Would you please vote for Audio Eyes to be eligible to apply for the grant from Chase mentioned in the link below.
It’s pretty easy to do and it can make a huge difference for those with disabilities.
Audio Eyes is the organization that is donating space for LARRS, thus allowing the LA Radio Reading Service to continue to broadcast, so I want to help them reach the required goal of 250 votes by Friday, June 29th. Go to the following link at http://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/#.T-lCZaHcDpg.email and type Audio Eyes in the search box.
Their Northridge address will come up, so you know it is the right business.
Click and you’re done!
AppAdive for the I Phone
The App advice app can be used on the following devices I phone, I pad, and I pod.
IDevice primer 101 basic termonology
Idevice primer 101 basic termnology
It has been said that technology has made the world smaller, but for the blind or those with poor vision, iDevices are opening up a whole new world.
Appadvice Recommends Apps for the Blind And Visually Impaired
BLIND people and those with vision impairment take using voice commands for granted when using modern technology. So when Apple launched the iPhone 4S with virtual assistant Siri, vision impaired people got very excited.
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes said that the technology would be of great value to people with vision impairment and he has his order in for an iPhone 4S already.
“While the technology will be much more efficient for blind people than the triple-tap input used now, I would think that the (voice commands) would benefit many people – vision impaired or not.”
Related Coverage
iPhone 4S makes frenzied world debut The Daily Telegraph, 7 days ago Siri goes silent on iPhone 4S The Australian, 4 Nov 2011 How to… use speech recognition The Daily Telegraph, 2 Nov 2011 Siri co-founder has jumped ship Herald Sun, 25 Oct 2011 Aussie developer takes Siri-ous initiative The Daily Telegraph, 24 Oct 2011 Voice technology designer Tim Noonan said that there were 10 things blind people could teach other iPhone 4S users about Siri.
“Users should speak clearly and ask for one thing at a time,” Mr Noonan said. Also, because the maps, traffic and business data is currently only available for the US, users should ensure that contacts include home and work addresses so that commands such as “take me home” can be given and followed by Siri.
Also, for people who work in large office blocks or complexes, addresses need to match the global positioning satellite address for the complex. “If your building has multiple addresses and you say ‘remind me at work,’ Siri won’t recognise that you are at work unless the addresses match.”
Mr Innes commented that “Siri won’t work well when there is background noise”.
“Always use Siri when your phone is unlocked,” Mr Noonan said although the iPhone 4S has capability that can be used when the screen is locked, it can cause crashes when using voice commands, he said.
Mr Innes said that single commands such as “find (the name of a song)” or “find email from (named person)” work well, Mr Noonan said that these commands allow you to find emails by specific dates.
“Siri can also be used to send text messages or send a text to Twitter,” Mr Noonan said. “Give Siri small chunks of information. That’s the most important thing,” he said
Instructions: Please respond to all multiple-choice questions by
recording one letter for your response, unless otherwise specified.
For open-ended questions, please record your own response.
Age:
Gender:
Occupation:
Location (City, State):
1. How do you prefer to read?
a. Audio books
b. Braille
2. In the past year, how many Braille books have you read?
a. Less than 10 books
b. 11 – 20 books
c. 21 – 30 books
d. 31 or more books
3. What do you prefer to use Braille for? May choose more than one.
a. Educational
b. Recreational
c. Professional
4. How much would you expect to pay if we were to produce this product?
a. Less than $300
b. $300 – $599
c. $600 – $899
d. $900 – $1199
e. $1200 or above
5. How likely are you to buy this product in this expected price range?
a. Definitely will buy
b. Probably will buy
c. Unsure
d. Probably will not buy
e. Definitely will not buy
6. What is the maximum price you would be willing to pay for this
new product?
7. Which brand name is most appealing to you?
a. eBraille
b. Electronic Braille Reader (EBR)
c. Other (please specify)
8. Where do you usually hear about new technologies for the blind?
a. Blind-related centers
b. Radio shows
c. Internet blogs
d. Conventions, conferences
e. Other (please specify)
9. Which of the following venues are you most likely to buy this
product from?
a. Websites
b. Catalogues received via organizations
c. Bookstores
d. Other (please specify)
10. What technology do you currently use to aid in reading?
Please rank this technology on the following attributes according to
their level of importance. 1 = very important, 5 = least important.
