Levelstar used embedded Linux to create a PDA (personal digital assistant) for visually impaired users. The “Icon” has a custom hardware design with built-in 30GB hard drive, WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB, and comes with a full complement of “life managing software,” much of it written from… scratch for blind users.

According to founder and lead developer Marc Mulcahy, the Icon is the only PDA for blind users to integrate a hard drive. He expects the Icon's drive to become a “huge advantage” next month, when the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped starts offering its enormous library of talking books in downloadable form.

The Icon is available now, with a telephone-style keypad or a braille reader. Soon, a docking station with a full-sized keyboard will also be available.

Learn more about the Icon and its embedded hardware and Linux-based software by clicking below to read the full Device Profile:

 
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