Apple leads the computing industry in accessibility.

Until next time!/p>

The iPad runs an expanded version of the iPhone OS, and therefore includes the VoiceOver screen reader, according to its product page. It looks similar to a large iPhone or iPod touch, but with a 9.7-inch multi-touch display.

The device offers much of the power of both an iPhone and a tradition notebook computer, using the same multi-touch technology which has made the former such a runaway hit among sighted and visually impaired consumers alike. While it can be used for web browsing, email, music, video, and all the other functionality one has come to expect from an iPhone, Apple will also be offering a multi-touch version of its iWork suite via the iTunes AppStore, as well as a new store and application called iBooks, which allows users to purchase and read electronic books from leading and independent publishers.

At this time, aside from the VoiceOver, Zoom, closed-captioning, white-on-black, and mono-audio features also found on the iPhone and Mac product lines, we are not sure about specifics in terms of accessibility. iWork for the Mac is almost entirely accessible, and Apple has made it a point to have good access to its AppStore offerings. We expect iWork for the iPad to be accessible, but this is not confirmed.

To date, electronic book stores, such as Amazon’s Kindle store, have not provided books in an accessible format, owing to DRM restrictions. We hope Apple may be able to pave the way for the visually impaired and their access to content with the iBooks application and store. If VoiceOver does indeed have access to the content in these publications, it would be a tremendous step forward for access to printed media.

The iPad comes in 16, 32, and 64 GB configurations, priced at $499 USD, $599 USD, and $699 USD, respectively.

The device includes 802.11N Wi-Fi, BlueTooth 2.1, and a 30-pin iPod dock connector. Additionally, an optional hardware keyboard and dock is available if you would prefer a hardware keyboard for extensive typing.

Optional 3G connectivity is available for an additional $130, and, in the USA at least, will be available via AT&T without a contract. Prices are $14.99 USD for 250MB of data and $29.99 for unlimited data.

The iPad will be available in late March, with 3G capable units to follow a month later.

We will be continuing to cover this latest products in the Apple lineup as information becomes available, and in an upcoming episode of the Mac-cessibility Round Table Podcast.

…you can copy an SMS message to the clipboard with VoiceOver. Simply touch the message in the list, whether it is a message you sent or received in a conversation, then use the VoiceOver rotor to choose "Edit". You will have one option if you flick up or down, which is "Copy". Double tap, and the message will be copied to your clipboard for pasting anywhere you like.

This has been another edition of iPhone Quick Tips. Enjoy!

Using the "Groups" button in the upper left corner of the Contacts screen, you can choose to have the display only show contacts who are currently online. Additionally, double tapping on a contact’s name will show their current availability.

Skype for iPhone requires a WiFi connection, though Skype claims to have a version ready that will run on 3G networks if it is approved by Apple.

The invitations offer an opportunity to see Apple’s "latest creation", and feature only the Apple logo surround by colorful paint splotches.

The various rumor mills have been heating up in recent months about the Apple tablet device of legend, and it is widely believed that this event will finally unveil such a product running a specialized version of the iPhone OS. As VoiceOver is now officially part of the iPhone OS, we anticipate any such device would be fully accessible, like the vast majority of of Apple’s product lineup.

We’ll be covering developments as they occur.

Simply locate the app that is being downloaded (whether it is waiting or loading) and double tap it. The message ‘paused’ will then be spoken after the app name, and the download will be paused.

To resume the download simply double tap the app’s icon again and the download will resume.

NOTE: the app may show a zero percent download amount immediately after resuming its download, but this will update in a few seconds to reflect the proper downloaded percentage.

Enjoy!

MacSpeech Dictate v1.5.6 is available free of charge to all registered v1.5 customers using the "Check for Updates" option located in the application menu. Users of MacSpeech Dictate Medical, MacSpeech Dictate Legal, and MacSpeech Dictate International can update to the corresponding version 1.5.6 as well.

Version history for MacSpeech Dictate, including release notes, can be found here.

Slau had a chance to visit Digidesign in San Francisco, and got to experience first hand the tremendous progress being made toward ProTools accessibility with VoiceOver. We discuss his experiences with Digidesign, the developer behind ProTools access, the progress being made, and what we can expect from ProTools in the future.

