Braille Live

THE CODE FACTORY 2008 YEAR-END SUMMARY 

Code Factory S.L.
Terrassa (Barcelona), January 12, 2008

All of us at Code Factory wish you a very happy new year!

The end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 is very special for all of us as it marks Code Factory’s 10-year anniversary. We are proud to have been serving the needs of the blind and visually impaired community for the last decade and we are looking forward to the next 10 years which will certainly be as exciting and innovative as those that have passed.

2008 has been a great year for Code Factory and we would like to share with you our accomplishments for the past twelve months in terms of product releases, as well as important alliances and partnerships with AT companies, mainstream companies, mobile phone network operators, and national organizations for the blind.

Highlights of our work in 2008:

The release of Mobile Geo, our new accessible GPS software developed in partnership with Sendero Group.
Our partnership with HumanWare and Research In Motion (RIM) to work on the first screen reader for BlackBerry communication devices.
Code Factory’s receipt of the AFB Access Award.
The launch of Vodafone Speak in Spain, the first mobile screen reader that can be downloaded by SMS.
Mobile Geo recognised as one of the most innovative products of the year by the Consumer Electronics Show.

As always, our achievements in 2008 would not have been possible without your unwavering support, and so we’d like to thank you for, and share with you, the account of our successes this year.

Product Innovation
3 new product releases, Mobile Geo V1.0, Vodafone Speak V1.0, and Mobile DAISY Player V2.0 plus a total of 7 free updates for our Symbian and Windows Mobile screen readers.

In only a year we released 3 new products:

Mobile Geo V1.0: World’s first accessible GPS navigation software for mainstream Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PCs, powered by GPS and mapping technology from the Sendero Group. Maps and POIs available for 18 countries; compatible with more than 300 Windows Mobile devices and phones operating on GSM, CDMA and WCDMA networks; works with Bluetooth external and built-in GPS receivers. To learn more, visit http://www.codefactory.es/en/products.asp?id=250 .
Mobile DAISY Player V2.0: Electronic book reader for Symbian-based phones. It allows both sighted and visually impaired mobile users to take books in Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) format with them wherever they go. To read more, visit http://www.codefactory.es/en/products.asp?id=240 .
Vodafone Speak V1.0: Vodafone Speak is the first accessible solution which is as easy to obtain as any of Vodafone’s mainstream products and services. Spanish visually impaired Vodafone clients only have to send a keyword to download and install this custom version of Mobile Speak. Vodafone Speak works for 30 days free of charge, and each month users are asked to renew their subscription for 30 additional days, the price of  which is directly charged to their Vodafone phone bill. To read more, visit http://www.codefactory.es/en/products.asp?id=253 .
We have also continued to improve our existing products with 7 free updates:

In 2007 we implemented the New User-Centred Licensing system with Mobile Speak Smartphone, in 2008 we extended this licensing system to Mobile Speak Pocket and Mobile Geo.
Preliminary support for Windows Mobile 6.1, the latest version of this operating system.
Third edition web browser support including virtual cursor, moving to elements, and read to end functionality with Mobile Speak for Symbian phones.
Support for the latest Nokia phones such as the Nokia 6124, Nokia E66, Nokia E71, Nokia 5320, Nokia 6210, Nokia 6220, Nokia N78, and Nokia N96.
Support for Wayfinder Access V2.0.
Support for new and responsive High Quality Loquendo voices on Symbian 9 phones.
Full translations for 10 new languages: due to our unique support of the Nokia voices built into Symbian third edition phones, Mobile Speak is now available in Hindi, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Serbian, Slovak, Tagalog, Romanian, Urdu and Indonesian.
BRF (Braille formatted electronic document) reading through speech: in 2007 we implemented a built-in BRF reader in Mobile Speak Smartphone that we extended this year to the Pocket PC platform. Every Pocket PC running the screen reader, regardless of whether it is connected to a Braille display, can now read BRF files. The Braille reader application will read any BRF file in English through one’s currently active speech synthesizer.
Support for Bookshare.org: As the built-in BRF reader, in 2007 we implemented support for Bookshare.org in Mobile Speak Smartphone that we extended this year to Mobile Speak Pocket. Mobile Speak Pocket now incorporates a Bookshare unpack utility for books from Bookshare.org in the BRF contracted Braille format. Users may simply navigate, using their file manager of choice, to the BKS file they downloaded from Bookshare.org and open it.
Support for the split output feature of the ALVA BC640 from Optelec Tieman Group.
Support for new Windows Mobile Pocket PCs including the AT&T Tilt / HTC TyTN II (Kaiser / P4550), the WM6.1 version of Verizon Wireless XV6800 (Sprint PPC-6800 Mogul / Telus P4000 / Bell HTC 6800), Samsung SCH-i760, Palm Treo 800W, Asus P750, and O2 Xda Atom Life.
Support for new Windows Mobile Smartphones including the Sprint Samsung Ace, Qwest HTC Fuse, Verizon SMT-5800 and Motorola Q9C, Telus HTC S720, Bell HTC 5800, Rogers Motorola Q9H, and the HTC S640 / Iris 100, S720 / Libra, and S730 / Wings.
Here is the list of all the supported mobile devices classified by the Code Factory products which support them http://www.codefactory.es/en/products.asp?id=258 .

