When the Olympus DM-4 became available, all company promotional materials referenced its usability by blind and visually impaired individuals, and Olympus Imaging America, Inc., was eager to have one of us at AccessWorld take the new model for a test drive. Better still, the units were mainstream but offered enough accessibility that individuals unable to see the LED displays could operate them.Īpparently, the makers of the Olympus digital recorders heard enough feedback from customers with vision loss that they wanted to make a good thing even better.

In particular, those interested in sophisticated recording equipment welcomed the sleek, pocket-sized recorders that delivered superb sound in a small package. When the Olympus DS-30, DS-40, and DS-50 digital recorders came on the market a few years ago, word spread quickly throughout the community of blind and visually impaired technology fans.