Which iPod models support "Spoken Menus" for greater accessibility? How do I turn on "Spoken Menus"?

"Spoken Menus" are a new accessibility option introduced with the iPod nano (4G) on September 9, 2008 and currently only the iPod nano (4G) supports this accessibility feature.

Apple explains that the iPod nano (4G) provides four new accessibility options:

• Spoken menus allow listeners to hear many of the names of menus, song titles, and artists without viewing the screen.
• An alternative large font can make menus easier to read.
• A high-resolution LCD display with adjustable contrast and backlight settings makes it easier to read in low light.
• Captions in video are displayed when they are present using a legible, high-contrast white-on-black font.

Each of these are wonderful additions for the blind and those with vision impairments, but the spoken menus feature in particular makes the iPod available to customers who were unable to use the device in the past.

To turn on "Spoken Menus", An Apple Support Document explains that this must be done through iTunes 8 (or higher), rather than on the iPod itself:

1. Open iTunes 8 and connect iPod nano (4th generation).
2. Select iPod nano under Devices on the left side of the iTunes window.
3. Click the Summary tab and then select the checkbox to Enable spoken menus for accessibility.
4. Click Apply in the lower right corner of iTunes.

iTunes 8 also is now "screen-reader friendly" as well with support for VoiceOver on the Mac and GW-Micro Window-Eyes 7.0 on Windows.

For more details regarding accessibility on the iPod nano 4G, iTunes, and MacOS X, you may also wish to consult iPod & iTunes Vision, a section of the general Apple Accessibility site.

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