Consumer Advisory Network Newsletter, First Quarter, 2007

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• Adobe PDF version of Consumer Advisory Network Newsletter: Q1 2007 (Adobe PDF)

Dear Consumer Advisor:

Thanks for being part of the 2001-2006 Consumer Advisory Network (CAN) of the Wireless RERC. During our first five years, CAN members have taken part in:

• a nationwide survey of more than 1200 customers with disabilities
• focus groups on cell phones, global positioning (GPS) devices, and text messengers
• development of a guide to choosing a cell phone
• study of the use of cell phones in everyday living
• talks with wireless companies about how to better serve customers with disabilities

Great News!

Thanks to successful activities like these, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded a grant to the Wireless RERC to continue the Consumer Advisory Network through 2011.

We hope you will continue as a member of our Consumer Advisory Network. You can help make cell phones and other wireless products and services more useful and usable for people of all ages and abilities.

Upcoming Opportunities for Consumer Advisors

Testing commercial wireless products -

New wireless products, with new features, functions, and services are streaming into the marketplace. How easy are they to use? What makes them more or less useful? Consumer Advisors will participate in testing of several commercial wireless products each year. Their reviews will be shared through a website forum, inviting response from other consumers, as well as from manufacturers and retailers of mobile wireless products and services.

Testing location-aware devices -

Have you ever struggled to hear announcements in an airport, find your way around a hospital, or locate a new exhibit in a museum? Separating the information we need from all the rest can be especially challenging for those with difficulty seeing, hearing, or understanding information. Consumer Advisors will test wireless technologies designed to help users sift through all of the sights and sounds in public spaces and make those places more enjoyable.

Testing devices that can be used without vision -

Wireless products are becoming smaller and more powerful. More information is being displayed on smaller screens. Some people are unable to use this information because they cannot see it or have difficulty understanding it. Consumer Advisors will help test a variety of audio interfaces to improve usability of wireless devices.

Testing universal remote controllers -

Controlling everyday appliances and electronic products can be difficult for people who have physical or sensory limitations. Standards are being developed to ensure that users have access to controllers that fit their abilities. Consumer Advisors will participate in testing of prototype controllers to meet these standards.

Bringing Consumers and Industry Together

Consumer Advisors will also have opportunities to share their ideas about wireless products with our wireless industry partners such as Cingular Wireless, (now the new AT&T) and Research in Motion Limited (RIM, developers of the BlackBerry).

We’re also working with other industry groups, federal agencies, and non-profit and academic organizations

on ways to make everyday wireless technology more useable and useful for people of all ages and abilities.

Some of these organizations are:

• Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA)
• Delta Airlines
• Federal Communications Commission
• Gallaudet University
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• WGBH

Consumer Advisors to Judge Student Design Competition

Today’s design and engineering students will soon be designing tomorrow’s wireless products. To help students learn about how to design wireless devices for people of all ages and abilities, the Wireless RERC will sponsor an annual design competition. Beginning in Spring 2007, the "Inclusive Wireless" competition will center both on diverse user needs as well as on places and situations where wireless products can be most useful. Consumer Advisors will be invited to serve on the judging panels of these annual competitions.

Re-Join the Consumer Advisory Network!

All you need to do to continue your membership in the Consumer Advisory Network is to complete our new Survey of User Needs (SUN). The new survey will be ready soon. When it is, we will invite you to complete it either on paper, online, or by phone.

If you have any questions about the Survey of User Needs, or would like any more information, please contact:

Lynne Broderick
Shepherd Center/Wireless RERC
2020 Peachtree Road, NW
Atlanta, GA 30309
Voice: (800) 582-6360 or (404) 367-1348
Email: lynne_broderick@shepherd.org

Thanks again for being a part of our Consumer Advisory Network -

We hope you will join us in continuing this important work!

©2007 The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies is sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education under grant number H133E060061. The opinions contained in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Education or NIDRR.