Please use each number only once.
● Portable
● Inexpensive
● Easy to Use
● Long Battery Life
● Storage Memory Space: ___
11. Where did you purchase it?
12. If you had to choose, which three of the following six features
would make you most likely to buy this product? Please record the
three letters for the features of your choosing.
a. A headphone jack for audio
b. An on device speaker for audio
c. A detachable battery that can be charged on its own
d. Rubber grips that make the device easier to hold
e. A kickstand case that elevates the eBraille on a flat surface
f. A lanyard worn around your neck to attach to the device to stabilize it
13. Please rank the following attributes for the eBraille according
to their level of importance. 1 = very important, 5 = least important.
Please use each number only once.
● Portable
● Inexpensive
● Easy to Use
● Long Battery Life
● Storage and Memory Space
14. How likely are you to buy this product online?
a. Very Likely
b. Not Likely
Our semester Boston University project is to create a business plan
for a new product. We are developing an e-reader with a refreshable
40-cell Braille display. With a USB cord, the eBraille is able to
download any text document (including but not limited to ebooks, pdfs,
and word documents), and translate the text into Braille using
software we are developing, and save the file on the lightweight
portable device. We cannot hope to properly develop this product
without your valued opinions and we appreciate your responses. People
who offer opinions and fill out our questionnaire will be registered
to receive a free prototype e-Braille unit should our device ever go
to market to test the device. Thank you so much. We appreciate your
input and ideas.
There are three formats in which people can fill out our questionnaire
and voice their opinions and input what they would like from the
e-Braille. You can fill out the survey using the SURVEY MONKEY link or
the BOSTON UNIVERSITY link or by reading the text at the bottom of the
email.
Summary: Our semester project is to create a business plan for a new
product. We are developing an e-reader with a refreshable 40-cell
Braille display. With a USB cord, the eBraille is able to download any
text document (including but not limited to ebooks, pdfs, and word
documents), and translate the text into Braille using software we are
developing, and save the file on the lightweight portable device. We
cannot hope to properly develop this product without your valued
opinions and we appreciate your responses.
Instructions: Please respond to all multiple-choice questions by
recording one letter for your response, unless otherwise specified.
For open-ended questions, please record your own response.
To see survey go to the following website address at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DYHN583
Our last technology column served to bring up a topic which is rapidly becoming a very big thing indeed. In describing her experience with the touch screen on the iPad, Kay Bauer introduced us to a trend which may well come to dominate the technology discussion in this field for years to come. Apple iPhones and computers are also beginning to attract attention with their built-in Voiceover screen readers.
Apple is not the only major player building nonvisual access into cell phones based on touchscreens. Android, Google’s touch-oriented cell phone operating system, now provides spoken cues for most if not all commands and controls. A growing number of adventurous blind users are taking advantage of these possibilities, even though no formal training is yet available for either the Apple or Google screen readers. You will meet one of those adventurers later in this column.
First, it is worth noting that a product development project has been announced which could change the game with regard to touchscreen training for blind users. The National Braille Press (NBP) Center for Braille Innovation and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) are cooperating in the development of a notetaker or personal data assistant with a braille display which will run on the Android operating system. The new product was initially called the “The Braille Wizard.” Unhappily, “Wizard” as a name was already copyrighted, so NBP is conducting a contest in search of a new name. Although the device isn’t likely to be ready for delivery before 2012, the new Android-based product may very well be the next new notetaker in our field, as other developers look to see what its affects will be on the market and how close it will come to its unofficial price estimate of $2,000. If this new product becomes the next big thing whenever it might be released, touchscreen training for blind users will quickly become as common as books on Windows and Microsoft Word are today. For now, however, early adopters of Apple and Android products may be the best available source of information on those touchscreens which have begun to learn to talk.
Jolie Mason wasn’t an eager beaver when it came to giving the iPhone a try. It’s not as if she is resistant to new technology; she hosts a weekly radio show about technology on KPFK in Los Angeles. Here’s how she described her initial experience as a blind iPhone user during a recent telephone interview.
