People with disabilities face many barriers; however, the emergence of computing technology for tasks such as reading and writing documents, communicating with others, and searching for information on the Internet, is helping to bridge this gap. As a result, students and employees with disabilities are capable of handling a wide range of activities independently.
According to Statistics SA, more than 2-million people in South Africa are living with a disability, meaning that 4,3% of the South African population are disabled.
The new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone comes packed with tools to assist users with special needs – by providing significantly better accessibility for the disabled, in many communities in our country.
Craige Fleischer, director of Mobile Communications at Samsung Electronics SA: “We are immensely honoured to be in a position to offer technology to assist the disabled community in our country. At Samsung we believe that the only way technology can be meaningful, is to put it in the hands of customers, in order to improve their lives.”
The Galaxy S5 is equipped with features that were designed with the needs of senior and disabled communities in mind. These features are highlighted on an accessibility menu that is listed by category, enabling users to easily identify and operate them.
The following features are included to make technology more accessible:
* People with low vision can rely on TalkBack – TalkBack reads text on the smartphone’s screen and works with the device’s camera by dividing the screen into nine sections to assist the user to locate faces before capturing photographs. If one person is identified, it guides the user to position the face in the middle of the screen.
Through this feature, the user can more easily utilise the Galaxy S5’s powerful 16-megapixel camera. This feature also enables the smartphone to read numbers that are pressed, out loud.
* Dark screen protects privacy – in order to protect the privacy of the visually impaired, the user can access the Galaxy S5’s features with the screen turned off. With this tool, the user can operate the device without having to be conscious of others in public places. When the device is operated with the screen off, power consumption is also reduced.
* Font size for comfortable reading – the Galaxy S5 provides seven different font sizes including smallest, very small, small, medium, large, very large and largest so that users can choose the font size they are most comfortable reading.
* Negative colours and colour adjustment – the Galaxy S5 is equipped with a feature that reverses colours to increase readability on the display. Additionally, for those who have a hard time reading texts in certain colours, the device allows users to customise and fine-tune subtle colours.
* Optical reader to extract texts – the Galaxy5 S5 uses an Optical Reader to extract texts and data from images, documents, name cards and QR codes in order to identify patterns of colour and read text out loud. This enables the visually impaired to do more with their device, such as choosing an outfit by perceiving colours shown on the display (*download necessary.
* Baby cry detector – developed specifically for people who have a hearing impairment, the device vibrates to notify the user when the baby is crying. Users can also receive these alerts through Samsung’s extended industry leading wearable line of GEAR devices, including GEAR 2, GEAR Fit and GEAR 1. Users can easily distinguish these notifications by setting a different vibration pattern from incoming calls or alarm alerts.
* Auto haptic allows the device to be switched to vibrate – this feature switches sound to vibration – the Galaxy S5 vibrates with sounds produced by certain applications for music, games and video for that enhanced sensory experience.
* Flash notifications alert – users who are deaf or hard of hearing are able to utilise this function to notify them of any alerts, incoming calls and alarms. The light on the camera will start to flash to draw attention to the device, in order to respond to a message or to be reminded of a scheduled event.
* Turn off all sounds – it allows users to mute all smartphone sounds in one go, helping the hard of hearing to avoid mistakes such as having their phone ring in a library or during a performance.
* Assistant menu enables easier navigation – this is a virtual mouse pad designed for customers with limited hand movement. It enables them to enjoy frequently-used features more quickly and easily. Frequently used menus can be set and the touch pad and cursor’s size are adjustable, as well as the speed of the cursor.
The Galaxy S5 additionally provides an ‘Assistant Plus’ which displays menu options for favourite features such as photo gallery and contacts.
* Air gesture allows the screen to be switched on – this feature enables users who are unable to push hardware buttons to turn on the screen simply by waving their hand over the device.
* Customise the device input method with interaction control – this functionality lets the user choose an input method when using applications or settings. A user can disable the touch screen input, as well as the lock auto screen rotation and the hardware key, to prevent making accidental commands.
* Direct access to device accessibility features – in addition to the above-listed features, the Galaxy S5 offers functions that enable users to easily operate the device’s accessibility features. By pressing the home key three times while in any screen, one can easily set or disable accessibility, talkback, colour reversal and input control.
“The Galaxy S5 exemplifies Samsung’s commitment to ‘people-inspired’ innovation and through the development of ground-breaking technology we are confident that the practical and valuable features will empower individuals with disabilities and in turn, improve lives,” concludes Fleischer.
