EPUBTest.org Evaluate EasyReader for Accessibility
Lead by the DAISY Consortium and the book Industry Study Group, EPUBTest.org evaluates the accessibility of new and popular reading apps available for the widest range of mobile & reading devices. Their suite of tests rigorously scores each reading app against a grid of 55 criteria, in 4 categories each chosen as being a key requirement for people with reading disabilities. These categories are:
- Basic Functionality
These tests assess the basics of app navigation. Can the app provide reflowed page numbers? Is there a search feature? Can the reader add bookmarks and notes? - Non-Visual Reading
An important score for readers who are blind or who are relying on speech output; this function evaluates the app’s ability to initiate a ‘read from here’, read image descriptions, change the reading speed, add pauses to synthetic speech etc. - Visual Adjustment Test
Of particular importance to readers with low vision or dyslexia who might require a high contrast app, these tests assess the options to change font sizes, change background & foreground colours, change brightness etc. - Read Aloud
For readers with dyslexia or other specific learning disabilities, the tests in this part of the suite check that content is read aloud, reading speed can be adjusted, highlights can be applied etc.
EPUBTest.org recently put Dolphin’s EasyReader apps through their paces, evaluating their accessibility for users with low vision, blindness & dyslexia. All 3 EasyReader apps were evaluated: EasyReader for iOS, EasyReader for Android and EasyReader for Windows.
The full break down of the criteria, the reading tools and their score are available at http://epubtest.org/testsuite/accessibility/. Alternatively here are our short summaries of the reading tools and their scores for each of the 3 operating systems:
Reading Apps for iOS
Name | AT Used in Test | Basic Functionality | Non-Visual Reading | Visual Adjustment | Read Aloud |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Of particular interest to... | all readers | blind readers | low vision or dyslexic readers | dyslexic readers | |
EasyReader v1.7 (iOS 11.2) | Voiceover | 100% | 92.30% | 75% | 100% |
Voicedream | Voiceover | 92.3% | 69.2% | 75% | 100% |
Kindle | 84.6% | 61.5% | 100% | 0% | |
iBooks | Voiceover | 76.9% | 76.9% | 100% | 0% |
Capti | Voiceover | 76.9% | 69.2% | 100% | 100% |
Play Books | Voiceover | 76.9% | 69.2% | 75% | 0% |
Reading Apps for Android
Name | AT Used in Test | Basic Functionality | Non-Visual Reading | Visual Adjustment | Read Aloud |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Of particular interest to... | all readers | blind readers | low vision or dyslexic readers | dyslexic readers | |
EasyReader v1.1.311 |
Talkback | 100% | 84.60% | 75% | 100% |
Voicedream | Talkback | 84.6% | 38.5% | 75% | 100% |
Kindle | 84.6% | 61.5% | 100% | 0% | |
Play Books | 92.3% | 69.2% | 75% | 75% |
Reading Apps for Windows
Name | AT Used in Test | Basic Functionality | Non-Visual Reading | Visual Adjustment | Read Aloud |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Of particular interest to... | all readers | blind readers | low vision or dyslexic readers | dyslexic readers | |
Dolphin EasyReader v7.0.6 |
NVDA | 92.3% | 92.3% | 75% | 100% |
Vitalsource Bookshelf | JAWs/NVDA | 92.3% | 100% | Not tested | 0% |
Kindle for PC v1.20.1 | JAWs | 84.6% | 69.2% | 100% | 75% |