“Initially, I was very hostile to the iPhone, so I really have come full circle. My Nokia 6620 that I just loved started not working and my husband, a big Mac user, continually wanted to get me to use an iPhone. Well, eventually, when I had to move to a different cell phone, he did convince me to use the iPhone.
“Initially, learning all those different gestures, I didn’t find it a very intuitive environment. As I worked with it more and began to understand how you get from place to place and do different things with the interface, suddenly it was just like a whole new world opening up. Happily, they have a very nice 800 number for help with my iPhone and boy, did I talk to those people! It probably took me about a week to learn the gestures and probably about two months or so to get pretty good with the iPhone. Now, it’s just incredible!”
Q. “Tell us some of what you like best about the iPhone.”
A. “The iPhone, when you take it out of the box, has Voiceover with it. You don’t have to load other screen reader stuff. You don’t have to try to figure out how to get the thing to talk. You just press a couple of buttons, and there is Voiceover up and working on any iPhone. So suddenly, on that initial screen that you open up with the iPhone, there are twenty native apps–that just means little programs that come with it–that are created by Apple. All of those talk! All of a sudden, you have a talking GPS (navigational software for outdoor travel), you have a talking maps feature and you have a talking calendar.
“Also, when I opened up the Talking Memo feature, there is a talking VU meter (for setting audio levels). For sixteen years I have been working in radio and never had anything as easy to use as that talking VU meter.”
Considering her enthusiasm for the device, it is not surprising that Mason hosts a user group on a blog dedicated to iPhone access. In that role, she has worked with a great many iPhone applications, some of which “talk” out-of-the-box, while many others do not. She has also worked with some developers to improve the behavior of their software with Voiceover. One such application, which may have amazing potential for blind shoppers, is something called Fast Mall. It uses a combination of actual data, such as the roster of businesses in a particular mall, and a so-called virtual mapping system, to give highly specific directions to bring a shopper from point A to point B. Mason says it can be a bit of a challenge for the user to enter the name of the desired Mall into the iPhone using the on-screen touch keyboard. She uses a portable Bluetooth keyboard for typing more than a few characters at a time.
The good news about Fast Mall is that it works well with Voiceover. The bad news is that malls have to be added to the system one-by-one, often depending on a request by a specific iPhone user. If Fast Mall develops as Mason believes it will, the application will rate a separate article by itself one day soon.
Mason is also highly positive about some other iPhone applications, including a barcode reader, a piece of dictation software, and a basic orientation program which can help the user find out the name of the nearest intersection. The dictation software takes spoken language and turns it into electronic text. Mason told me that she uses it to dictate her text messages, instead of typing on the rather clunky on-screen keyboard.
Clearly, Jolie Mason thinks of her iPhone not merely as a phone, but as a full computer, complete with e-mail and internet browsing. She expects the situation to improve dramatically as new talking applications continue to appear at a rapid rate. She believes that one day soon, major hotels, hospitals and airports will be fully mapped in an application similar to Fast Mall, enabling adventurous blind users such as herself to move about the indoor environment with dramatically increased freedom. If she is correct about even a few of these developments, blind and low vision users of the future will have some intriguing choices to make. The question may no longer be “to touch or not to touch?” but “which screen do I want to get my hands on–iPhone, or Android?” Whichever operating system prevails, it seems increasingly likely that–ready or not–those talking touchscreens will one day soon be a lot closer to many of us than they are right now.
This month’s news items reflect the excitement and increased product activity associated with the two major blindness consumer organization conventions. Both the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and National Federation of the Blind (NFB) conducted their weeklong annual membership meetings in early July. The assistive technology companies, as well as other groups that want to bring products and services to our attention, set up shop in the exhibit halls of the NFB and ACB convention host hotels. Here are some of the highlights as noted by AFB TECH staffer Bradley Hodges.
Barcode-scanning products that allow for independent identification of food packages, household goods, and any item that has been labeled with a standard commercial barcode have been available for some time. A new $30 software product and a $299 hardware/internet option were on display, along with the long-established ID Mate.
