Sprint is the latest carrier to announce forthcoming availability for Mobile Accessibility, allowing its customers to download the Code Factory screen access suite to their Android devices. Unlike AT&T, Sprint appears to be offering the full version of Mobile Accessibility as opposed to the stripped-down version from AT&T. Mobile Accessibility will be available in both English and Spanish, with versions designed for both Sprint and Boost Mobile to be releaced to the Android Market later this quarter. More info is available in the press release linked from this post.

AT&T has begun to offer a branded version of Code Factory's Mobile Accessibility for its Android users. Available for free exclusively to AT&T customers, Mobile Accessibility Lite is available from the Android market and includes 11 accessible applications including the Code Factory web browser, calendar, Where Am I? GPS app, amongst several others. We've reached out to Code Factory to determine what the Lite in the name refers to. AT&T is the first carrier to offer Mobile Accessibility as a free market download to its customers.

Best Buy has the Apple iPhone 3GS with 8GB Memory - Black for free with 2 year contract. If you're not needing to run the latest and greatest hardware, and need a free option with accessibility built right in, this is the deal for you. The 3gs is equipped with Voiceover and zoom, and fast enough to run most apps in the iTunes app store. This is $49 off the original contract price, making it the most unbeatable deal ever.

While supplies last, Wireless from AT&T offers the refurbished iPhone 3GS for $9 with a new contract. It's the best deal we know to currently be available for an accessible iPhone. This model is compatible with VoiceOver and has slightly less functionality than the current iPhone 4.

There's been a lot of talk about Mobile Accessibility, but Code Factory is also busy working on updates for its other products. We catch up with Caroline Ragot, Managing Director for Code Factory, who talks about the latest developments for Symbian and Windows Mobile as well as when the paid version of Mobile Accessibility will be released in this audio interview.

Letstalk.com has the T-Mobile G2 cell phone for $79.99 with a new two-year contract. It's $120 less than buying the phone directly from T-Mobile. It runs Android 2.2 and includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and support for T-Mobile's 4G data network. It's compatible with accessibility apps such as Mobile Accessibility, Talkback and Spiel.

A session from this year's South by Southwest conference has given us a clue of what to expect in the next version of Android from an accessibility perspective. Version 3.0 of the operating system, scheduled for released later this year, will include built-in support for the web browser including embedded web views. The session, entitled "Inclusive Mobility - Making Mobile Apps Accessible" was led by Becky Gibson, a Web Accessibility Architect at IBM. Google's Charles Chen, a developer with the Eyes-free project, also was in attendance to provide the company's perspective on mobile apps. Aside from this news, the session served as a tool to educate developers on the importance of including accessibility in their software, regardless of platform. Here's one view from an attendee, Nick Fotis who says, "The session was so powerful I'll be sure consider users of varying needs on future projects." There's more accessibility sessions scheduled for the conference, and we've linked to the list from this post.

After about 700 years of speculation, Verizon has announced the pending release of their iPhone 4. It'll be available for current subscribers on February 3 or new subscribers on February 10. For those who may be thinking about switching over, there's a few things to consider as pointed out by the Boy Genius Report. Of note, the Verizon iPhone will run on their current 3G network and not support 4 speeds. But on the flipside, mobile hot spot capabilities will be included, allowing users to share their connection. Check the link on this post to see BGR's take.

Newegg.com again has the HTC Shadow cell phone, this time in brown, for $72.99. With free shipping, it's still one of the cheapest Windows Mobile smartphones we've seen. The slider phone, compatible with a GSM carrier such as AT&T or T-Mobile, includes 802.11G wireless and runs Windows Mobile 6, making it compatible with screen readers such as Mobile Speak.

Amazon.com has the Nokia E5-00 Unlocked GSM Cell Phone for $169.99. With free shipping, we couldn't find it for less elsewhere. This phone includes a QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, MicroSD card slot with a 2GB card included, and GPS. It supports Nokia's free Ovi maps program which was made accessible with Mobile Speak 4.6, making it one of the cheapest accessible phones with this support.