[Unique] Accessibility For iPhone: A Blind User's Review

Accessibility For iPhone And iPod touch: A Blind User's Review

Written by Kyle Buckley
October 24th, 2009
The iPhone and iPod touch are amazing and revolutionary devices, and
now, consumers who are blind or visually impaired, can use them too.
I've been using the iPod touch for the past few weeks and have been
testing out the accessibility tools. Although I've only tested the
iPod touch, the same features and functionality are the same on the
iPhone.

Those with special needs, especially those who are blind or visually
impaired, can use nearly every device produced by Apple. Every model
of Mac, the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, and the iPhone all
have built-in technology geared towards blind consumers.

I've previously written about the accessibility technology found in
Mac OS X. Although the technology has been a bit buggy in Snow Leopard
thus far, it is still far superior to anything found in the Windows
world. As a blind user, I appreciate companies that recognize that
there are consumers with unique needs and work to accommodate those
needs.

When the iPhone and iPod touch were released, I was amazed at the
technology, but had always passed it up as the initial models
contained no accessibility tools for people like me. However, the new
iPhone 3GS and the 3rd generation iPod touch now have accessibility
features that grant access for blind and visually impaired users.


Accessibility Features

There are two basic facets of the accessibility features in the iPhone
3GS and 3rd generation iPod touch. One facet helps those with complete
or substantial vision loss, while the other helps those with limited
vision. Both can be activated on the iPhone and iPod touch by
navigating to Settings > General > Accessibility. They can also be
activated from the device's settings tab in iTunes when syncing.

For those with complete or substantial vision loss, the iPhone or iPod
touch has VoiceOver technology which will audibly speak what is on the
screen and what the user is interacting with. For those with limited
vision, the iPod touch and iPhone 3GS has color inverting to enable
white text on a dark background. The contents of the screen can also
be enlarged, or zoomed.

Each facet of the accessibility tools uses its own unique finger
gestures to utilize. There is a slight learning curve involved with
this, but such challenges are expected by those who are blind or
visually impaired.

Read the rest of the long enthusiastic article on unique features of
the iPhone for the blind community at...

http://www.nillabyte.com/blog.php?bt=952

Remember the above when a person with disabilities asks about the best
choice in technology, Apple designs their products with those people
in mind. IMHO that helps to make them a leading American Company in
anybodies book.

Apple users seem to always get all the neat stuff - a nice iPhone
perk <vic.healey gmail.com> wrote:

> Every model of Mac, the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, and
> the iPhone all have built-in technology geared towards blind
> consumers.

No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).

iTunes is horribly inaccessible. The background is glaring white.
There is no way to change background or font colors. The only font
size adjustment is from tiny to small. And in the most recent
version of iTunes (9.0.1.8), using a high contrast Windows XP
color scheme causes the text to disappear in the Power Search
dialogue.

> I've previously written about the accessibility technology found
> in Mac OS X. Although the technology has been a bit buggy in
> Snow Leopard thus far, it is still far superior to anything
> found in the Windows world.

Bullshit liar. The best speech recognition by far runs on Windows.
Microsoft has even included its own speech recognition in the most
recent versions of Windows (Vista or higher).

> As a blind user, I appreciate companies that recognize that
> there are consumers with unique needs and work to accommodate
> those needs.

Lying spammer. Where is speech recognition on the Mac?

> the initial models contained no accessibility tools for people
> like me.

Clearly contradicting his earlier claim.

> However, the new iPhone 3GS and the 3rd generation iPod touch
> now have accessibility features that grant access for blind and
> visually impaired users.

iTunes is horribly inaccessible. The background is glaring white.
There is no way to change background or font colors. The only font
size adjustment is from tiny to small. And in the most recent
version of iTunes (9.0.1.8), using a high contrast Windows XP
color scheme causes the text to disappear in the Power Search
dialogue.

> Settings > General > Accessibility.

No such settings on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).

> the iPhone has VoiceOver technology

No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).

> The contents of the screen can also be enlarged, or zoomed.

No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).

> Remember the above when a person with disabilities asks about
> the best choice in technology, Apple designs their products with
> those people in mind.

Obviously a paid promotion, propagated by the nym-shifting fanboy spammer.

iTunes is horribly inaccessible. The background is glaring white.
There is no way to change background or font colors. The only font
size adjustment is from tiny to small. And using a high contrast
Windows XP color scheme with the most recent version of iTunes
(9.0.1.8) causes text to disappear in the Power Search dialogue.





