Awards
2008 AFB Access Award: Code Factory has been selected as one of the three recipients of the 2008 Access Awards from the American Foundation for the Blind. Mobile Speak and Mobile Magnifier have been recognized for providing unique eyes-free access to mobile devices. The Access awards are distributed annually to individuals and organizations which are eliminating or substantially reducing inequities faced by people who are blind or visually impaired.
CES Best of Innovations 2009: Mobile Geo has been named International CES Best of Innovations 2009 Design and Engineering Award Honoree (Personal electronics category) by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Sponsored by CEA, producer of the International CES, and endorsed by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), the International CES Innovations awards honor outstanding product advancements in design and engineering in 34 consumer electronics product categories.
IDOL 2007, Reha Warsaw Poland: In December 2008 Code Factory attended the sixth edition of the international conference, Reha for the Blind in Poland. We have been honoured to receive the IDOL 2007 prize for Mobile Speak which designates the Best Product of the year.
New partnerships
HumanWare and RIM (Research in Motion): We have just announced our recent partnership with HumanWare and RIM to develop a screen reader for BlackBerry devices.
Vodafone Spain: Together with Vodafone Spain, Nokia and ONCE, the Spanish Organization for the Blind, we launched Vodafone Speak at TifloInnova 2008.
Sendero Group: Powered by GPS technology from the award-winning Sendero Group, Mobile Geo marks another milestone in our quest to be the reference in innovation and visionary leadership for accessible mobile devices.
TIM and Loquendo: Together with Loquendo, global provider of speech technology, we are powering mobile phone TTS screen readers – TIM Mobile Speak – and screen magnifiers – TIM Mobile Magnifier – on TIM mobile phones.
Bookshare.org: Bookshare.org and Code Factory announced, in 2008, the formation of a partnership to introduce technology that allows Bookshare.org members to read digital books on their mobile devices.
The Reading On the Go Competition: More than $20000 worth of prizes have been divided among ten winners: Nokia Symbian S60 9 phones, like the Nokia N82; AT&T Windows Mobile 6.0 Smartphones; Vodafone Spain’s latest mainstream mobile phones; copies of the Mobile Speak screen reader with Acapela text-to-speech technology; licenses of Mobile Daisy Player and KNFB Reader; subscriptions to Bookshare.org and Audible; and Baum Vario Connect 12 Braille devices! To read more,  visit http://www.codefactory.es/en/page.asp?id=251
 New distributors and resellers
AT Guys, USA    
Accessibility dot net, USA
Adaptive Technology Resources, USA
Audio Optical Systems, USA
Comp AID, Finland
Computer Resources Training, USA
C tech, USA
E.M.Vitu, USA
Elita Group, Russia 
Envision, USA
Florida Reading, USA
Hataekni, Iceland
Lexima, Netherlands 
Lisa Smolen, USA
Pacific Vision, New Zealand
Sendero, USA
Soluciones en Tecnologia Adaptada, Mexico
Stars INC, USA  
Sterling Adaptives, USA
The seeing Hand association, USA
TIM, Italy
The list of all our distributors is available at: http://www.codefactory.es/en/purchase.asp?id=53 .

International events
Code Factory attended the following events in 2008:

ATIA, Orlando
2nd European eAccessibility Forum, Paris
Techshare, New Delhi
Mobile World Congress, Barcelona
CSUN, Los Angeles
Sight City, Frankfurt
Avante, Barcelona
Convention of the NFB, Dallas
Sight Village, Birmingham
AER, Chicago
WBU, Geneva
TifloInnova, Madrid
Reha, Warsovia

 European project

Code Factory is participating in the ENABLE project: ENABLE is a project of the European Union which will develop a user-centered enabling system, with services, for use by an elderly person in or out of the home, to mitigate the effects of any disability and to increase independence, autonomy, mobility, communications, care and safety. The platform includes a mobile phone, which is where, among other aspects of the project, the main contribution of Code Factory is concentrated. In 2008, a first prototype was successfully developed, with the focus on implementing the technologically challenging elements of the system. The prototype was presented at the yearly review meeting of the European Commission, and was an important milestone in the project. The project will continue through 2009.

New staff
Melanie Endres, Sales Director
Chiara Nicolini, Sales & Marketing Assistant
Machiel Kolstein, Software Developer
 To learn more about the Code Factory team, check out http://www.codefactory.es/en/team.asp?id=10  

Company Facts
Global leader committed to the development of products designed to eliminate barriers to the accessibility of mobile technology for the blind and visually impaired.
Only company to support all mainstream embedded platforms, thus supporting CDMA-based phones apart from those on GSM and WCDMA networks.
Products distributed by more than 150 dealers, available in more than 50 countries and 30 languages throughout Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, Australia and the South Pacific.
Accessible solutions offered by major mobile phone network operators in different countries worldwide including AT&T in the USA, Vodafone and Telefonica in Spain, SFR and Bouygues Telecom in France, TMN in Portugal and Cosmote in Greece.
10 years of experience in making mobile technology accessible.
User base of more than thirty thousand visually impaired users worldwide.
Thank you for your support in making each year a success!

Yours in commitment to accessibility,

The Code Factory Team