Digital Miracles, LLC, demonstrated a new $30 iPhone app called Digit-Eyes. Once installed on an iPhone, the software can be used to identify barcodes already printed on food or other packages. In addition, software is provided that facilitates printing custom barcodes on the sort of inexpensive adhesive labels available at any office supply store. The company is careful to state that Digit-Eyes is intended as a helper application. It describes techniques for identifying and capturing barcodes using the iPhone camera. We have had an opportunity to try the product briefly at AFB TECH. Although it is not a substitute for a hardware-based device using a laser scanner, for $30 it may be useful, especially for those individuals who have experience using a camera. We are also encouraged by the thoughtful and refined interface and support information provided on Digital Miracles’ website.
The A T Guys company demonstrated a somewhat different take on barcode scanning with a $299 customized scanner compatible with the company’s BCScan online service. The device is a commercial-grade laser scanner, similar to those used in retail establishments. The scanner is held in the hand or attached to a stand. The product to be identified is moved in front of the scanner where an omni-directional laser system mounted in the scanner head picks up the barcode. A personal computer (PC) or other device connected to the Internet captures the digital information stored on the barcode and checks it against an online database of millions of products. If the product is found, the information is read via the screenreader installed on the computer. The $299 price tag is just for the scanner; there is no recurring charge for the look-up service. In addition to a PC, the service can be used with most braille notetakers and Apple computers. More information is available on the A T Guys’ website.
Like barcode-scanning technology, specialized notetakers have been available for some time. This year, several new products and new opportunities to broaden the use of notetakers were very much in evidence.
For many attending the 2010 conventions, the HumanWare Apex range of products was new. The voice-only version of the Apex with either a braille or QWERTY input was introduced the Friday before the NFB Convention. The products are physically identical to Apex offerings that include a braille display. According to HumanWare, voice-only versions can be updated to include a braille display at any time.
GW Micro displayed its prototype of a new notetaker in the company’s Braille Sense line. Known as the “Braille Sense OnHand,” the prototype has a unique hardware design that reflects the general design sensibilities of other Braille Sense products. It offers 18 cells of braille in a compact unit that appeared to be only slightly larger than the similar Voice Sense voice-only notetaker. Exact pricing and availability were not available. GW Micro is now accepting orders for two products that were announced at last March’s CSUN Conference, the Voice Sense QWERTY at $1,995 and the Book Sense DS at $499. Delivery information for the United States is expected shortly; however, no date has been announced yet. More information is available on GW Micro’s website.
Refreshable braille displays are often among the most expensive specialized devices on exhibit. Two products drew attention for their relatively low cost and high value. Perkins Products offers an 80-cell refreshable braille display for the remarkably low price of $3,900. Manufactured by Seika, it offers a USB connection and is supported by all major Windows screenreaders and Apple VoiceOver.
Freedom Scientific highlighted a 40-cell refreshable braille display, which includes both Bluetooth connectivity and a full Braille keyboard for data input. The Focus 40 Blue braille display is available for $2,795.
On July 6, Bay Area Digital announced the introduction of the Pronto! range of notetakers in the United States. If you are familiar with the BrailleNote PK, then you have an idea of what the Pronto! looks and feels like. In addition to the updated 18-cell version (the Pronto! 18), a voice-only version (Pronto! QS) and the larger 40-cell (Pronto! 40) version are available. Pronto! features are said to be comparable with other specialized notetaker products. In addition, some unique functions, including a PDF reader and the ability to send and receive text messages via a connected cell phone, are supported. Prices range from $2,995 for the speech-only version, to $7,495 for the Braille 40 cell. Information is available on Bay Area Digital’s website.
Beyond the new offerings and some welcome price reductions, most of the buzz surrounding notetakers and braille displays concerned Apple’s recent support of full navigation and control of iPod, iPhone, and iPad devices using iOS4 software. There is no doubt that many braille-centric devices that are equipped with Bluetooth can now be used to interface with Apple’s mobile products. What is not quite as clear is whether they will all behave equally well. Some technical matters involving the manner in which special commands, such as the home button, are supported are not yet totally clear. A few conflicts exist between the key commands that Apple has assigned for these functions and hardware keyboard commands that are used by some devices. Interest in this area is high, and we are optimistic that these growing pains will soon be behind us. On balance, response to this advancement in interconnected hardware appears overwhelmingly positive. Many conventioneers I spoke with expressed a desire to investigate an Apple device for the first time.
