[nabs-l] Ipod tuch and voiceover

[Nicholas Parsons]

Voiceover on the touch screens is difficult to learn but, once you get
the hang of it, it is brilliant.

I've used voiceover touch screens on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Nano.
When I first tried the iPhone I decided it was too complicated and
difficult and decided not to get one. But later, I have taken the time
to learn an iPod Nano, which is much simpler because of the smaller
screens and smaller number of options and functions etc.

When you turn voiceover on, the gestures change, so most sighted
people will become confused if they try and use it, and think it's not
working properly. With voiceover on, it allows you to tap the screen
anywhere, and it tells you what button you're tapping on. If you hold
down your finger and move it around, it tells you when you move to a
new section/button, and beeps if you're touching nothing. To select
the button you just touched, you need only double tap. To scroll to
the next screen or the next items in a list, you just swipe (or flick)
your finger up or down, quickly.

In the voice over settings, which can be found in Settings - General -
Accessibility - Voiceover, you can control the language of Voiceover
(there are around 21), the speed and the verbocity.

I now use my iPod every day and I love it. Can't believe it took me so
long to get one. I mainly use it for listening to audiobooks and
podcasts.

The main problem you will find when learning how to use it, is not
knowing where on the screen to tap. You may keep missing some small
button somewhere and so never know it's there. I would advise you to
ask a sighted person to describe for you the layout of the screen, how
many options typically appear on each screen etc. However, when you're
in a list, voiceover does describe to you how many list items are
showing. It says, for example, "Displaying rows 1 to 4 of 17", meaning
that there are currently 4 list items showing on the screen, with
another 13 off the screen that you can scroll to using the flicking
gesture. Also, the holding down and moving your finger around move is
a good one to learn the layout of the screen.

Now that I'm more familiar with how to use voiceover with touch
screens, I want to get an iPhone. The iPad is still a little
confusing, as there are so many different areas on the screen and so
many different things to tap.

You can read more on Voiceover for iPod Touch and other accessibility
options for Apple at:
http://www.apple.com/accessibility/itunes/ipodtouch.html

Best,
Nic