--
> Path: news.astraweb.com!border1.newsrouter.astraweb.com! npeer02.iad.highwinds-media.com!news.highwinds-media.com!feed-me.highwinds-media.com!postnews.google.com!m11g2000vbl.googlegr oups.com!not-for-mail
> From: Apple users seem to always get all the neat stuff - a nice iPhone perk <vic.healey gmail.com>
> Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,alt.cellular.attws,alt.ce llular.cingular
> Subject: [Unique] Accessibility For iPhone: A Blind User's Review
> Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:14:51 -0700 (PDT)
> Organization: http://groups.google.com
> Lines: 60
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>

John Doe <jdoe@usenetlove.invalid> wrote:

> Apple users seem to always get all the neat stuff - a nice iPhone
> perk <vic.healey gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Every model of Mac, the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, and
> > the iPhone all have built-in technology geared towards blind
> > consumers.
>
> No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).

yes, it's on all 3GS models...

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

> iTunes is horribly inaccessible. The background is glaring white.
> There is no way to change background or font colors. The only font
> size adjustment is from tiny to small. And in the most recent
> version of iTunes (9.0.1.8), using a high contrast Windows XP
> color scheme causes the text to disappear in the Power Search
> dialogue.

your still trying to use Windows, but on all Macs you can easily do what
he said.

> > I've previously written about the accessibility technology found
> > in Mac OS X. Although the technology has been a bit buggy in
> > Snow Leopard thus far, it is still far superior to anything
> > found in the Windows world.
>
> Bullshit liar. The best speech recognition by far runs on Windows.
> Microsoft has even included its own speech recognition in the most
> recent versions of Windows (Vista or higher).

Dragon now runs on Macs and has for over a year. Macs have had excellent
Speech Rec for over 15 years.

> > As a blind user, I appreciate companies that recognize that
> > there are consumers with unique needs and work to accommodate
> > those needs.
>
> Lying spammer. Where is speech recognition on the Mac?

Macs were first to have Speech Rec... way back in 1994, and today on all
Macs it's located under the Speech System Preference.

> > However, the new iPhone 3GS and the 3rd generation iPod touch
> > now have accessibility features that grant access for blind and
> > visually impaired users.
>
> iTunes is horribly inaccessible. The background is glaring white.
> There is no way to change background or font colors. The only font
> size adjustment is from tiny to small. And in the most recent
> version of iTunes (9.0.1.8), using a high contrast Windows XP
> color scheme causes the text to disappear in the Power Search
> dialogue.

Again, you are using Windows, so you don't have access to modern
features that Mac users do.

> > Settings > General > Accessibility.
>
> No such settings on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).

Get a 3GS

> > the iPhone has VoiceOver technology
>
> No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).

Get a 3GS

> > The contents of the screen can also be enlarged, or zoomed.
>
> No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).

Get a 3GS

> > Remember the above when a person with disabilities asks about
> > the best choice in technology, Apple designs their products with
> > those people in mind.
>
> Obviously a paid promotion, propagated by the nym-shifting fanboy spammer.

He was correct in every instance, you weren't.

> iTunes is horribly inaccessible. The background is glaring white.
> There is no way to change background or font colors. The only font
> size adjustment is from tiny to small. And using a high contrast
> Windows XP color scheme with the most recent version of iTunes
> (9.0.1.8) causes text to disappear in the Power Search dialogue.

Get a Mac, join the modern world.

http://www.apple.com/mac/

On 25 Oct 2009 03:54:50 GMT, John Doe <jdoe@usenetlove.invalid> wrote:

>Apple users seem to always get all the neat stuff - a nice iPhone
>perk <vic.healey gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Every model of Mac, the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, and
>> the iPhone all have built-in technology geared towards blind
>> consumers.
>
>No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).
>


Try read this June 2009 story.

http://blog.blindaccessjournal.com/2...ssibility.html

or this

http://nethackz.com/iphone-for-the-blind/

or this

http://blind.wikia.com/wiki/IPhone


More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,
thank you very little.

Ron wrote:

> More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,


If by device you include PCs (though probably not for the iToy-centric),
Windows has had accessibility as a core feature for oh, twenty years.

In article <005fa096$0$23704$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com>,
jdoe@usenetlove.invalid says...
>
> > Settings > General > Accessibility.
>
> No such settings on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).
>
> > the iPhone has VoiceOver technology
>
> No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).
>
> > The contents of the screen can also be enlarged, or zoomed.
>
> No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).
>
>
>

You obviously can't read the original post - it refers to the 3GS, and
NOT to the 3G.

And yes - the 3GS does indeed have all those settings.

--

NightStalker

On 10/25/09 3:54 PM, in article
MPG.254f57aa3ddf301d9898ca@news-europe.giganews.com, "NightStalker"
<NightStalker@somewhere.or.other> wrote:

> In article <005fa096$0$23704$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com>,
> jdoe@usenetlove.invalid says...
>>
>>> Settings > General > Accessibility.
>>
>> No such settings on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).
>>
>>> the iPhone has VoiceOver technology
>>
>> No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).
>>
>>> The contents of the screen can also be enlarged, or zoomed.
>>
>> No such technology on my iPhone 3G (3.1.2).
>>
>>
>>
>
> You obviously can't read the original post - it refers to the 3GS, and
> NOT to the 3G.
>
> And yes - the 3GS does indeed have all those settings.

