[Nfbk] BlindSquare App for iPhone

[David Andrews]

I use this app and it is quite good.

Dave

At 03:53 PM 12/7/2012, you wrote:

>
>A Mapping App For The Blind Talks You Through The Neighborhood.
>
>
>
>Checking in on FourSquare no longer just lets 
>your friends (or stalkers) know which bar to 
>find you at. Thanks to the new iPhone and iPad 
>app <http://blindsquare.com/>BlindSquare (which 
>builds on similar efforts by 
>a<http://www.fastcoexist.com/1678887/a-cane-for-the-blind-improves-social-interactions-sunday-strolls>smartphone-equipped 
>cane), that data now helps the blind and 
>visually impaired navigate unfamiliar turf. By 
>aggregating FourSquare data and processing it 
>through Apple’s speech synthesis program 
>VoiceOver, BlindSquare renders a 
>neighborhood’s geography for the ear, as opposed to the eye.
>
>App users need only pull out their device and 
>call up the program to hear a list of the most 
>popular destinations in their vicinity, broken 
>down by categories like food, shops and 
>services, and arts and entertainment. If 
>you’re in an area with a lot of restaurants, 
>for example, the most popular ones--based on 
>FourSquare check-ins--would be the ones named 
>first by the program. (It can even open the menu 
>and read it to you if available.)
>
>The app can then give verbal instructions on how 
>to get to any location, using a talking compass. 
>If BlindSquarers shake their device, they’ll 
>get a report on their location with the address, 
>nearest cross street, and the services found in 
>different directions. Users can save their 
>locations to iCloud to access them from other 
>devices, share them with friends, or use BlindSquare to check-in on FourSquare.
>
>The app supports seven languages, including 
>English, German, Spanish, and Finnish--the last 
>one being the native tongue of the team of 
>creators at the app company MIPsoft, who in the 
>past created a transit app and a recycling center locator for Finland.
>
>BlindSquare was released on the App Store in 
>May, for $14.99. The creators 
><http://mashable.com/2012/06/01/blindsquare-app/>told 
>Mashable the hefty fee is needed to license 
>speech synthesis technology made by the company 
>Acapela, which lets BlindSquare turn web text into spoken words.
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