I received an email from a colleague today asking about the accessibility — or perceived lack thereof — of the iPhone. Sparked some thinking and thought I’d share it here:

I thought I ask the following question I posted on the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) Accessibility list:

Can anyone point me to any discussion on the accessibility of the Apple iPhone? Inevitably, the iPhone might make it into teaching and learning activities, and I cannot imagine how it could be used by vision-impaired individuals, for example.

I may be a bit harsh on Apple, but it seems to me that Apple is not interested in making some of its latest technology available to people with disabilities.

Is iPhone (in)accessibility being discussed anywhere? I think, we should discuss it.

Interesting and important stuff. We need to understand how this thing will play in our environments. Many users have distinct disabilities that a device like this may ignore. Still many more questions than answers.