[nabs-l] iPod Touch

Thu Dec 16 19:30:44 UTC 2010

Sorry about that.  I pressed send instead of "back to inbox".

On 12/16/10, Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 12/16/10, Marc Workman <mworkman.lists at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Joe,
>>
>> I don't have answers to all your questions, but I think I can offer some
>> helpful comments on a few of them.  I've never even held an iPod Touch,
>> but
>> I've been a user of the iPhone since early July 2009.
>>
>> 2. I know bigger is always better, but on average, how many gigs are you
>> using to handle your main apps?  Can you expand memory through micro SD
>> for
>> music and such?
>>
>> As of today, my apps take up 3.3 Gb of space on my 16 Gb iPhone.  I could
>> reduce this if I really wanted to; there are quite a few apps that I
>> never
>> use, but I'm not in desperate need of space right now.  Rather than
>> putting
>> on 10 Gb of music, only a tiny fraction of which you will ever listen to,
>> I
>> tend to only sync playlists.  This frees up more room for apps.  There is
>> currently no way to expand memory through a micro SD card, though
>> something
>> could always be introduced in a future incarnation of the iPod Touch,
>> which
>> doesn't really help you if you want to get one sooner rather than later.
>>
>> 3. How well has the iPod Touch worked as a business device?  Can e-mail
>> be
>> easily synched for exchange accounts?  Is there a sufficient number of
>> business-oriented apps that work on the iPod?  Are most apps built for
>> the
>> iPhone available for use in the iPod where possible?
>>
>> I don't really know enough about exchange accounts.  If you are willing
>> to
>> pay the approximately $100 per year subscription for Apple's MobileMe,
>> then
>> syncing mail, calendar appointments, notes, and contacts is supposed to
>> be
>> very easy across PCs, Macs, and portable devices.  I haven't signed up
>> for
>> this service yet, but I'm planning to.  One set of productivity apps that
>> is
>> not available on iPhone/iPod, but which is available on the iPad, is the
>> iWork suite.  This includes Pages, the Word equivalent, Numbers, the
>> Excel
>> equivalent, and Keynote, the Powerpoint equivalent.  However, many have
>> been
>> asking Apple to bring out iPhone/Ipod versions, so who knows.  There are
>> apps that will allow you to create text documents and have them uploaded
>> directly to Dropbox, which can be very useful.  As far as I can tell,
>> most
>> apps are available on both devices, except in cases where the iPhone has
>> some feature needed to efficiently run the app, see response to question
>> 5.
>>
>> 4. Is there a dummy guide for people like me who'd need a crash course on
>> touch typing, gestures and such?
>>
>> Simply in terms of learning the basics, I think Apple's voiceover guide
>> is
>> sufficient.  It really doesn't go much beyond the basics, but it gives
>> enough info to learn the various gestures.  There is also a place in
>> Settings, General, Accessibility, Voiceover where you can practice the
>> gestures, something like keyboard help.  If you search for Apple Vis, you
>> can find a useful site with tutorials, reviews, and so on.  I'm on the
>> Googlegroups list, which can be very useful, but also gets a huge amount
>> of
>> totally useless traffic.  Anytime I have a question about something, I
>> find
>> it helpful to go to the Googlegroups viphone site and do a search through
>> the archives.  So you don't actually have to sign up to the list and
>> receive
>> the 100 messages a day in order to take advantage of the collective
>> knowledge.
>>
>> 5. Has anyone heard anything suggesting future GPS inclusion in the iPod?
>>
>> This seems to me unlikely because GPS only makes sense on a device that
>> can
>> make use of cellular signals.  The Touch only uses wifi.  If we got to a
>> time when most major cities had free wifi throughout the entire city,
>> then
>> GPS might make sense, but right now, I don't think GPS is coming to the
>> Touch.
>>
>> There is one final point I will make that I can speak to only because
>> I've
>> had the device for so long.  With every major update, there have been
>> significant improvements to voiceover.  For me, this is very important.
>> Voiceover is clearly not just an add on.  It's an aspect of the operating
>> system that they are intent on improving.  I'm sure it's not a top
>> priority,
>> but I've been very impressed with how much voiceover has improved since I
>> first got the phone.  And of course I haven't had to pay anything for
>> those
>> upgrades.
>>
>> I hope that is helpful.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Marc
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Joe Orozco" <jsorozco at gmail.com>
>> To: "'Discussion list for NABS,National Alliance of Blind Students.'"
>> <nabs at acb.org>; "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 11:01 AM
>> Subject: [nabs-l] iPod Touch
>>
>>
>>> Okay, I confess to feeling intrigued by this Apple mania.  I'm not
>>> willing
>>> to change phone carriers to experience mobile devices, so unless I buy
>>> an
>>> unlocked phone after Verizon picks it up, I'm thinking of picking up an
>>> iPod
>>> Touch.  A few questions for you loyal Apple fanatics:
>>>
>>> 1. Is my assumption correct that if Verizon picks up the iPhone as it is
>>> expected, I could buy an unlocked iPhone and use it on Sprint given
>>> they're
>>> both on a CDMA network?
>>>
>>> 2. I know bigger is always better, but on average, how many gigs are you
>>> using to handle your main apps?  Can you expand memory through micro SD
>>> for
>>> music and such?
>>>
>>> 3. How well has the iPod Touch worked as a business device?  Can e-mail
>>> be
>>> easily synched for exchange accounts?  Is there a sufficient number of
>>> business-oriented apps that work on the iPod?  Are most apps built for
>>> the
>>> iPhone available for use in the iPod where possible?
>>>
>>> 4. Is there a dummy guide for people like me who'd need a crash course
>>> on
>>> touch typing, gestures and such?
>>>
>>> 5. Has anyone heard anything suggesting future GPS inclusion in the
>>> iPod?
>>>
>>> and finally,
>>>
>>> 6. How well does the FaceTime app work?  Or, how well has the Google
>>> Voice
>>> app worked to communicate with people using 3G or wi-fi networks?
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance for entertaining my million questions!
>>>
>>> Joe
>>>
>>> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their
>>> sleeves,
>>> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Julie McG
>  Lindbergh High School class of 2009, participating member in Opera
> Theater's Artist in Training Program, and proud graduate of Guiding
> Eyes for the Blind
>
> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
> life."
> John 3:16
>

-- 
Julie McG
 Lindbergh High School class of 2009, participating member in Opera
Theater's Artist in Training Program, and proud graduate of Guiding
Eyes for the Blind

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16