VoiceOver was shown in the survey to have a fifty percent increase in users reporting its usage, only lagging slightly behind the Window-Eyes screen reader from GW Micro. A large percentage of users also stated that VoiceOver and other low or no cost solutions were viable alternatives to pricier third-party screen readers. Fortunately, it appears that the misconceptions about the Mac platform and the VoiceOver screen reader are becoming a thing of the past as users become better aware of their viability.

Unfortunately, however, the survey downplays the problems with accessibility of Adobe Flash content. A note included on the survey reads:

It must be noted that Flash content, like most other items listed here, can be made accessible. In fact, Flash content can have other general accessibility issues listed (e.g., ambiguous links, difficult forms, missing alt text, etc.). While treated here as a distinct item, it’s important to note that Flash is not inaccessible merely because it is present in a page, but because the Flash author has not implemented accessibility.

The above excerpt is only true for Flash content being accessed via Windows. Other operating systems, including Mac OS X, do not have any accessibility for Flash content, and to date, Adobe Systems has been unwilling to change this situation. If you haven’t already, please sign our petition to Adobe System to implement accessibility in Flash for the Mac OS X platform.

We have contacted WebAIM about the ambiguity in the above paragraph in the hopes that they will make changes to clarify that information.

Update — WebAIM has responded very quickly to our note, and has modified the Flash information to note that it is only applicable to the Windows OS. We applaud their quick response.

The accessibility enhancements, aside from the darker background for the grid view, are not readily apparent at first glance. Have you found any? Be sure to let us know.

The new features include a totally redesigned and simplified interface, support for iTunes LP and iTunes Extras, and more.

Of interest to VoiceOver users is the note that the AppleTV can be controlled via the free Remote app for iPhone and iPod touch, which is accessible with VoiceOver, giving users partial access to the system if they own one of Apple’s handheld touch screen devices. No information about additional accessibility available on the AppleTV device itself was provided in Apple’s press release.

The AppleTV is a set-top box which provides access to your iTunes media content as part of your home theatre or entertainment center systems. It is available for $229 USD with a storage capacity of 160GB.

For more information on the AppleTV software update, which is free to existing AppleTV owners, read the full press release.

Unfortunately, a few apps have received substantial updates in the interim which have made them inaccessible. Some developers have begun addressing accessibility issues, like FaceBook, while others such as NetNewsWire from NewsGator.com have, as yet, offered no response to the sudden inaccessibility of their products.

We are pleased to note that the New York Times application, which underwent he transition from accessible to not earlier this summer, has been updated to version 2.3 and includes improved support for VoiceOver.

Hopefully, developers will continue this trend and support accessibility in their iPhone applications.

Unlike its competition, VMWare Fusion has always been quite accessible with VoiceOver, providing visually impaired users with the most accessible installation process for the Windows OS.

Version 3 continues this tradition of accessibility, though the software works somewhat differently from previous versions from a VoiceOver user’s perspective. The most notable difference is when the user wishes to direct keyboard input to the virtual machine. The simplest method to accomplish this task seems to be to turn off VoiceOver with Command-F5, and then press Command-G. At that point, the user can reactivate VoiceOver and use the software as in previous versions.

For more information on VMWare Fusion 3’s fifty-plus new features, click here to read the "What’s New" document.

Specifically, she proposed the official adoption of The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a set of guidelines designed to ensure access to web content to individuals with disabilities or who may be using assistive technology, authored by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This would result in improved accessibility to screen reader users, among others, including those utilizing VoiceOver on the Macintosh platform.

For more information, read the full article here.

Rogers Communications Inc. has held the exclusive rights to sell the iPhone in Canada since its release in that country, but its exclusivity runs out this November, when other Canadian wireless carriers will begin offering the popular device.

While certainly a problem, it would not be the first time that a representative of a large corporation gave a customer the incorrect information regarding a product. Hopefully, however, this incident and its coverage will make wireless carriers more cognizant of the iPhone 3GS’s accessibility features.

Our product picks:

• Steve’s pick – BoxCar
• Darcy’s picks – Moxie and AirFoil Speakers Touch
• Cara’s picks – iFitness and Final Excuse Pro
• Eric’s picks – Binaural Beats and Apple In-Ear headphones
• Holly’s pick – ooTunes
• Josh’s pick – Frotz for iPHone