A few months ago, we told you about the BlackBerry® Screen Reader app from RIM®. Well, the Accessibility team at RIM has been busy improving the app and is happy to share some updates they’ve been working on since launch. After listening to your valuable feedback, they’ve made improvements and added new features. The app also now supports two new BlackBerry smartphone models. In addition to the BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphone models, the application is now available for the new BlackBerry® Curve™ 9320 and 9220 smartphones.

Let’s dive in to some of the changes:

Basic Browser Support
BlackBerry Screen Reader is now revised adding the ability to have a loaded webpage read to you.

Help Menu
Through BlackBerry Screen Reader settings, you can now access an English help menu to provide you with additional assistance.

Additional Shortcut Features
Previously, the application shortcut (Right Convenience Key + Send) only supported email messaging. The updated shortcut is now designed to allow you to re-read a loaded webpage without refreshing your browser; it also allows you to easily read SMS and BBM messages, from the most recent to least recent message.

Additional Caller ID Screen Support
The first version of the BlackBerry Screen Reader would only read the number that was calling. The functionality has now been extended to the caller ID screen to also identify the contact’s name (if available).

Unified Inbox improvements
The unified inbox feature has been updated and now identifies Facebook® and Twitter® messages. You can now differentiate between your e-mail and social media messages.

BlackBerry Screen Reader Demo
If you’ve been wondering what the application is all about before giving it a try yourself, check out the video below, which includes a walkthrough and some tips to help get you started:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

You can get the latest version of BlackBerry Screen Reader at: www.blackberry.com/screenreader
To learn more about other accessibility features for customers with visual impairments, please visit www.blackberry.com/accessibility

Have you been using the BlackBerry Screen Reader app since it first launched? What other ways would you like to see the app improved?

Hi, I’m Kang from the Software Product Management team at Research In Motion® (RIM®). With social responsibility top of mind at RIM, we’re always hard at work developing innovative and useful solutions. Today, I’m extremely excited to introduce our latest accessibility solution for customers with visual impairments: BlackBerry® Screen Reader. This application — available for BlackBerry® Curve™ 9220, 9320, 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones — is free to download and is designed to provide audible output of the visual information displayed on the screen of a BlackBerry® smartphone. The features of this app help customers with visual impairments to better operate and access their BlackBerry smartphone. To learn more about other accessibility features for customers with visual impairments, please visit www.blackberry.com/accessibility

Providing accessibility solutions is very important to RIM, and this application adds to the list of many other accessibility features of BlackBerry smartphones that help provide solutions for mobile customers with visual impairments.

Here are some of the great features that you can expect from the BlackBerry Screen Reader:

• Independent Volume Control for the screen reader
• Customizable audio and output controls
• Option for a more secure presentation of passwords
• Useful in-call setting for text-to-speech output
• Shortcut Commands

Download the BlackBerry Screen Reader

To download the free app, customers can connect their BlackBerry smartphone to their desktop computer through a USB cable and head to www.blackberry.com/screenreader. The app supports the BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones and is available in US English, UK English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

Tips and Tricks

For customers using the BlackBerry Screen Reader for the first time, I recommend a few quick tips and tricks:

1. Become familiar with the shortcut keys. They help provide information quickly and easily.
2. Set the Right Convenience Key to “Do Nothing.” Users can still use the Right Convenience Key for shortcuts and the Key Describer Mode, but setting it to “Do Nothing” will avoid invoking multiple actions that can become confusing. BlackBerry Screen Reader will prompt the user to customize their Right Convenience Key with the initial setup.
3. Become familiar with the default settings. They are designed to help users become comfortable with their device quickly.
4. Only download the BlackBerry Screen Reader language support in the language you require (as opposed to all languages) to conserve device memory.
5. Visit the Quick Tips menu in the BlackBerry Screen Reader settings screen. It provides more useful tips to help get the most out of BlackBerry Screen Reader.

Have you or anyone that you know given this app a try? Please share your story and let us know in the comments how it will help make things easier.