[Electronics-talk] Fw: FYI, ATTENTION ANDROID CELL PHONE USERS.....

[Frida Aizenman]

This is what a friend of mine who is not on the list said:
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "mail.att.yahoo.com" <zeronecc at att.net>
To: "'Frida Aizenman'" <aizenman at earthlink.net>
Cc: "Jeanine Mooers" <jmmreno at clearwire.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 9:40 AM
Subject: RE: [Electronics-talk] FYI, ATTENTION ANDROID CELL PHONE USERS.....


> Yes Frida:
>
> I have this app on my phone.
> Although my phone is a completely touch screen as opposed to one with a
> keyboard, the flexibility of Mobile Accessibility allows me to set
> navigation functions suitable to my own preference.
> As stated near the bottom of the Electronics Talk email, "While Android 
> does
> not include the out-of-the-box accessibility found in the iPhone, it may 
> be
> worth a look, especially for users who prefer a physical keyboard or don't
> want to switch to a carrier offering the iPhone. In other words, Android's
> far from perfect, but with Mobile Accessibility, the proper tools, and a 
> bit
> of patience, it's now a viable mobile device platform for users who 
> require
> accessibility functionality."
> I could be looking at it from  the viewpoint of an advanced user, but what 
> I
> do like most of all is that android can be used with many phone models
> whereas the iPhone is restricted to Apple itself; which means that the 
> user
> will need to mail the iPhone back to Apple for issues that can be taken 
> care
> of by visiting Radio Shack.
> Also, not all carriers offer the iPhone and the iPhone is touch screen 
> only.
> Anyway, did you also send the Electronics Talk email to Jeanine because if
> not then I can copy the email to her.
>
> C.C. Alan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Frida Aizenman [mailto:aizenman at earthlink.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 8:17 AM
> To: Chun Chao
> Subject: Fw: [Electronics-talk] FYI, ATTENTION ANDROID CELL PHONE 
> USERS.....
>
> Alan,
> I am sending this in case there is something you were not aware off.
> Frida
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Beverly Hunter" <bhunter at nfbga.org>
> To: "electronics" <Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 8:08 AM
> Subject: [Electronics-talk] FYI, ATTENTION ANDROID CELL PHONE USERS.....
>
>
> Product Evaluations
> An Evaluation of Code Factory's Mobile Accessibility for Android
> J.J. Meddaugh
>
> Just a few short months ago, the accessibility of Android phones was shaky
> at best. While Google and others had developed some methods for basic 
> access
>
> to the Android operating system, these options were really only suitable 
> for
>
> advanced users who didn't mind tinkering to make everything work. In
> addition, some common features, such as Android's built-in Web browser and
> calendar, remained completely inaccessible to a blind or visually impaired
> user.
>
> Perhaps one of the biggest recent advancements for Android accessibility 
> is
> the introduction of Mobile Accessibility for Android from Code Factory, 
> the
> producers of the popular Mobile Speak software for Symbian and 
> Windows-based
>
> cell phones.
>
> Mobile Accessibility provides a two-pronged accessibility solution: a
> homegrown suite of applications, and a screen reader for the phone. This
> review looks at version 1.2 of Mobile Accessibility, and evaluates how the
> software performs a variety of tasks. (In the interest of full disclosure
> I'll mention that I was a beta tester for this product.)
>
> Compatible Phones
> Mobile Accessibility works with any phone running version 2.1 or later of
> Google's Android operating system; phones running Android 2.2 will have
> access to Google's speech recognition services. Most new Android phones
> available from the major U.S. wireless carriers run at least version 2.1,
> but it's a good idea to double check before buying the software. For 
> reasons
>
> I'll explain below, it's essential to have a phone that includes either a
> D-pad (an optical button that allows you to arrow around the screen) or 
> some
>
> other form of arrow keys. A physical QWERTY keyboard is also highly
> recommended for optimal use. Unfortunately, these two requirements greatly
> limit the number of functional phone choices, though there is at least one
> compatible option from each of the four major carriers. It's probably best
> to visit a cellular phone store to try out the various options hands-on, 
> as
> some models include more tactile features than others.
>
> Installation and Initial Set Up
> Like most Android applications, Mobile Accessibility is installed through
> the Android Market, available from virtually any Android phone. The app 
> can
> be installed using the phone itself or by visiting the Android Market
> website. Unfortunately, it's still generally not possible to enable the
> phone's accessibility features without sighted assistance. In my case, I
> talked a store employee through the necessary steps to enable speech, but
> this remains one of the biggest disadvantages of Android versus the 
> iPhone.
