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