Purple(TM) and the U.S. Department of Defense's Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program Provides Products to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Federal Employees

ROCKLIN, Calif., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Purple Communications™, Inc., a leading provider of text, video relay (VRS), on-site interpreting services, and video remote interpreting (VRI), announced a program today with the Department of Defense's (DoD) Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) providing assistive technology and services to federal employees with disabilities.  Through Purple, CAP will make the Purple Netbook, P3™ software, P3 Flasher and webcams accessible to approximately 4,500 deaf and hard-of-hearing federal employees, that will now have year-round 24/7 access to video and text relay services as well as Purple's new P3 compatible Click-To-Call application allowing for seamless, more efficient communication between all federal agencies.

To introduce federal employees to the new home and workplace solutions available to them, Purple will host a "Purple Your Way" open house event at the Kellogg Conference Center at Gallaudet University on June 16, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET. In addition to providing information on workplace opportunities and accommodations for federal deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals through advancing technologies, discussions will include video and text relay services integration, mobile solutions, and other government programs and services.  Members of the FCC, congressional members, consumer groups, deaf and hard-of-hearing advocates and other interested parties are all invited to attend.  Interested attendees should e-mail [email protected] for more information.

"Purple has always been committed to providing innovative products and stellar service to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community," said Ronald E. Obray, vice chairman of Purple.  "Working with CAP and the federal government, we will continue to help breakdown communication barriers in the workplace for federal employees."

Purple's Director of Government and Strategic Accounts, Paul Singleton adds, "Our partnership with CAP and working with the federal government reinforces our commitment to achieving functional equivalency – the ability for the deaf and hard-of-hearing to communicate with the same ease as the hearing in the workplace and beyond, and this program is a step in the right direction."

Purple products and services will be made available to federal employees through the CAP.  The offerings include:

• P3 Software – Key components include video relay service (VRS), IP-Relay and direct video ("point-to-point") communication with new and improved features such as sharper video, improved call notification options, and PurpleMail video messaging.  P3 software can be downloaded on the Purple website for free and requires a PC with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 and a webcam.
• P3 Netbook – A sleek and compact all-in-one communications device with built in webcam, Ethernet and WiFi Internet access, pre-installed AOL Instant Messenger® and optimized with pre-installed P3 software.
• P3 Flasher — Plug-in flasher provides state-of-the-art call notification.
• Click-To-Call – A P3 application that looks for numbers on web pages and changes them into clickable links.  When clicked, they start a VRS call to that number using P3 software.
• Custom Voice Greeting – Allows for personalization of the greeting when a hearing individual places a call to a 10-digit number provided by Purple.

For more information on Purple's government services programs or to apply for CAP's products, visit www.purple.us/gov.

About CAP

Established in 1990 as the centrally funded reasonable accommodations program for employees with disabilities in the Department of Defense, the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) now provides assistive technology and services to people with disabilities, Federal managers, supervisors and IT professionals.  CAP increases access to information and works to remove barriers to employment opportunities by eliminating the costs of assistive technology and accommodation solutions.

About Purple

Purple Communications is a leading provider of text, video relay (VRS), on-site interpreting services, and video remote interpreting (VRI) for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, offering a wide array of options designed to meet the varied communications needs of its customers. Purple's vision is to enable free-flowing communication between people, inclusive of differences in abilities, languages, or locations. For more information on Purple Communications, Inc. or its services, visit www.purple.us by Internet, relay by visiting www.ip-relay.com, or video phone by connecting to purple.tv.

"i711," "Purple," and the Purple logo are registered trademarks of Purple Communications, Inc. "PurpleMail," "Powered by Purple," "i711.com," "My IP-Relay," "IP-Relay.com," "One-Tap Redial," and "P3" are either registered trademarks, trademarks, or service marks of Purple Communications, Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Purple Communications