[Nfbc-info] Fw: The Accessible iPhone

[Bruce Sexton]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Haben Girma" <hgirma at lclark.edu>
To: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>; "Craig Warren" 
<crag728 at gmail.com>; "Mary Beltran" <mgbel929 at hotmail.com>; "Bruce Sexton" 
<bjsexton at comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 9:25 PM
Subject: The Accessible iPhone


> Says Apple:
>
> Vision
> The revolutionary iPhone also includes an equally revolutionary screen 
> reader, and other innovative accessibility features that make it  easier 
> to use for those with impaired vision.
>
> VoiceOver
>
> 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® 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
>
> 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. Learn more
>
>
> 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. 
> Learn more
>
> Zoom
>
> 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.
>
>
> A simple double-tap with three fingers instantly zooms in and out 200% 
> and you can double-tap and drag three fingers to dynamically adjust  the 
> magnification between 100% and 500%. Even when zoomed, you can  continue 
> using all of the familiar flick, pinch, tap and other iPhone  gestures to 
> run your favorite applications. Zoom can also be used with  white-on-black 
> (reverse video) and speak auto-text.
>
> White On Black
> For those who need or prefer higher contrast, iPhone 3G S provides an 
> option to change the display to White On Black. This reverse video  affect 
> works in all applications including the Home, Unlock, and  Spotlight 
> screens and can be used with Zoom and VoiceOver.
>
> Speak Auto-text
> When typing, iPhone suggests a word before you finish typing it or a 
> correction when a word is misspelled. Speak Auto-text speaks these 
> suggestions so you can hear them when they’re presented. When zoomed,  for 
> example, the suggestion might not be visible on screen, but you  can hear 
> and accept it without seeing it. If you’re using VoiceOver,  you won’t 
> have to interrupt your typing and touch the suggestion to  hear it. Speak 
> Auto-text can be enabled even when you’re not using  VoiceOver or Zoom.
>
>
> Tactile Buttons
> iPhone includes a few, easily discernible physical buttons used to 
> control the phone: the Sleep/Wake button, located on the top edge; the 
> Ring/Silent switch and volume-control buttons, located on the upper- left 
> edge; and the Home button, centered below the display.
>
> Giant Fonts For Mail Messages
> For improved email readability, you can increase the default font size  of 
> email text from Medium (the default) to Large, Extra-large, or Giant.
>
>
> iPhone Stereo Headset
> iPhone comes with a stereo headset with a high-performance microphone 
> built into the cable. Plug it into the standard 3.5 mm stereo  headphone 
> jack and the headset lets you control music playback and  answer and end 
> calls by clicking the built-in remote control button.
>
> Several add-on products are also available to work with iPhone that  can 
> help those with hearing disabilities, including a hearing aid- compatible 
> induction ear loop from TecEar, wireless remote headset  from Oticon, and 
> others.
>
> Hands-Free Speakerphone
> Enjoy hands-free communication using the built-in speakerphone, which  you 
> can also use to listen to Visual Voicemail, music, podcasts, and  video.
>
> Audible, Visible, And Vibrating Alerts
> Turn the ringer on, and iPhone delivers both audible and visual  alerts. 
> You can activate alerts for phone calls, text messages,  incoming and sent 
> mail, and calendar events. iPhone also offers an  audio option confirming 
> keyboard clicks. You can even set incoming  calls to display a full-screen 
> image or photo of the caller.
>
> In silent mode, iPhone vibrates instead of playing a tone. To ensure  that 
> you never miss a notification, you can also have iPhone vibrate  and play 
> an audio alert.
>
> Downloadable, Assignable Ringtones
> You can assign distinctive ringtones to individuals in your contacts 
> list, using the ringtone as an audible caller ID. Visit the iTunes  Store 
> to create, purchase, and download additional ringtones of your  favorite 
> songs (sold separately).
>