National Library Service's BARD iOS App

By Matthew Bullis

Near the same time iOS7 was released, the National Library Service released its talking book reading app--BARD--for the line of i-devices. BARD stands for Braille and Audio Reading Download. Prior to this application’s release, users of the digital talking book program had to order cartridges through the mail, or download desired books from the BARD site to thumb drives for use in the player. Now it is possible (once you sign up for an account) to access content solely through the iPhone. Everything provided through this interface is free, and the app is well-designed. Because of the population it serves, which is U.S. visually-impaired residents, there is an extensive help file which is always accessible from within the app. It’s recommended that users read this through as they may learn tips and tricks for a better experience. More talking books are being added daily, both new titles, as well as older conversions from cassettes. These books are unique to the blind population, as many of the narrators read exclusively for the talking book program. Since contracted braille files (instead of "letter-for-letter" uncontracted braille) are also part of the collection, users with a connectable braille display can enjoy these titles as well. VoiceOver cannot read contracted braille, so users without a display will be limited to the talking books. This first version is quite robust and the NLS team are committed to making sure that problems are fixed, and that updates are forthcoming.

Which VoiceOver Tutorial Should You Use to Get Started?

By Matthew Bullis

At this writing, there are three ways you can learn about how to use VoiceOver on the I device of your choice. Apple has a built-in practice gesture area, where you can make a gesture and find out what it’s supposed to do. This also works if you’ve paired a braille display and need to know what combinations of keys do. Then came VOStarter at the end of 2012. This app presented a menu of choices where you could either progress through the tutorial, learning about different gestures, or practice the ones you’re not too sure of. Now LookTel, who released a great money identifier and a bar code scanner/item identifier, releases VOTutorial, which is a screen by screen test with long descriptions of how to perform needed gestures. It even includes two games for gesture practice, basketball and crack the safe. With all of these app choices, and with only one of them, VOStarter, costing a dollar, you’d do well to use all three applications. Each one has something that none of the others do. Apple’s practice screen lets you find out a gesture the other way round, after you make it, and the games are enjoyable for more than one play inside of VOTutorial, and VOStarter has screens on more advanced gestures that VOTutorial doesn’t cover. With all three applications, there are multiple ways to absorb the material and the learning curve of VoiceOver itself.

Sendero GPS LookAround

By Matthew Bullis

App Details

By:  Sendero Group, LLC

Price:  $4.99

Devices:  Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.  Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Description:  This $5 app is aptly named, as it’s not actually a complete GPS solution. It will tell you where you are, and you can ascertain the nearest cross street, but you cannot get step-by-step directions to where you want to go. Simply shake the phone and get localized information, sorted by category if you like. You’ll not be able to input an address and find the distance to that point though. LookAround is just what it does, so that you can apply what the app tells you to your surroundings. Use this as one of several tools in your mobility arsenal. You’ll probably want a more robust solution if you’re doing a lot of navigating to unfamiliar places.

Sendero GPS LookAround is compatible for blind, low vision, and sighted.

Pros

• Low price of $5 to get information about your surroundings
• Accessibility will always be built in, since Sendero is a blindness-specific company

Cons

• Not a complete GPS solution
• Does not include turn-by-turn navigation
• Unable to put in an address and be directed to it

Review of V O Starter for the Iphone

By Matthew Bullis

App Details

By:  Michael Doise

Price:  $0.99

Devices:  Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd, 4th, and 5th generation), and iPad.  Requires iOS 5.0 or later.  This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description:  This $.99 app, pronounced V O Starter, available in the App Store, lets new users to the VoiceOver interface get to know how VoiceOver changes the way you interact with the screen. With a step-by-step user wizard, plus a menu interface to alternatively let you choose the practice session you wish, you can learn how to use different gestures to make the most of your IPhone or I device experience. This app is what really should be included in Apple’s Practice Gestures part of the operating system, since the existing practice area necessitates you knowing something about gestures already, in order to get into that screen.

If you’re relatively comfortable with the use of VoiceOver, perhaps you’ve not come across pickers or switches before. VOStarter has a screen for those features to let you test those out. You get a challenge when you’re using the entering text screen, since VoiceOver doesn’t speak the exact thing you’re supposed to type in, including the space character and the exclamation point, but you do get the hang of learning how to type and select characters. Apart from this small stumbling block, you learn quite a lot about how to control your I device with VoiceOver, and there’s not too much else to say, except that this app teaches you well and quickly, so you can continue on and be productive in other ways.

VOStarter is compatible for blind and low vision.