Lastly on the Apple front, three affordable screen protectors for Apple mobile devices have been introduced by Solona. The stand-out feature of the Solona protectors is their tactile markings. For iPod Touch and iPhone screens, rows of dots indicating the rows of letters when the keyboard is available occupy the lower portion of the clear plastic cover. Several additional dots orient the fingers to important screen locations, including the 5 key on the iPhone version. For iPad users, a braille keyboard is embossed for orientation to the virtual keyboard when the landscape mode is used. In my limited experience, the tactile markings were easy to find when desired, yet were never intrusive while flicking or using other VoiceOver gestures. Priced at $6 for the iPhone/iPod versions, slightly more for iPad, the screen protectors are available on Solona’s website.
Optical character recognition is an important and evolving technology. Several new devices demonstrate the ongoing refinement and imaginative activity currently in progress. Freedom Scientific previewed the PEARL Portable Reading Solution at the CSUN conference. The product is now in production. The camera uses a folding design, which one colleague compared to a folding umbrella. When extended, it resembles a high-tech desk lamp. Documents are placed, face up, on a table or desk and oriented against the edge of the base. The image size is stated as 8.5 by 11 inches. A demonstration of the product revealed excellent speed and accuracy. The lighting issue, which was mentioned in this publication earlier this year, has been elegantly addressed with a switch-triggered internal light designed to provide consistent illumination of the document area. PEARL is a companion product to Freedom Scientific’s OpenBook reading system. The camera alone is priced at $1,195.
A new and innovative self-contained reading machine, the ClearReader+ was previewed in the Optelec/VisionCue booth. The device looks remarkably like a compact boombox. To begin reading, a slender arm, which contains a small, downward-facing camera and light source, swings up from the front of the unit and extends several inches toward the user. The ClearReader+ recognizes print placed face up, beneath the camera arm on the table or desk immediately in front of the unit. A prominent round control with a center button on the ClearReader+ top begins document acquisition and control. Smaller controls are used for reviewing by word, sentence, or paragraph. Basic voice output options and selectable voices are offered. The system is intended for use in libraries and other public settings and by those who do not desire to interact with a conventional computer. ClearReader+ is expected to become available in the fall and will be priced at $2,495.
Many readers of this publication are aware of the difficulty in interpreting inaccessible images encountered online. Solona offers two services intended to address this situation. The newest of these is RAIVE, which stands for “remotely analyzing and interpreting visual elements.” With a free software application available from Solona’s website, an inaccessible image can be captured and submitted, along with a question, to a Solona volunteer. A service now under development will provide identification of images captured on mobile phones and other devices equipped with a camera and network connection.
Sendero Group has released a PC product called Sendero Maps. This highly anticipated product is a 21st-century version of the popular Atlas Speaks, one of the first specialized mapping and way-finding programs designed for the blind. The Sendero Maps application is loaded onto a PC along with state or regional (multistate) maps for the areas in which you wish to travel. The interface provides a unique virtualized method of exploring an area near a specific address or along a route. Points of interest are announced as you move ahead, in either direction or behind the current location. A 30-day trial is available by arrangement from the Sendero Group website. The product is priced at $395 for those who do not already own a Sendero product, with substantial discounts available for those customers who already have other Sendero products.
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Seek Comment on Accessible Mobile Phone Options
On May 13, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau held a workshop on “expanding disability access with wireless technologies” to learn more about mobile communications issues facing people with disabilities and the ways in which new technologies can offer opportunities to meet the communications access needs of this community. Participants included stakeholders from the disability community, industry, academia, and nonprofit organizations. On June 15, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau met with 12 members of the deaf-blind community, along with representatives of the Helen Keller National Center and the American Association of the Deaf-Blind to discuss telecommunications and Internet barriers experienced by this population.
