A new Android "shell" designed to make Android smartphones more accessible!
"EasyAccess for Android" is a new Android "shell" representing a new operating mode embedded in the Android DNA.It is a new Android shell for making it easier for people with blindness or other visual impairments as well as for seniors to use their Android smartphone. EasyAccess for Android's operating mode provides a new and easy way to access and use 18 most important operations of an Android smartphone which are -
1. Phone Dialer
2. Call Log
3. Text Messaging
4. Contacts
5. Status
6. Email
7. Internet
8. Alarm + Calendar
9. Radio
10. Music + Video
11. Books + Newspapers
12. Maps
13. File Browser
14. Camera Apps
15. Social Networks
16. Settings
17. More Accessible Apps
18. All Apps
For the above listed 18 applications and menus, we used all the native Android API calls available and provided as part of Android SDK to create an entirely brand new simplified and fully accessible interface for the smart phone for these tailored applications.
Where a best-in-class accessible app existed from a 3rd party, we incorporated these into the launcher. Easy Access can also be set as the default Launcher application so that the entry point or interface for all these applications is readily available to the end user.
We authored and are releasing our user and implementation documentation under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ for more information.
The documentation is available from the following webpage:
http://ideal-group.org/ea-docs/
"EasyAccess for Android" source code is being licensed as Apache 2.0 code. Please see http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 for more information.
We are using GitHub as our repository. Here's the URL to our "EasyAccess for Android" source code: https://github.com/saurabh2590/EasyAccess
"EasyAccess for Android" is a good demonstration of what is possible to develop using the standard Google APIs (no customized code) currently available to all developers.
Developing fully-accessible Android mobile apps is enjoyable for us... and a rather easy thing to do. We know this because we have developed more than 80 Android accessibility apps... 25+ of which are available from the Google Play Store. We have found many benefits associated with developing applications that are accessible to individuals with disabilities. The benefits are great enough to enable us to release a majority of our apps to users at no cost... while enabling our company to remain financially self-sustaining.
Seniors, people with disabilities, people who use English as a Second Language, people who have never learned to read, wireless carriers, manufacturers, government agencies, and many other organizations appreciate, use, and promote our accessibility apps for us. The fact that they benefit all users enables our company to make money.
The main purpose for developing and releasing "EasyAccess for Android" is to encourage and support other developers:
1. To do as we are doing;
2. Take our source code and improve upon it;
3. Make some money; and,
4. Learn about the benefits of accessible design to everyone... not only individuals with disabilities.
If you'd like to learn more about the mainstream business benefits of accessibly-designed information and communications technology... you might find the following Department of Commerce publication interesting. It was written by Steve Jacobs and Michael Czinkota. The forward was written by Keith Hall, the Chief Economist of the United States.
STAT-USA Companion to International Marketing: Highlighting Accessibly-Designed Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
Download: http://ideal-group.org/stat-usa/
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