"John Doe" is a Redmond Fan who once saw an iPhone in a store. That's about
all he knows of them...

In article <y4Odnc_UsayD7XnXnZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
Not Me <Not.Me@Home.Base> wrote:

> Ron wrote:
>
> > More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,
>
> If by device you include PCs (though probably not for the iToy-centric),
> Windows has had accessibility as a core feature for oh, twenty years.

It says a lot that in a news group about *phones*, the best you can do
is talk about features in computers. : )

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR

Jolly Roger wrote:
> In article <y4Odnc_UsayD7XnXnZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
> Not Me <Not.Me@Home.Base> wrote:
>
>> Ron wrote:
>>
>>> More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,
>> If by device you include PCs (though probably not for the iToy-centric),
>> Windows has had accessibility as a core feature for oh, twenty years.
>
> It says a lot that in a news group about *phones*, the best you can do
> is talk about features in computers. : )
>


Well, skippy, you did say

More for the blind on the iPhone */than any other device out there/*

At 25 Oct 2009 16:49:28 -0500 Jolly Roger wrote:
> In article <y4Odnc_UsayD7XnXnZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
> Not Me <Not.Me@Home.Base> wrote:
>
> > Ron wrote:
> >
> > > More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,
> >
> > If by device you include PCs (though probably not for the iToy-
centric),
> > Windows has had accessibility as a core feature for oh, twenty years.
>
> It says a lot that in a news group about *phones*, the best you can do
> is talk about features in computers. : )

Well, to be fair, the two most noteworthy things about the iPhone's
acessibility features for the blind are that they've taken a virtually
unusable device otherwise (touchscreen with no tactile feedback, and only
one button) and made it fairly usable with new gestures and audio feedback,
and, more importantly, that the features are included out-of-the-box, so
there's no requirement to purchase extra software for accessibility (the
"blind tax.")

Having said that, other devices, with add-on software, like Symbian or
Windows Mobile devices with actual dialpads, keyboards, and programmable
keys are a bit more accessible when coupled with screen reader software.
Unfortunately, such software runs about $200. On the plus side, there's
no limitations on how accessible developers can make those devices, since
they can integrate the functionality deep into the OS- much deeper than
3rd-party devs could integrate such features into the iPhone due to the
sandboxing, allowing those platforms to have competing accessibility
products driving feature innovation.

Also, without restricted bluetooth protocols, those platforms can utilize
bluetooth braille keyboards and displays- I don't know of any BT braille
devices for the iPhone yet.

Regardless of how good the 3GS' accessibility features are, users will be
limited to only the accessibility features Apple chooses to include,
since 3rd-party software can't "hok" the OS to run system-wide.
Fortunately, Apple did a nice job with them on the 3GS- probably as well
as they could given the difficulties of the form factor: compare the ease
of, say, dialng a phone number on the "accessible" 3GS vs. any "non-
accessible" candy-bar dumbphone. Sometimes even "accessible" isn't
accessible!

In article <w-qdnfTNeuxYVXnXnZ2dnUVZ_tOdnZ2d@speakeasy.net>,
News <News@Groups.Name> wrote:

> Jolly Roger wrote:
> > In article <y4Odnc_UsayD7XnXnZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
> > Not Me <Not.Me@Home.Base> wrote:
> >
> >> Ron wrote:
> >>
> >>> More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,
> >> If by device you include PCs (though probably not for the iToy-centric),
> >> Windows has had accessibility as a core feature for oh, twenty years.
> >
> > It says a lot that in a news group about *phones*, the best you can do
> > is talk about features in computers. : )
>
> Well, skippy, you did say
>
> More for the blind on the iPhone */than any other device out there/*

Uh, no. I said no such thing, Mary. Learn to read.

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR

Jolly Roger wrote:
> In article <w-qdnfTNeuxYVXnXnZ2dnUVZ_tOdnZ2d@speakeasy.net>,
> News <News@Groups.Name> wrote:
>
>> Jolly Roger wrote:
>>> In article <y4Odnc_UsayD7XnXnZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
>>> Not Me <Not.Me@Home.Base> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Ron wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,
>>>> If by device you include PCs (though probably not for the iToy-centric),
>>>> Windows has had accessibility as a core feature for oh, twenty years.
>>> It says a lot that in a news group about *phones*, the best you can do
>>> is talk about features in computers. : )
>> Well, skippy, you did say
>>
>> More for the blind on the iPhone */than any other device out there/*
>
> Uh, no. I said no such thing, Mary. Learn to read.
>


Learn to thread, moron.