Based on the input that commission staff received during these events, along with the record developed in conjunction with the National Broadband Plan, commission staff concluded that people who are blind or have other vision disabilities have few accessible and affordable wireless phone options. More specifically, according to statements made at the workshop, the vast majority of mobile telephones are not accessible to this population without the addition of expensive software. Commission staff were also concerned that many wireless technologies may not be compatible with the braille displays needed by individuals who are deaf-blind. In addition, according to the participants of the June 15 meeting, many specialized technologies needed to enable wireless telecommunications access for the deaf-blind community are cost prohibitive and difficult to find.
In order to be fully informed on the issues raised by consumers and to determine appropriate next steps to achieve telecommunications access for these populations, the commission is seeking input from all stakeholders on the following:
The wireless phone features and functions in the current marketplace that are not accessible for people who are blind, have vision loss, or are deaf-blind and the extent to which gaps in accessibility are preventing wireless communication access by these populations;
The cost and feasibility of technical solutions to achieve wireless accessibility for these populations;
Reasons why there are not a greater number of wireless phones–particularly among less expensive or moderately priced handset models–that are accessible to people who are blind or have vision loss;
Technical obstacles, if any, to making wireless technologies compatible with braille displays, as well as the cost and feasibility of technical solutions to achieve other forms of compatibility with wireless products and services for people who are deaf-blind;
Recommendations on the most effective and efficient technical and policy solutions for addressing the needs of consumers with vision disabilities, including those who are deaf-blind; and
Recommendations on actions that the bureaus should take to address the current lack of access. For example, is additional guidance needed on specific access features that should be included in wireless products? Should the bureaus facilitate a dialogue among stakeholders in order to reach a specific agreement to address the accessibility concerns outlined above?
Interested parties may file comments on or before September 13, 2010, and reply comments on or before September 30, 2010. Comments may be made 1) through the commission’s electronic comment filing system (ECFS), 2) via the federal government’s eRulemaking Portal, or 3) by filing paper copies.
Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS website. Filers should follow the instructions provided on the website for submitting comments. Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and four copies of each filing. If more than one docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or rulemaking number. Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail (although the commission has continued to experience delays in receiving U.S. Postal Service mail). All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. The Commission’s contractor will receive hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission’s Secretary at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Suite 110, Washington, D.C. 20002. The filing hours at this location are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering the building. Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail must be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW, Washington D.C. 20554
In braille (3 volumes), eBraille, ASCII text/Word, and DAISY formats, $18
To Order book go to National Braille Press
The iPhone. You know you want one…
You can use your iPhone to check email and Twitter, listen to music, listen to radio programs from faraway places, read eBooks, verify your walking or driving location, pay bills and transfer funds, monitor the weather across the planet, time recipes, awaken to the alarm clock, be reminded of appointments, exchange text messages, play a wide variety of games, play the auto harp and ocarina, fight with a light saber that makes different sounds as you move your hand around, scan bar codes, make and mix multi-track recordings, cure a headache – and even to make and receive telephone calls! You’ll be blown away by the power and flexibility of this device. To be able to do so much with a gadget that fits into a pocket is absolutely amazing. And it’s accessible out of the box!
In Getting Started with the iPhone, authors Anna Dresner and Dean Martineau show you what’s possible on the iPhone and get you up and running.
The book is divided into four main parts. Part 1 tells you what you need to know before you can start using your iPhone: advice on purchasing an iPhone and getting it ready to use.
In Part 2 you’ll turn on your iPhone and begin to use it. You’ll explore the home screen, configure basic settings, make phone calls, and type using the on-screen keyboard, a Bluetooth keyboard, and a braille display keyboard.
Part 3 goes through the wide variety of apps that come with the phone, and shows how to purchase apps, music, and other fun content.
Finally, Part 4 includes a journal Anna wrote as she learned to use the iPhone. It will give you an idea of what it’s like to use an iPHone and how you might go about learning new apps.
Appendix A compiles all the gestures – specific ways of touching the iPhone screen. Appendix B includes answers to frequently asked questions, and Appendix C lists resources you can use to learn more.
While this book focuses on the iPhone, most of it also applies to the iPod Touch, and much of it applies to the iPad.
