Audio Players for the Vision Impared?

Panz asks: "Over Easter my 86 year-old grandmother asked my parents to help her buy a CD player. Normally, there would just be a technology barrier to overcome. Unfortunately, my grandmother has macular degeneration which prevents her from using traditional consumer electronics. What, if any, low-vision friendly CD/MP3/audio players are available? Is there such a thing on the market?" What CD/MP3 players have interfaces suitable for people who have less-than-stellar eyesight? Features that would be nice to have would be backlit displays, and larger than normal text displays.

Comments

Archos / Rockbox

[ibbey]

The Archos Jukebox Recorder with the Rockbox open-source replacement firmware has several features designed for blind. I haven't used them, so I can't comment, but you might try posting a question on the rockbox list for further details.

Re:Archos / Rockbox

[ZenCrawler]

I use a jukebox FM recorder with rockbox / talkbox installed.

The system works well in speaking out menu options, and can spell/speak a folder name if you record one. The rockbox system also has user defined fonts and you can create custom what's playing screens to use an ultralarge font ( there are tons of fonts ranging in sizes from 10 lines fit on the screen, to 1 line of text takes up the screen ) to make it easier for her to see what is playing/browse the files.

However the buttons on archos jukebox/recorder products are small, and not really touch defined all that well. Also rockbox has current method of limiting access to menus/options in case an incorrect button is pressed. Not to mention the frail nature/high cost of a hard drive based solution.

portable/cd walkmans

[next1]

the key here could be to go portable.

my panasonic cd walkman has 7 buttons: ff, rw, play, vol. up/down, stop and an eq button.

you don't even need to look at the display - all it does is display track number, eq settings and batteries.
i often find i use the controls just by touch.

stand alone cd player units or small shelf systems etc have more options, remote controls, etc. so would be more confusing and harder to use with poor sight.

A good remote might be a better choice

[Unholy_Kingfish]

You might even want to consider a regular name brand CD player, and get a good universal remote with a big LCD screen that can been seen easily. My father has the poor eyesight and a good remote goes a long way. Even if it doesn't light up, good tactile design makes all the difference. He can't see most LCD's so I made sure that he has a remote with different shaped buttons that can be felt easily. Check out http://www.remotecentral.com for reviews.