Abledbody brings tech love to the disabled

We as tech lovers may get all excited and drool happy over the latest Wii controller or laptop and get sucked into our own little worlds, but laptops, MP3 players, and cellphones aren’t the only gadgets that are manufactured.  I would raise the thought that disabled people should or can benefit from technology even more than those that are not disabled.  While we are tapping away on our third cellphone, a disabled person may be searching for information on the latest electroic wheelchair, glucose meter, or crazy iPhone app that measures blood sugar, things that can be truly life threatening.  But these things  never get reported in the mainstream news.  It kind of makes technology geared towareds and helping the disabled an “underground” in a sense.  No one on the outside really knows about it…or really where to find information about it.  This causes an estimated 54 million americans with either a physical or mental disability to get stuck in the technological dark.  That is where Abledbody comes in.

Abledbody is a technology website with news, reviews, and expert views (catchy) on all things tech.  However, there is a slight twist that makes this site different than than the rest.  They cover technology and gadgets that help the disabled community live fuller, happier, and easier lives.  What kind of tech you ask?  For starters, this morning there is a post about a new iPhone app that has a talking email keyboard.  Obviously a useful app if the person has a sight disability.  Another post, this one a review of the Kindle 2, puts the Amazon born gadget to shame highlighting the fact that the designers did not use the text-to-voice feature to its fullest extent.  With the rather bare bones speech options (you can choose either male or female…that’s it) having an entire novel read to you can be more of a burden.  Also, the fact that you can’t navigate the menu structure through voice earns another mark against the eBook reader of choice of many.  As you can see, the site is committed to their audience and truly brings a new type of tech geek to the world.

The points mentioned above are things that people without disabilities wouldn’t even think about because it doesn’t affect them or their lives.  But for the disabled it is a very real thing for them.  With the help of Abledbody, they can now continue on with their lives and stay up to date on the latest and greatest tech to come to their neck of the woods thereby making their lives a little easier, a little happer, and a little more gadget filled.

Source: Crave, Abledbody