See also:
Google It! A Guide to the World’s Most Popular Search Engine
Social Networking and You: Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin for Blind Users
Table of Contents
Introduction
Organization of this Book
Part 1: Buying, Configuring, and Loading Up Your iPhone
Purchasing an iPhone
Cases and Batteries
Enabling Accessibility and Other First Steps
Registering Your iPhone
Configuring and Syncing Your iPhone
– Syncing Email, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, and Bookmarks
– Syncing Apps
– Syncing Other Types of Content
– Disconnecting the iPhone
Managing Content Manually
– iPhone Appearing as a Drive
Part 2: Getting Started with Your iPhone
Physical Description
– A Word of Encouragement
Getting Started
A First Look at the Home Screen
Using the Phone
– The Split-Tap
– The Rotor and Typing Mode
– Making Calls and the Call Experience
– Voice Dialing
– Answering, Ignoring, and Disconnecting Calls
– Voicemail
– Changing Home Screens
Settings and Several New Gestures
– Turning VoiceOver Off and On
– Practicing VoiceOver Gestures
– Moving to the Top or Bottom of the Screen
– The Scrub: Back Up a Screen
– Changing Verbosity and Voice rate
– Double-Tap and Hold
– The Accessibility Screen and Triple-click Home
– Highlights of the General Settings Screen
– The Settings Screen
Typing on the iPhone Keyboard
– Understanding and Locking Orientation
– The Onscreen Keyboard
– Punctuation, Numbers and Symbols
– How the Insertion Point Moves
– Moving to the Beginning and End of the Document
– Delete, Undo, and Redo
– Auto-Correct and Spell Checking
– Selecting, Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text
– Connecting a Bluetooth Keyboard
– Typing and Editing with a Bluetooth Keyboard
– Typing Special Characters on the Keyboard
– Navigating the iPhone from the Keyboard
Using a Braille Display
– Pairing Your Braille Display
– Using Your Display
– Learning the Commands
Closing and Switching Apps: The App Switcher and More
Part 3: Using the Rest of the Built-in Apps
Contacts
– Creating a Contact on the iPhone
– Choosing a Contact
Mail
– Setting up Email
– Account Setup
– Reading Mail
– Three Important Reading Gestures
– Acting on Links
– Writing Email
Messages
– Reading Messages
– Composing Messages
– Editing and Searching Messages
Calendar
– Adding an Event
Safari
– The Web Rotor
– The Safari Screen
– Navigating Web Pages
– Opening a Web Page and Practicing
– Guided Practice: Using the National Braille Press Site
– The Utilities Screen
– Bookmarks and Web History
– Adding the User Guide, or Another Page, to the Home Screen
– Using Tabs
iPod
– Start and Stop Playback with Two-Finger Double-Tap
– Accessing iPod Controls Outside the iPod Screen
– Controlling Your iPod from the Headphones
– Controlling the iPod via Voice Commands
– Controlling the iPhone via a Bluetooth Keyboard
– Playing Content at Double or Half Speed
– Moving to a Playback Position
– Obtaining Podcasts
– Deleting a Podcast
– Managing Playlists
– Additional iPod Options
App Store
– Featured
– How to Buy or Download an App
– Categories
– Top 25
– Searching the App Store
– Updating Apps
iTunes
iBooks
– The iBooks Store
– The Library
– Reading
Voice Memos
Camera
Weather
Clock
– The World Clock
– The Alarm Clock
– The Stopwatch
– The Timer
Calculator
Compass
Maps
YouTube
Stocks
Customizing the Home Screen
– Deleting Apps
– Understanding Screen Edit Mode
– Moving Icons to Different Screens
Part 4: Anna’s Journal
March 30.
April 1.
Morning of April 2.
April 5.
April 7.
April 11.
April 13.
April 21.
May 12.
May 14.
May 17.
May 20.
June 10.
June 23.
Appendix A: VoiceOver Gestures
Touch and Tap Gestures
Flick Gestures
Miscellaneous gestures
Appendix B: Frequently Asked Questions
My phone isn’t working correctly. What should I do?
I can hear VoiceOver through the headphones, but not through the speaker. What should I do?
I can hear VoiceOver, but not the VoiceOver sounds. What should I do?
What’s the difference between muting speech and turning off VoiceOver?
What’s a UDID, and how do I find it?
How do I install beta software? The directions say to drag and drop.
iPhone Blind User Group 
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