Tobii adds Android™ to the AAC industry’s leading multi-platform vocabulary app

STOCKHOLM, Sweden and DEDHAM, Mass, US – November 2011 – Today, Tobii Technology announces the release of Sono Flex for Android, riding the wave of last month’s successful launch of the industry’s first multi-platform communication application. Sono Flex is a special education app and an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) vocabulary that turns symbols into speech. Developed by AAC professionals for preliterate users, it is an instrument for young curious minds to engage with their surroundings.

Tobii Sono Flex continues to bridge the gap between consumer electronics and dedicated assistive technology. Based on the overwhelming positive response from AAC users who downloaded Sono Flex onto their iPad, Tobii now provides the market with true freedom of choice by offering a vocabulary for most brands of smart phones, electronic readers, tablets, personal computers, as well as speech generating devices.

Freedom of Choice

Tobii is proving its commitment to empower continuous language development. “In offering Sono Flex for Android, we meet our users through the extended reach and possibilities offered by the Android-platform with its accessibility, scalability, price, form factor and so much more,” says Oscar Werner, President Tobii Assistive Technology. ”With Sono Flex for Android, Tobii has effectively created the first AAC device for under 300USD. Just add a Kindle Fire, a Nook or any other smart phone, tablet or reader and you’re ready to start communicating!”

Language growth path for personal evolvement

Choosing communication software and mastering a language is a long-term commitment. Sono Flex has been designed with a development curve in mind. It offers a migration path through the entire Tobii Sono Suite, as well as the potential to advance to new levels as each individuals experience and skill set expands. Characterized by structure, flexibility and a clear growth path, Sono Flex is not the typical “isolated” app, rather a unique tool that fosters long-term language and communication development.

“The growth path offered by Sono Flex is unparalleled in the industry – you are no longer stuck with a single app, a single device, or a single platform,” says Werner. “Some will start with Sono Flex on their smart phone or maybe a tablet or a reader, and then move on to our more sophisticated language products and our Tobii communication devices. For others, Sono Flex on a standard consumer electronic device will be enough. It is time that the AAC players stop talking about technology and focus on what is truly important – the development of communication.”

Sono Flex comes with more than 11,000 SymbolStix symbols, a mix of core vocabulary and more than 50 pre-installed contextual communication categories, such as “birthday party” and “playground”, which makes it easier for users to jumpstart into meaningful communication.

Riding the wave and reaching out
With this true multi-platform app, Tobii is empowering the masses. Statistics show that 23% of all mobile consumers have a smart phone, with Apple claiming 200 million active iOs devices and Android 130 million devices.

“In a very short time, we’ve doubled the amount of people who can benefit from our vocabulary. It is clear that the growing popularity of app-and-media friendly smart phones creates a tremendous opportunity for a company like Tobii to give a greater number of AAC users access to the communication tools they need, “says Werner.

Positive reviews and comments followed within days of the launch of the iOS version of Sono Flex: “This is the best symbol based communication app I have used…It is much easier to use than the other apps I have seen. You can even take a photo with the Ipad2 or Iphone and use it on the page. How's that for cool! Too many other apps seem to be written by people that do not understand language. Not Sono Flex. It has a core vocabulary and also a context vocabulary approach all in one app,” says one review from AT–OT on the iTune download page.

Available in multiple versions
Tobii Sono Flex for Android is available in two versions; a full version called Sono Flex and a free, slightly limited demo version called Tobii Sono Flex Lite. The same Sono Flex software that functions on your smart phone, whether it is Android or iOs, is also eye trackable on your PC and your Tobii communication device.

Tobii Sono Flex runs on Android 2.3 or later. It runs on the majority of all Android phones and tablets such as Samsung Galaxy tabs and phones, HTC phones and other smartphones. Tobii Sono Flex is also a tested and verified product for the newly realeased Amazon Kindle Fire.

Read more at: www.tobiisonoflex.com

Please visit the Tobii Assistive Technology News Center www.tobii.com/atmediacontacts for press specific information, interview requests and product specific details about Sono Flex.

About Tobii Technology
Tobii Technology is the world’s leading vendor of eye tracking and eye control, a technology that makes it possible for computers to know exactly where users are looking. Our eye tracking technology has revolutionized research in many fields and enabled communication for thousands of people with special needs. Looking forward, Tobii’s mission is to bring eye tracking into broader use. Some of that future is already here. We provide market-leading eye tracking technology to industrial partners in areas such as hospitals, diagnostics, vehicle safety, gaming and computer manufacturing. Tobii continues to realize its visions, showing continuous and rapid year-to-year revenue growth, and receiving numerous awards and recognition for its accomplishments. From our head office in Stockholm, Sweden, our reach is as broad as our vision. With offices in the US, Germany, Norway, Japan and China and a worldwide network of resellers and partners, we are truly a global company. More information: www.tobii.com

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