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A new feature I really appreciate is called “touch typing”.  In the old 3.x operating system on the iPhone you used what is now known as standard mode. To operate this you needed to use two fingers. One skims the keyboard while VoiceOver gives you feedback and then tap with the other to insert that letter or too activate that key. It was real swell that the best way to learn how to do this was originally buried in a video of all things on the Apple website. But none the less this was an amazing tool and you could get pretty fast with it.

Now the new feature is called “touch” typing. I’ve heard about it for a while and I’m someone certain it might have existed on the iPad prior to it being implemented in the iPhone OS update. But I’m not a hundred percent on that. Here’s the real trick… turning it on. I scoured through the HTML user guide online too no avail. After contacting Apple Accessibility Support (Which was fast in responding); I was told that the directions were contained in the PDF user guide on page 218. Simply put you get yourself into a situation where you’re editing text. Then use the Rotor to get to what is called “Typing Mode”. After this prompt flick up to activate “Standard” typing mode or flick down to activate “Touch” typing mode.

So what’s the big advantage of “Touch” typing mode? Well you can operate pretty much with one finger. As you navigate the keyboard VoiceOver gives you feedback but to enter that letter you simply lift your finger. Its great!  The real downside I’ve found is it only works with characters. So to delete or shift or pretty much anything else you still have to do the split tap with two fingers.

(Update: Correction 4/1/10 3:50 EST)

After using the iPhone for several months as a low-vision user I’ve found it a pleasing experience. As an IT professional I of coarse find the closed nature of the device a bit frustrating but the accessibility really sells me on it. The iPad in many ways is the same OS with the same accessibility features. (According to the documentation.) The Zoom feature and VoiceOver are on the device which I’ve found pretty functional. As a IT Pro an as a low-vision user though when it comes to a desktop adhoc replacement like the iPad I’m wondering about the customizable nature of the device. But on a desktop or laptop I’m using hotkeys and other features but the iPad being a touch device really kind of changes my typical habits. What really makes the iPad more than the iPod Touch is that the Apple suite for documents is included and the ibook application.

How this makes its self compelling is the cost to those with accessibility needs. For $500 bucks  or so you get the hardware, OS, OS Accessibility tools, and software suite (iWorks) [Correction-Actually the whole suite cost about $30 or each program runs about $9.99]. Now try and do that with a Microsoft Windows system. The hardware with OS will run you anywhere from $250-500. Then you have to buy something like ZoomText for around $395. And if you needed a VoiceOver text-to-speech like software then you’d probably need to buy Jaws™ there’s a couple hundred dollars more. We haven’t even mentioned the cost of buying Microsoft Office. So to have the same abilities with the same accessibility you’d have to spend probably over a thousand dollars.

I’d imagine the iPad will disappoint you  as a desktop replacement. However, if you needed a portable laptop-like device the iPad has some real cost advantages. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to play with one at some point to give some more in-depth information of the accessibility features.

Zoom on iPad

-Updated-

I’ve been mentioning Apps connected to the iPhone and features. I was recently questioned at a conference in Roanoke, Virginia, and was questioned about the iPhone. Most folks were wondering where I found out about this device.  Here’s an email I wrote an engineer in the industry who wanted to know some more info.
—————
So_An_So,
Here’s that data you wanted.

Main Apple Page about iPhone Accessibility
http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html

Zoom Application Page (Bear in mind there’s over 100,00 apps on the iTunes store and at least 20 Magnifier apps some are free some are maybe $1.99 or something)
http://www.objectgraph.com/apps/Magnifier-Free.html

There’s other Apps for magnification that I’m sure are better on the store (like I said that take photos I used one for a while). If you needed to take a look at some of them you could use an iPhone app search-engine site (I have one listed below) or you could just install iTunes (free) and browse the online store. Just type in magnify or magnifier and then narrow your category down to Applications or Apps in the pane that shows up in the left hand side of the window.
http://iphoneapplicationlist.com

Other applications I’ve used on the iPhone that I’ve found helpful are a BigNames a Contact manager that I use to dial friends (Link below). And DragonDictate App which transcribes your voice so you can text it or email a message to someone. Of coarse the keyboard on screen can be used with the TTS VoiceOver feature of the phone, there’s a cool vidoe showing you how to do this (See Link below)

BigNames App
http://iphoneapplicationlist.com/app/bignames-large-text-contact/id305591358/
Dragon Dictate App
http://iphoneapplicationlist.com/app/dragon-dictation/id341446764/
Video on How to Use TTS VoiceOver feature with you Keyboard
http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/accessibility.html#video

Hope that helps So_An_So. Don’t forget the iPhone has an iPod built in or MP3 player , a voice memo feature, and Voice Control features. And of coarse it has GPS which I’ve never used with the maps much to see if it could work well for the non-sighted. Bear in mind that the iPod touch can do almost all the same stuff but for the time being doesn’t have a camera but rumor is it will soon. The Apple iPad also has the same built in accessibility features as the iPhone and can run the same apps, however it too doesn’t have a camera yet. There is also a Kindle app where you can buy digital books off Amazon but I’ve never tried it with the TTS VoiceOver on the Phone. Hope that helps let me know if you go any questions and I’ll try an help if I got the answer.
-David Ward
—————-
In this email I mentioned the acronym TTS which stands for “Text-to-Speech”.

If you have any questions ask me at the following URL.

http://www.mahalo.com/member/dward

I mentioned in my last post an app I used for my address book called “BigNames”. As a low vision user such an app is invaluable.

I say so because sometimes using the Zoom or VoiceOver gets in the way when your trying to move fast… Put it simply all the kinks aren’t worked out yet. But you can do about anything one way or another. Here’s a few examples of what I mean by kinks.

Zoom-
1. When your phone is locked and you receive a call its a total pain to answer. Cause you have to slowly drag the magnification window to the slider to unlock. The work around that should exist is this; Apple or and App via SDK should allow you to answer the phone with the push of a button. Or Zoom could auto-move to the slider or if the button feature was enabled it could go automatically to the Caller ID section of the screen.
2. Zoom doesn’t work with the keyboard. Period… If they made the Zoom go into a kind of VoiceOver double tap mode while a keyboard is active it could work but as it is its unusable.

-VoiceOver
1. You have to double tap to answer. (a Pain) A simple button answer via a mechanical key would be great. Plus I don’t need to hear it audibly announce it unlocked it distracting when I’m trying to listen. I understand the need for it still to talk to me like if I need to push the mute button.. But really couldn’t we use a mechanical button for some of these options. I don’t know its all in all pretty good in this arena.
2. WebApps break. I don’t know why but with the Google Voice Web App I can’t select certain buttons and I have no audible notification except like a rejection sound. I can understand if the page isn’t tagged right but why can’t I tap it… I mean I can see good enough to tap it but with VoiceOver I can’t even activate the button. Without VoiceOver with Zoom it works!! Go figure.

Anyhow I’m researching apps that mod sounds and help with texting or making things bigger. If you got any ideas let me know. Next time I hope to discuss some of my findings.

While Google’s Android 1.6 introduced a new accessibility feature that helps those that are totally Blind it lacks some of the accessibility functionality of the iPhone.  The TTS (Text-to-Speech) features of the Android are compelling yet isolate low-vision users who can still use and prefer to use visual tools. The iPhone implements a Magnifier utility which is limited in functionality but is simply a feature that Android has yet to implement. If anyone has heard however of a project or app that is working to resolve this feature please fell free to contact me or post to this blog. (See Links below)

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-accessibility-features-in-android.html

http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html