Pros

• Covers the use of a few gestures that the Looktel app does not

Cons

• Not free like Apple's gesture screen or the Looktel app
• Trouble with the typing screen for new users
• No games to test your practice

LookTel VoiceOver Tutorial

By Matthew Bullis

App Details

By:  IPPLEX

Price:  Free

Devices:  Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 6.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description:  This free app from LookTel gives a different slant to the tutorials of VoiceOver which have come before it. This tutorial is straightforward with its screens, and it even has two games built in, to test your use of its gestures. Each screen is filled with detailed descriptions of how to use each gesture, and you can go back and practice with these, should you have questions. It remains to be seen whether LookTel will add more gesture practice screens, but the two games, basketball and crack the safe, make this app one which has good replay value.

LookTel is compatible for blind, low vision, and sighted.

Pros

• Two games to test your gesture knowledge
• A free way to learn how to use VoiceOver

Cons

• Not at this time

Numbers

By Matthew Bullis

App Details

By:  Apple Inc.

Price:  $9.99

Devices:  Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 5.1 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description:  This ten dollar app from the productivity category in the app store lets you navigate Excel spreadsheets. You pretty much need to use a Bluetooth keyboard for this app. However, with VoiceOver, this app is a challenge. It lets you navigate across the columns but not down the rows. I’m not sure what’s gone on there, but these issues have been reported to Apple by other users. Other suggestions have also been sent. Without the ability to review the whole worksheet, it doesn’t really help me, and I need to use the Windows version. It’s not as simple as just sliding down the cells with your finger. VoiceOver uses the downward motion of your finger to change the rotor settings, a feature which is unique to the VoiceOver feature set. You can’t disable the rotor, and nor would you want to, since that’s how you navigate by words, characters, links on a web page, and so on. I look forward to a creative solution from an app update in the future, should that become available.

Numbers is compatible for blind, low vision, and sighted.

Cons

• VoiceOver use with this app is a challenge, able to use Excel on a Windows platform much easier

Pages

By Matthew Bullis

App Details

By:  Apple Inc.

Price:  $9.99

Devices:  Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd, 4th, and 5th generation) and iPad.  Requires iOS 5.1 or later.  This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description:   This ten dollar word processing app is good for what it does, but for the following reasons, it just doesn’t get it for me. As a user of Windows with the Jaws screen reading package for over fifteen years, and with a typing speed in excess of fifty words a minute, the Pages app will help me to produce documents on the IPhone with a Bluetooth keyboard, but these tasks can be accomplished by me more easily on Windows. When you’re typing along, it’s just fine, but when editing using VoiceOver, you have to rely on its feedback. This involves turning on and off the QuickNav feature, and using the rotor gesture to select the navigation unit, whether it be by characters or words. It’s several keystrokes that a sighted user doesn’t have to use, since they can touch right where they want to make the edit. Also, you can’t simply use the toggle commands to underline or bold like you can in Microsoft Word. It also takes a few navigational elements in order to get to the canvas area where you can start editing. If I need to quickly write down something, and if my Windows computer is running, I can start typing in a blank document in about two seconds, and for my speed of productivity, it’s to Windows I’ll go, though this Pages app is good within its own platform, extra keystrokes and all.

Pages is compatible for blind, low vision, and sighted.

Pros

• Ability to access your documents in a mobile setting

Cons

• Not as speedy as working with documents on Windows platform

PocketTime

By Matthew Bullis

App Details

By:  Aeliox

Price:  $0.99

Devices:  Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.  Requires iOS 3.0 or later.

Description:  This $1 app has been in the app store since March 2010. However, around March 2013, a company in Switzerland called Alexandra Vision, developed a vibrating timepiece for discreet time checking. A long vibration stands for five units of time, and the watch has three buttons, hour, tens of minute, and last digit of minute.

www.AlexandraVision.com

However, if you don’t wish to spend about $150 for their Memeor watch, the PocketTime app from Aeliox might be the thing for you as an I device user. Be sure to purchase the app from Aeliox, as there is another app by the same name which does not perform the same function. PocketTime, unlike the watches from Alexandra Vision, will give seven vibrations for seven o’clock, instead of using long and short vibrations. PocketTime will pause between time digits. If the digit is 0, you’ll get an extra pause. You simply activate the app, turn off VoiceOver, which you’ve hopefully set to the triple click home setting, and thereafter, when you touch the screen anywhere, you’ll get the time pulses. That’s all this app does, and it does it well. I personally prefer my Meteor watch from Alexandra Vision, but as I have said, if you already own an I device, this may be your way of telling the time during a particular situation when it’s not appropriate to use a talking watch. Press the home button to return to normal functioning, and remember to turn VoiceOver back on.

