iPhone 4 features Braille compatibility

In an era when texting and email have become the communication tools of choice, it’s easy to forget that many people lack the eyesight to partake in these exchanges. Braille hook-ups are needed to translate written text into raised, six-dotted shapes.

And the new iPhone now allows for this feature! It works with the Brailliant 32 (an earlier version is pictured above), a bluetooth device that translates text and displays it as Braille. It’s compact, measuring less than 11 inches in length and three inches in width. And the battery life isn’t bad either!

Braille literate people can now translate emails instead of listening to a monotone automated voice dictate the message. Maybe that’s another good reason to teach Braille to the blind.

Watch musician Victor Tsaran, who is blind, demonstrate Braille with the iPhone 4.