The City of Corpus Christi Municipal Information Systems (MIS) Department is pleased to announce that the City is now offering two new applications free of charge on its web site that will help improve communications with citizens, make the site easier to use and reduce costs.

The first application is BrowseAloud, which is software that converts web text to speech and reads web pages out loud. It's designed to help anyone who has difficulty reading online, such as citizens with special needs or learning disabilities, or those using English as a second language.

After a visitor downloads and installs BrowseAloud client software, they just need to hover the cursor over the selected text. BrowseAloud will highlight the words and read them out loud.

The other tool is CCmobile, a smart phone application that allows residents to report such things as potholes, illegal dumping or graffiti, as well as make other service requests using mobile phones. Users can take and send photos of a problem, add comments if desired, and more. CCmobile is integrated with the City's existing online and Call Center systems and will automatically send a reply along with a tracking number for the service request. CCmobile is available for iPhone, Blackberry and Android users.

According to Michael Armstrong, City MIS Director, these applications are part of the ongoing effort to make the City's web site even more useful to citizens. "These apps, along with others that we plan to release in the future, give residents and visitors new communication tools to help address their concerns," Armstrong said. "We need to take advantage of the opportunities that emerge to provide more effective and convenient ways for citizens to interact with us," Armstrong added.

Other Texas cities using BrowseAloud include Arlington, Killeen and Wellington. Cities utilizing the mobile phone platform include Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Dallas and Austin.

Instructions for downloading the BrowseAloud and CCmobile software can be found through front page links on the City's web site at http://www.cctexas.com. Again, there is no cost to users for either application.

Contact: Michael Armstrong, Director, Municipal Information Systems, 361-826-3740.

Samantha Corr, Marketing Executive, Texthelp, 877-778-6977.

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