(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