PocketTime is compatible for blind, low vision, and sighted.

Pros

• Ability to silently tell time

Cons

• A vibration for each unit of time, instead of long vibration for five units

Typing on the Iphone With VoiceOver and it's Built-in Keyboards

By Matthew Bullis

When it’s required, you’ll have a keyboard pop up to enter text on the iPhone. Two free layouts are built-into the operating system for VoiceOver users. There will be times when you don’t have an external Bluetooth keyboard, or when you just need to enter one or two fields of text. You’ll need to know how to type on the IPhone keyboard in either typing mode, as a VoiceOver user.

The standard layout allows you to find the letter you want by sliding your finger around until you hit it just right. Stop there with that finger and tap with another finger anywhere else to type that letter. Keep practicing until you get reasonable results. The More button gives you extra needed symbols.

The other layout is touch typing. Try this one second, after you use the rotor gestures by twisting two fingers like a radio dial until you hear typing mode. You’re on Standard, so swipe down with one finger to get Touch Typing. Twist again to set the rotor to something else to avoid accidentally switching modes. Now, the split tap won’t work. You need only find the desired letter by sliding around and lifting to select that letter.

Repeat the rotor process described above to switch between typing modes. Try both modes and get comfortable with each, or very good with one, so that you can type on the IPhone when you need to.

Color ID Free

By Tobin Ernst

App Details

By:  GreenGar Studios

Price:  Free

Devices:  Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation), iPad 2 Wi-Fi, iPad 2 Wi-Fi +3G, iPad (3rd generation), iPad Wi-Fi +4G, iPad (4th generation), iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (4th generation), iPad mini and iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular. Requires iOS 5.1 or later.

Description:  Color Identifier uses the camera on your iPhone or iPod touch to speak the names of colors in real-time. It’s an Augmented Reality app for discovering the names of the colors around you! The color names are fun and specific: Paris Daisy, Lavender Rose, Moon Mist, and many more. The app also supports Simple Colors. Tap the color square at the top to toggle between Simple Colors and Exotic Colors. It can be a useful app for the blind and visually impaired, but also fun for anyone. It will also tell you the hex value of the color, so you can identify exactly what color the camera sees. It’s fast, easy, and fun! Try it today.

Color ID is compatible for blind, low vision, or sighted.

Pros

• Fast to pick out colors
• Free
• Accurate

Cons

• Color wheel is too robust; would like to just have it ID "royal blue, navy blue, power blue"
• Colors only show up if it is at a certain angle or in the right lighting
• Not Android compatible, only available for Apple products

Trekker Breeze

By Matthew Bullis

App Details

By:  Humanware

Price:  $499

Description:  Trekker Breeze from Humanware will have you out and about within twenty minutes after you learn the layout of the unit. You can then enjoy your traveling while being guided to your destination with just the right amount of assistance from the Trekker’s all-in-one design.

With this one-handed unit plus good mobility skills, you’ll be able to do everything that commercial GPS units for sighted users do. Even though many of the buttons serve dual functions, the second function is logical and not hard to remember. You get help with both driving and pedestrian routes. You can choose to set a landmark as your destination or create a route for frequently-used places. You can check the next turn or direction with the right arrow, in case no one is sure exactly where they are going. Because GPS technology can get you from within 30 to 100 feet of your destination, you still must possess good mobility skills, whether you’re using a white cane or a guide dog. The Trekker is there to give you that extra layer of confidence while out and about. Therefore, this machine is recommended for all ages, as long as mobility skills are up to par.

There are many advantages to a simplified device like this. With only nine main buttons, you can accomplish many things through menu systems. However, with small devices come small sacrifices, such as the doubling of buttons when entering addresses. Also, only a female voice is included in this unit, which may be hard to hear in traffic. Some knowledge of the computer is required to handle transfer of the maps and other updates for the unit.

Trekker Breeze is compatible for blind, low vision, or sighted.