On 10/26/09 12:00 PM, in article
o9OdndQ37fQ-SHjXnZ2dnUVZ_gti4p2d@speakeasy.net, "News" <News@Group.Name>
wrote:

> Jolly Roger wrote:
>> In article <w-qdnfTNeuxYVXnXnZ2dnUVZ_tOdnZ2d@speakeasy.net>,
>> News <News@Groups.Name> wrote:
>>
>>> Jolly Roger wrote:
>>>> In article <y4Odnc_UsayD7XnXnZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
>>>> Not Me <Not.Me@Home.Base> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Ron wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,
>>>>> If by device you include PCs (though probably not for the iToy-centric),
>>>>> Windows has had accessibility as a core feature for oh, twenty years.
>>>> It says a lot that in a news group about *phones*, the best you can do
>>>> is talk about features in computers. : )
>>> Well, skippy, you did say
>>>
>>> More for the blind on the iPhone */than any other device out there/*
>>
>> Uh, no. I said no such thing, Mary. Learn to read.
>>
>
>
> Learn to thread, moron.

Learn to be adaptive, dilettante...

In article <o9OdndQ37fQ-SHjXnZ2dnUVZ_gti4p2d@speakeasy.net>,
News <News@Group.Name> wrote:

> Jolly Roger wrote:
> > In article <w-qdnfTNeuxYVXnXnZ2dnUVZ_tOdnZ2d@speakeasy.net>,
> > News <News@Groups.Name> wrote:
> >
> >> Jolly Roger wrote:
> >>> In article <y4Odnc_UsayD7XnXnZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
> >>> Not Me <Not.Me@Home.Base> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Ron wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,
> >>>> If by device you include PCs (though probably not for the iToy-centric),
> >>>> Windows has had accessibility as a core feature for oh, twenty years.
> >>> It says a lot that in a news group about *phones*, the best you can do
> >>> is talk about features in computers. : )
> >> Well, skippy, you did say
> >>
> >> More for the blind on the iPhone */than any other device out there/*
> >
> > Uh, no. I said no such thing, Mary. Learn to read.
>
> Learn to thread, moron.

You used the noun "thread" as a verb. The word you meant to use is
"quote". I'm fully aware of the many intricacies of quoting. I trimmed
the quotes deliberately. Those of us who know how to use these things
called news clients are unhindered by such things. Maybe one day you
will grow up to be a big girl who can use a news client similarly! One
can dream.

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR

Jolly Roger wrote:
> In article <o9OdndQ37fQ-SHjXnZ2dnUVZ_gti4p2d@speakeasy.net>,
> News <News@Group.Name> wrote:
>
>> Jolly Roger wrote:
>>> In article <w-qdnfTNeuxYVXnXnZ2dnUVZ_tOdnZ2d@speakeasy.net>,
>>> News <News@Groups.Name> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Jolly Roger wrote:
>>>>> In article <y4Odnc_UsayD7XnXnZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@speakeasy.net> ,
>>>>> Not Me <Not.Me@Home.Base> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Ron wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> More for the blind on the iPhone than any other device out there,
>>>>>> If by device you include PCs (though probably not for the iToy-centric),
>>>>>> Windows has had accessibility as a core feature for oh, twenty years.
>>>>> It says a lot that in a news group about *phones*, the best you can do
>>>>> is talk about features in computers. : )
>>>> Well, skippy, you did say
>>>>
>>>> More for the blind on the iPhone */than any other device out there/*
>>> Uh, no. I said no such thing, Mary. Learn to read.
>> Learn to thread, moron.
>
> You used the noun "thread" as a verb. The word you meant to use is
> "quote".


Skippy, had I meant to use a word other than "thread", I would have.

Learn to thread. Learn some context. For all I care, get lost.

In article <sMOdnRQm1fxfRXvXnZ2dnUVZ_oj_fwAA@speakeasy.net> ,
News <News@Groups.Name> wrote:

> For all I care, get lost.

You first, Mary. : )

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR

Jolly Roger wrote:
> In article <sMOdnRQm1fxfRXvXnZ2dnUVZ_oj_fwAA@speakeasy.net> ,
> News <News@Groups.Name> wrote:
>
>> For all I care, get lost.
>
> You first, Mary. : )
>


That's the best snark you've got, closet case?

In article <DYmdnZ5pB_s8v3rXnZ2dnUVZ_gJi4p2d@speakeasy.net> ,
News <News@Groups.Name> wrote:

> Jolly Roger wrote:
> > In article <sMOdnRQm1fxfRXvXnZ2dnUVZ_oj_fwAA@speakeasy.net> ,
> > News <News@Groups.Name> wrote:
> >
> >> For all I care, get lost.
> >
> > You first, Mary. : )
>
> That's the best snark you've got, closet case?

I'll take that as a "no" then. Your loss.

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR