Re: Touchscreen Accessibility

Hi Loretta,

Do you mean that users have to purchase a keyboard (or AT acting as a keyboard)?

Most of iPhone/iPad users don't have a keyboard or AT and won't have
it. They can't
operate everything that onmouseover accomplished.

For example, HTML Slidy was improved to be used on keyboard-less touch screen
devices like the iPhone or Android phones with touch gestures. This is
the way accessible
web content should be.
http://www.w3.org/QA/2011/10/html_slidy_on_smart_phones_and.html

We (WAIC) think purchasing a keyboard is not the same level of
requirement for users
as purchasing a screen reader. Web content must be operable on
keyboard-less touch
screen devices without a keyboard or AT acting as a keyboard.

Or does WCAG WG consider it is not an accessibility issue because all
users can't use it
and the person with a disability is not at any disadvantage?


- Makoto


2011/10/8 Loretta Guarino Reid <lorettaguarino@google.com>:
> On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 4:39 PM, <noreply@w3.org> wrote:
>>
>> Name: Makoto Ueki
>> Email: makoto.ueki@gmail.com
>> Affiliation: WAIC (Japan) / Infoaxia, Inc.
>> Document: W2
>> Item Number: Success Criterion 2.1.1
>> Part of Item:
>> Comment Type: general comment
>> Summary of Issue: Touchscreen Accessibility
>> Comment (Including rationale for any proposed change):
>> Touchscreen issues are covered by WCAG 2?
>>
>> SC 2.1.1 requires the keyboard accessibility. What about a touchscreen
>> interface?
>>
>> For example, 'onmouseover' and 'onkeypress' don't work on the touchscreens
>> such as iPhone and iPad.
>>
>> Does WCAG 2 require the touchscreen users to buy and use a keyboard for
>> such devices?
>>
>> Proposed Change:
>> Just to make sure if WCAG 2 covers touchscreen issues or not. WAIC need an
>> answer from WCAG WG in order for JIS X 8341-3:2010(our standards) to
>> harmonize with WCAG 2. Thank you very much.
>>
> ================================
> Response from the Working Group
> ================================
> SC 2.1.1 covers the issues of touchscreen interfaces. By requiring that all
> functionality be available from the keyboard, WCAG ensures that a page will
> work and be accessible even if onmouseover etc does not work.  Everything
> that onmouseover accomplished would also be available through "onfocus" or
> some other keyboard accessible technique. Since all of the touchscreen
> devices known to the Working Group, including Android and iOS, also allow
> connection of a keyboard (wired, Bluetooth or other) such a keyboard (or AT
> acting as a keyboard) could be used to access the web page through that
> client.  If a person found a device that didn’t support a keyboard, they
> should skip that one and use one that does.  In that case the problem isn't
> the web page (which WCAG covers) but the device (which WCAG does not)
>
>
> Loretta Guarino Reid, WCAG WG Co-Chair
> Gregg Vanderheiden, WCAG WG Co-Chair
> Michael Cooper, WCAG WG Staff Contact
>
>
> On behalf of the WCAG Working Group

Received on Thursday, 27 October 2011 01:20:39 UTC