Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) and HumanWare work together to serve Americans who are blind, low vision or have learning disabilities.

Princeton, New Jersey, and Longueuil, Canada, November 22, 2006

RFB&D, America’s educational library of recorded textbooks for people unable to read print due to a visual or perceptual disability, has strengthened its partnership with HumanWare. The acclaimed Victor Reader player will now be co-branded with the RFB&D logo and clearly labelled for RFB&D members to play books from RFB&D’s AudioPlus® digital book collection .

RFB&D's AudioPlus books produced by RFB&D offer members an enhanced talking book that not only offers the clear fidelity of CD digital audio, but, when played on the HumanWare Victor Reader DAISY CD players, also offers the reader the ability to navigate audio much like a printed book. At the press of a button, the Victor Reader can move through the audiobook chapter by chapter, section by section, go directly to a page from the table of contents, and even enter electronic bookmarks.

"I can actually comprehend what I've read when I listen to RFB&D's recorded textbooks," says Ashley Jo Strac, an RFB&D member who was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was nine years old. "It is the closest thing to reading a book like a sighted person," says Aerial Gilbert, who is visually impaired and also an RFB&D member.

The players selected by RFB&D include the Victor Reader ClassicX +, a portable sturdy player for heavy use, and the Victor Reader Wave, a compact player with LCD screen. Both players have new face plates, which were specially designed by HumanWare for people with learning disabilities. From now on, descriptive labels will be printed beneath each key to make use easier for this specific clientele.

HumanWare, the leading innovator of DAISY-compatible CD digital talking book players, has been producing its Victor Reader series of players worldwide since 1999.

"We work very hard to produce RFB&D's AudioPlus digitally recorded books on CD, and our partnership with HumanWare ensures that we deliver the books to our members on the Victor Reader, the best possible digital audiobook player," says Stephanie Turner, RFB&D Manager of Market & Product Initiatives. "It's a partnership where everybody wins, the book producer, player manufacturer, but, most of all, our members who depend on audiobooks for their education and life-long learning."

"HumanWare is in the business of providing solutions, not just products, and providing complete solutions require strong partners," says Gerry Chevalier, Victor Reader Product Manager. "RFB&D members need a complete audiobook solution that can only be provided because of the winning partnership of the Victor Reader combined with RFB&D's AudioPlus books and the amazing customer support provided by RFB&D."

To demonstrate their strong partnership and its confidence in Victor Reader products, RFB&D has allowed its logo to be featured on all Victor Reader ClassicX + and Wave models used by its members. This partnership is a commitment by both companies that they will continue to work together to provide the best audiobook reading experience to RFB&D members for many years to come.

About RFB&D

RFB&D (www.rfbd.org) serves more than 141,000 students from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond with its one-of-a-kind collection of more than 109,000 educational titles. RFB&D's AudioPlus digitally recorded textbooks on CD provide unprecedented navigation, ease of use and proven effectiveness as learning tools for students with print disabilities. Students rely on RFB&D's unique accommodation to access the printed page and to achieve educational success. All of RFB&D's accessible titles are recorded by volunteers working in 29 RFB&D recording studios nationwide.

About HumanWare

HumanWare (www.humanware.com) is the global leader in assistive technologies for vision. HumanWare provides products to blind and low vision people and students with learning disabilities. HumanWare’s many innovative products include BrailleNote, the leading productivity device for blind people in education, in business and in their personal lives; the Victor Reader product line, the world’s leading digital audiobook players, and SmartView Xtend, the first fully modular and upgradeable CCTV-based video magnifier.

For more information

RFB&D

Mark Zustovich

Tel: (609) 520-7993

Email: mzutovich@rfbd.org

Humanware Canada

Nicolas Lagace

Tel: (450) 463-1717

Email: nicolas.lagace@humanware.com