> Once this initial hurdle is overcome, sighted assistance should not be
> needed again.
>
> Getting Help
> Code Factory offers several methods for obtaining help with using Mobile
> Accessibility. The software manual is available on its website, and 
> through
> a direct link in the software. Code Factory also offers a mailing list 
> where
>
> questions and suggestions can be posted.
>
> The Suite
> Mobile Accessibility essentially replaces your phone's default screen with 
> a
>
> launch pad for a suite of 10 homegrown and completely accessible apps,
> including a phone dialer, contacts manager, alarms, Web browser, mail
> client, calendar, and a simple GPS app. Other applications on the phone 
> can
> be launched from the program as well.
>
> Mobile Accessibility uses Nuance Vocalizer as its speech engine. 
> Currently,
> there are only two voice options-male voices for U.S. and U.K. English-and
> you must choose your desired voice upon purchase; there is no way to 
> switch
> between voices. Code Factory has stated that versions of the software for
> other languages are planned for the near future. Overall, the speech was
> very responsive when pressing keys or navigating among menus. The pitch,
> speed, volume, punctuation level, and other voice settings can be adjusted
> from within the app.
>
> The suite provides access to the majority of day-to-day mobile device
> functions and is designed so the same gestures and commands work across 
> all
> apps.
>
> Navigation
> You navigate using the phone's touchscreen or by using the d-pad or arrow
> keys, and you explore the current screen by simply sliding a finger around
> it; Mobile Accessibility announces the item under your finger as you move.
> Tap the screen twice to select an item. A variety of gestures (specific
> movements by a finger or fingers) on the touchscreen can be used to 
> navigate
>
> around the screen, and for tasks such as moving between menus and lists,
> jumping to the top or bottom of a list, or selecting items. A triple-tap
> gesture (tapping the screen three times in rapid succession), opens a
> special pop-up menu of commands. These include options pertinent to the
> current screen as well as global commands like adjusting settings or 
> viewing
>
> system notifications. This is also where you can check the phone's status,
> including battery and signal strength and the current date and time. If 
> you
> ever get stuck, the Home button can be pressed to return to the Mobile
> Accessibility main screen.
>
> Making and Receiving Calls
> With all of the advancements in smartphones in recent years, we often 
> forget
>
> about the original purpose for the phone: to make calls. The Mobile
> Accessibility phone dialer allows you to input numbers by using either the
> touchscreen or a physical keyboard. If the touchscreen is used, you simply
> slide to the desired digit and then lift up your finger to select. Slide 
> to
> the "Dial" button and then double tap to place the call. Alternatively, 
> the
> phone's list of contacts can be browsed in order to find a person to call.
> While on a call, the phone's touchscreen can't be accessed, so it's
> recommended that you buy an Android phone with a hardware keyboard in 
> order
> to work around this limitation.
>
> When receiving calls, you can double tap anywhere on the screen to hear 
> the
> name or number of the person who is calling. Then, slide your finger from
> the bottom of the screen to the top to answer the call, or do the reverse 
> to
>
> ignore it. Mobile Accessibility also presents an accessible log of 
> recently
> received, missed, and placed calls.
>
> The Contacts Manager includes a basic array of options for creating,
> editing, and viewing contacts. Android contacts also sync with your Google
> account, so you can enter contacts through the phone or Google's website.
> Navigation between contacts is straightforward, and a physical keyboard 
> can
> be used to type a few letters of a name you are looking for to quickly
> retrieve contact information.
>
> Web and E-mail
> One of the places where Mobile Accessibility for Android shines is its
> built-in Web browser. The app presents webpages using a virtual buffer,
> similar to the technique employed by Windows-based screen readers. You use 
> a
>
> variety of commands to navigate pages and it's possible to move forward 
> and
> backward through a webpage by headings, links, tables, or other common
> elements. Forms can be filled in by selecting the appropriate fields and
> choosing Enter to type in the required information. Overall, the Mobile
> Accessibility browser experience is polished, and most of the sites 
> visited
> for this evaluation were navigable. There was some difficulty when 
> handling
> downloadable content such as MP3 files or streaming video; hopefully, this
> will be addressed in a future update.
