Amazon Adds Accessibility Features to Kindle Reading Apps

Amazon today announced new accessibility features for the Kindle reading app, making it easier for blind and visually impaired customers to navigate their Kindle libraries and read their books.

These new features are available starting today on Kindle for iOS, and accessibility enhancements will be available on additional platforms in the future.

"With this update, we're also making customer-favorite features-such as X-Ray, End Actions, sharing, highlighting and bookmarking -- more accessible." said Dorothy Nicholls, Vice President, Amazon Kindle.

The updates allow the Kindle app to read aloud over 1.8 million titles available in the Kindle Store using Apple's VoiceOver technology.

The software also allows users to read character-by-character, word-by-word, line-by-line, or continuously, as well as move forward or backward in the text.

Users can also customize the reading experience including changing the font, text size, background color, margin, and brightness. Finally, it supports iOS accessibility features like Zoom, Assistive Touch, and Stereo to Mono, as well as peripheral braille displays.

Blind and visually impaired customers can also choose Kindle for PC with Accessibility Plugin, a free application for Windows PCs.