[gui-talk] Fw: Cell Phone accessibility for free

[tribble]

Forgive me if someone else has posted this here -- I am digging out from 
under 2 weeks of list mail...
(Note to reader users list: this has nothing to do with the knfb reader 
which is an OCR / reader program.  But the I thought it was an interesting 
addition to the accessible phone market.)
--le

Subject: Cell Phone accessibility for free

Looks like we might have a fully accessible phone here for no extra cost!
Let's hope it is as good as it sounds.
Glenn
>>
>> The following information comes from Apple:
>> http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html 
>> <http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html>
>>
>> The same VoiceOver screen reader made popular on the Mac is now a
>> standard feature on the iPhone 3G S. It's the world's first
>> gesture-based screen reader,
>> enabling you to enjoy the fun and simplicity of the iPhone even
>> if you can't see the screen.
>>
>> What makes VoiceOver on iPhone truly remarkable is that you
>> control it using simple gestures that let you physically interact
>> with items on screen. It's
>> easy to learn and fun to use. Instead of memorizing hundreds of
>> keyboard commands, or endlessly pressing tiny arrow keys to find
>> what you're looking for,
>> with VoiceOver, you simply touch the screen to hear a description
>> of the item under your finger, then gesture with a double-tap,
>> drag, or flick to control
>> the phone.
>>
>> VoiceOver delivers an experience unlike any screen reader you've
>> ever used before. Traditional screen readers describe individual
>> elements on the screen,
>> but struggle to communicate where each element is located or
>> provide information about adjoining objects. This contextual
>> information is very important
>> but typically filtered out by other screen readers. For example,
>> "off-screen" models used by traditional screen readers to
>> represent applications and web
>> pages intentionally strip away contextual information and
>> describe web pages as a list or menu of items. But with
>> VoiceOver on iPhone 3G S, you'll experience
>> something entirely new.
>>
>> Because VoiceOver works with iPhone's touchscreen, you interact
>> directly with objects on the screen and can naturally understand
>> their location and context.
>> So, when you touch the upper-left corner of the screen, you'll
>> hear what's in the upper left corner of a web page, and as you
>> drag your finger around the
>> screen, you'll learn what's nearby, providing an amazing new
>> sense of context and relationship between the items you hear.
>> For many, VoiceOver on iPhone
>> will provide, perhaps for the first time, a true sense of how
>> things appear on screen, not just descriptions of what they are.
>>
>> You'll hear descriptions of every item on the screen, including
>> status information such as battery level, Wi-Fi and cellular
>> network signal levels, the
>> cellular network provider, and time of day. It even lets you
>> know when the display changes to landscape or portrait
>> orientation, and when the screen is
>> locked or unlocked.
>>
>> The speaking rate is adjustable so you can set it to a speed that
>> best suits your listening ability. VoiceOver uses distinctive
>> sound effects to alert you
>> when an application opens, when the screen is updated, when a
>> message dialog appears, and more. And, when Voiceover is
>> talking, the volume of background
>> sounds and music are automatically lowered, "ducking" under the
>> voice, so you can clearly hear what VoiceOver is telling you.
>>
>> It speaks your language
>>
>> VoiceOver includes built-in voices that speak 21 languages
>> including Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan),
>> Dutch, English (US), English
>> (UK), Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), German, Italian,
>> Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil),
>> Portuguese (Portugal), Russian,
>> Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Spain), and Swedish.
>>
>> Getting started
>>
>> VoiceOver is built right into the iPhone 3G S. There's nothing
>> extra to purchase or install. All you need is the iPhone 3G S,
>> iTunes 8.2 or later, and a
>> Mac or PC. You can activate your iPhone and enable VoiceOver
>> without sighted assistance using iTunes with a compatible screen
>> reader like VoiceOver included
>> in Mac OS X and GW-Micro Window-Eyes(r) for Windows XP and
>> Windows Vista (sold separately). When you activate iPhone using
>> iTunes, you can enable VoiceOver
>> on the iPhone to start using it right away. Sighted users can
>> also enable VoiceOver for you directly on iPhone using the
>> Accessibility menu in the Settings
>> application.
>>
>> How it works
>>