>
> Mobile Accessibility also includes a built-in e-mail client that allows 
> you
> to browse through your inbox, send mail, and navigate folders. While this
> works well for those using a Google-hosted e-mail account such as Gmail, 
> it
> is currently incompatible with other mail providers. For those affected by
> this limitation, an accessible and free third-party alternative e-mail
> client called K-9 Mail is available from the Android Market.
>
> Other Apps
> The Mobile Accessibility Calendar can sync to Google Calendar and allows 
> for
>
> adding, removing, and viewing events. This is an important addition as the
> default calendar included with Android is largely inaccessible for most
> users with visual impairment or blindness. The SMS app allows for sending
> and receiving text messages while the alarm app allows for setting 
> one-time
> or repeating alarms.
>
> A basic GPS app called Where Am I offers a simple way to determine your
> current location. Once the app is launched, the current address (or
> approximation), is spoken. By default, the app will speak every time your
> location changes, providing a method for knowing when it is time to get 
> off
> the bus, for example.
>
> The Screen Reader
> The second part of Mobile Accessibility for Android is a screen reader for
> the phone. The screen reader provides access to hundreds of apps available
> on the Android Market, offering advanced users numerous possibilities for
> exploration. Due to Google's accessibility implementation, however, the
> screen reader is not able to overcome some limitations in accessing the
> touchscreen. While this lack of access is unfortunate and certainly needs 
> to
>
> be addressed, many Android applications also allow for navigation and 
> input
> using the keyboard or arrow keys, which is largely why we recommend a 
> phone
> that includes these features.
>
> Mobile Accessibility's screen reader offers a few advantages over free
> alternatives such as Talkback or Spiel. First, some may prefer the Nuance
> voices over the options available with other screen readers. These voices
> only work from within Mobile Accessibility and can't be used with another
> screen reader. Mobile Accessibility also includes a virtual keyboard for
> entering text using the touchscreen and direct access to Google's speech
> recognition service. These features can be utilized from third-party apps
> for quickly entering information.
>
> Suggestions
> Though Code Factory should be commended for the number of features 
> included
> in this version of Mobile Accessibility for Android, there is certainly 
> some
>
> room for improvement. Third-party applications frequently launch a Web
> browser for presenting information and it's not possible to set the Mobile
> Accessibility browser as the default for those pages; you can only use
> Mobile Accessibility's browser within the app suite itself. It would also 
> be
>
> nice if a user dictionary could be included to correct mispronounced 
> words,
> and a way to label unlabeled graphics and buttons in third-party
> applications would be helpful. Also as stated above, the e-mail program
> would be more useful if it supported a wider array of e-mail providers.
>
> The Bottom Line
> It's quite evident that Code Factory put a lot of thought into developing 
> a
> product for the Android operating system, and many of the innovative
> approaches they've taken are useful and well-designed. For those looking 
> for
>
> a simple Android accessibility solution with a consistent interface, the
> Mobile Accessibility suite is a good solution.
>
> With the use of Mobile Accessibility, it's possible for blind and visually
> impaired users to independently use an Android phone, though it's not
> possible to set up the phone independently. While Google has certainly 
> made
> strides toward improving access to the Android platform, there is still
> progress that needs to be made, including a way for screen reader users to
> access the touchscreen and review on-screen content. Without these
> improvements, features like braille support or a review cursor will not be
> possible for Mobile Accessibility or any screen reader.
>
> Given the tools available to them, Code Factory has done an admirable job 
> in
>
> this first version of the product, and since they have a history of 
> frequent
>
> free upgrades, it's reasonable to expect that they will continue to 
> improve
> on Mobile Accessibility for Android. Future improvements from both Code
> Factory and Google would serve to make Android a robust and complete
> accessibility solution. While Android does not include the out-of-the-box
> accessibility found in the iPhone, it may be worth a look, especially for
> users who prefer a physical keyboard or don't want to switch to a carrier
> offering the iPhone. In other words, Android's far from perfect, but with
> Mobile Accessibility, the proper tools, and a bit of patience, it's now a
> viable mobile device platform for users who require accessibility
> functionality.
>
> Product Information
> Product: Mobile Accessibility 1.2.
>
> Price: 69 Euros, about $99 U.S.; available from the Android Market on your
> Android device, or through the Android Market website.
>
> Manufacturer: Code Factory S.L.
>
> Address: Rambla Egara, 148, 2-2
> 08221 - Terrassa (Barcelona)
> SPAIN
> sales at codefactory.es.
>
>
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