Best Buy and the International Association of Audio Information Services (IAAIS) previewed The Narrator, Insignia’s first “talking” HD Radio product, at the IAAIS annual conference in Houston.
The Narrator, named for its differentiating features includes audible voice responses, access to local HD Radio broadcasts of reading services, and an ergonomic design, was designed in collaboration with the IAAIS to be accessible for people with visual impairments. Customers can pre-order The Narrator today on BestBuy.com for $99, and it will be available for purchase online this July.
“We chose to partner with the IAAIS to help identify and solve for the everyday technology needs of people with visual disabilities. The Narrator eliminates the need to see the display. Audible voice prompts tell the user which button was pressed, and when the radio’s functions are activated,” said senior product manager Mike Dahnert. “The Narrator has universal appeal, but is designed to be simple for a person who cannot see the display to operate.”
Access to technology is a basic human need, and the team recognized this market is underserviced in terms of consumer electronic offerings. In partnering with the IAAIS, the team was able to identify those radio features most requested by the roughly 20 million Americans who live with vision loss or impairment. With The Narrator, there is no need for another person to tune the radio, set the time, arrange pre-set favorites or be certain that the radio is powered down.
The Narrator’s features include:
o Audible voice prompts on buttons
o Button layout and markings that are intuitively designed
o 20-program memory so that your favorite stations are just a touch away
o 3.5 mm headphone jack for convenience and privacy
“Our association’s member stations provide access to current print so that people with disabilities can live more independently. We offered our insights as to which accessible features would make this radio a highly valuable product to someone living with low vision or blindness. Now, with The Narrator coming to market, people with visual disabilities will have a radio that they can program and tune by themselves,” said David Noble, Chairman of Government Relations at IAAIS.
“Hogan Keeps an Eye on Noise”
“The biggest challenge to radio reading services has been HD Radio, Hogan said. We made the decision to place our service on an HD channel, but there have been a lot of radio reading services eliminated as stations go HD and do multiple programming to utilize the full 200 kHz of spectrum.”
http://www.rwonline.com/article/hogan-keeps-an-eye-on-noise/50804
So, how is this radio supposed to work, again?
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