>> With VoiceOver enabled, you'll use a different, but simple set of
>> gestures to control the iPhone. For example, instead of tapping
>> to click a button or select
>> an item, you tap to hear a description of the item you touch and
>> double-tap to click or select it.
>>
>> When an item on the screen is selected, a black rectangle called
>> the VoiceOver cursor appears around it. The VoiceOver cursor is
>> displayed for the benefit
>> of sighted users with whom you may be sharing your phone. When
>> you prefer privacy, VoiceOver includes a screen curtain that
>> turns off the display so no
>> one can read it without your knowledge.
>>
>> In addition to touching and dragging around the screen, you can
>> also flick left and right to move the VoiceOver cursor precisely
>> to the next or previous
>> item on the screen-no matter how big or small it is. By
>> flicking, you have precise control of what you hear even when it
>> might otherwise be difficult to
>> place your finger on it.
>>
>> Entering Text
>>
>> When you're typing text, such as an email message or a note,
>> VoiceOver echoes each character on the keyboard as you touch it,
>> and again to confirm when
>> you enter it. You can also have VoiceOver speak each completed
>> word instead of and in addition to individual characters as you
>> type them. A flick up or
>> down while typing moves the insertion point cursor left and right
>> within the text so you can edit a word just as easily and
>> precisely as typing a new word.
>>
>> To help you type more quickly and accurately, iPhone features
>> word prediction and suggests the correct spelling when you type a
>> word incorrectly. With Speak
>> Auto-text enabled, you'll hear a sound effect and the suggested
>> word spoken automatically. You can just keep typing to ignore
>> it, or press the space key
>> to have iPhone type it for you.
>>
>> The Rotor
>> Two fingers touching a Multi-Touch trackpad and a
>> counter-clockwise arrow indicating how to enter a rotate gesture.
>>
>> VoiceOver features an innovate new virtual control called a
>> "rotor." Turning the rotor- by rotating two fingers on the screen
>> as if you were turning an
>> actual dial - changes the way VoiceOver moves through a document
>> based on a setting you choose. For example, a flick up or down
>> might move through text
>> word by word. But when you choose the "character" setting, each
>> time you flick up or down VoiceOver will move through the text
>> character by character -
>> perfect when you're proofreading or editing text.
>>
>> You can also use the rotor to navigate web pages. When you're on
>> a web page, the rotor contains the names of common items, such as
>> headers, links, tables,
>> images, and more. You select a setting, then flick up and down
>> to move to the previous or next occurrence of that item on the
>> page, skipping over items
>> in between.
>>
>> Applications
>>
>> VoiceOver works with all of the built-in applications that come
>> with iPhone 3G S, such as Phone, iPod, iTunes, Mail, Safari, and
>> Maps. So, you can place
>> and receive calls, surf the web, text and email your friends,
>> check your stocks and the weather, and much, much more. Apple is
>> also working with iPhone
>> software developers so they can make their applications VoiceOver
>> compatible.
>>
>> Voice Control
>>
>> In addition to gestures, you can use your voice to play music and
>> make a phone call. Just press and hold the home button, listen
>> for the audio prompt, and
>> speak the name of the artist, album, or playlist you want to
>> hear. You can pause, play, change tracks, even shuffle your
>> music.
>>
>> When you want to make a call, speak the name or telephone number
>> of the person you want to call. iPhone 3G S understands 21
>> different languages.
>> Zoom
>> Two iPhones. The iPhone in the background is displaying the
>> weather application. The iPhone in the foreground shows the
>> weather application zoomed 200%
>>
>>
>> While many iPhone applications let you zoom in and out specific
>> elements such as images in Mail, or webpage columns in Safari,
>> Zoom lets you magnify the
>> entire screen of any application you're using to help you see
>> what's on the display. Zoom can be enabled on iPhone 3G S using
>> iTunes when you're setting
>> up the iPhone, for yourself or someone else, or later, using the
>> Accessibility menu in the Settings application on the iPhone.
>>
>> Zoom works everywhere, including the Home, Unlock, and Spotlight
>> screens-even with applications you purchase from the App store.
__,_._,___


Sincerely,
Glenn Ervin, Orientation Counselor II - CVRCB
Nebraska Commission for the Blind & V.I.
Our Mission:
Empowering Blind Individuals, Promoting Opportunities, and Building Belief 
in the Blind.
PH: 402 370 3438