Pros:

• Great way to understand the environment and your surroundings
• Once you are familiar with the device, it is very easy to use
• Small and extremely accurate

Cons

• There are iPhone apps available that will essentially do the same thing
• Highly priced
• If you are in an unfamiliar area, such as a different state/country, you must add (upload) the new map

SayHi Translate

By Matthew Bullis 

App Details

By:  SayHi, LLC

Price:  $0.99

Devices:  Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4/4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd, 4th, and 5th generation) and iPad.  Requires iOS 5.0 or later.  This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description:  This one-dollar app is the second one I tried for translating to other languages. The first one dollar app, called ITranslate, does the same thing, but I couldn’t get that to work with VoiceOver. This SayHi Translate app is a little bit fiddly, with a few unlabeled buttons, but they can easily be labeled with VoiceOver, once you find out what they do. Once you set the primary and secondary language, you get two buttons at the bottom of the screen. Because VoiceOver tends to speak over you when you’re trying to speak the phrase, turn off its speech with a three-finger double-tap. This turns off speech, but not VoiceOver itself, which is handy if you want to use a braille display and no speech. Tap the bottom of the screen on the left to get that button into focus for your primary language, and then double-tap. In my case, the primary language is English, and I chose French as a secondary. I speak in English, and a speech server returns an audible result in French. If I then tap the right bottom corner, then double-tap, I must speak in French, as that’s the secondary. I do so, and the speech server returns the English result. The conversation history is flickable in the top area of the screen, so you can adjust your phrasing or pace in future, if the phone doesn’t quite understanding you. This is quite a handy tool, and fun besides.

SayHi Translate is compatible for blind, low vision, or sighted.

Pros:

• SayHi is able to translate nearly all of the most commonly used languages
• VoiceOver compatible--unlike most other translation apps
• Fun & handy app usable for convenience or pleasure for just $1

Cons:

• Some of the buttons are not labeled
• VoiceOver speech interferes with the recording, so you must disable speech by double-tapping with 3 fingers
• There is a slight learning curve, as it takes time to get used to

Talking Turner

By Matthew Bullis

App Details

By:  HotPaw Productions

Price:  $0.99

Devices:  Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.  Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Description:  Finally, there exists an app for visually impaired musicians to check the tuning of their musical instruments. The tuners that existed before this one were hardware devices which used a needle to indicate the state of the note being played. This was no help if you can’t see at all. Many blind musicians have very good sense of pitch, though results vary with each individual. This app will tell you what note you’re near, and will say, for instance, “Note A is five cents flat.” If you increase the pitch of the note, the tuner will tell you if you’ve gone sharp or if it’s now in tune. You should wait until the note has had about a second or so to settle, as the striking of the note places it a bit higher than what it will eventually resolve to. I’ve tested this tuner app with a range of instruments: harmonicas, guitars, autoharps, mandolins, and various other stringed instruments I have at my disposal, and the tuner was able to detect notes within the full range. The autoharp for instance, has a three octave range, and other instruments have doubled strings and other overlaying harmonics and incidental harmony, such as the accordion or concertina. For one dollar, this app is extremely valuable, and was actually designed with the blind in mind.

Talking Tuner is compatible for blind, low vision, or sighted.

Pros:

• Fully accessible with VoiceOver
• Easy to use/navigate
• Extremely accurate

Cons:

• Talking Tuner has experienced some trouble with identifying extremely high notes

Vibrating Watch from Alexandra Vision

By Matthew Bullis

App Details

By:  Alexandra Vision

Price:  $150 and up

Description:  For years in the blindness community, we’ve had talking watches and clocks. They’ve been great to keep us on track, but many have been noisier than some of us would like. Most have a bing! Noise before you hear “It’s five thirty one PM.” If someone wanted to check the time, and was wearing a wristwatch, it’s very hard to try to cover up the watch to muffle the sound of your checking the time. There have also been the “braille,” or actually tactile watches, which make checking the time more discreet, but there again, you get a click sound when you open the lid. Tissot came out with a vibrating watch about ten years ago, where you ran your fingers around the face to find the vibrations where the hands would usually be. This watch has been discontinued, but now another Swiss manufacturer has produced a line of pocket and pendant watches for discreet time telling. Press the first button to get the hour, the second for the next digit of the hour, and the third for the last. A long vibration signals five units, and no vibrations signal a zero in that position. Moving through an hour, you don’t need to hear the whole time, but maybe just press the middle button to see how close the top of the hour is. For about $150 and up, you can have this innovative way of telling the time discreetly. This reviewer chose the Meteor, which slips neatly and slimly into your pocket.

Compatible for blind, low vision, and sighted.

Pros:

• Discreet way of checking time, without distracting sighted peers
• Unique look and conversation starter
• User is able to check partial time throughout the hour, such as one digit at a time, instead of needing to get the complete time announcement

Cons

• Not at this time

Tips & Tricks:  Visit www.AlexandraVision.com