[Promotion-technology] New iPhone Model Now Accessible to the Blind

Wed Jun 10 22:45:26 UTC 2009

Apparently the new touch screen stuff will also 
be in the upcoming new version of the Mac OS, Snow Leopard.

Dave

At 02:10 PM 6/9/2009, you wrote:
>Hello List:
>
>     If the Apple system for controling an 
> Iphone works, perhaps this would be a good way 
> to handle other touch screen devices. A Google 
> search with the terms "touch screen Apple mac" 
> (without quotes) reveals that Apple holds a 
> patent for controling a Mac with a touch screen.
>
>Regards,
>
>Robert Jaquiss
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
>To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 8:58 PM
>Subject: [Promotion-technology] New iPhone Model Now Accessible to the Blind
>
>
>
>
>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
>
>iPhone 3G S displaying VoiceOver settings. The VoiceOver and Sp
>
>
>
>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 screenno 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.
>Two iPhones. The iPhone in the background shows the home screen
>
>
>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.
>Two images side by side. The first shows a text-suggestion bubb
>
>
>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 iPhone display and a counter-clockwise a
>
>
>
>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.
><http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone//iphone/iphone-3g-s/>Learn more
>Two iPhones. The iPhone in the foreground is displaying the Voi
>
>
>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.
><http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone//iphone/iphone-3g-s/voice-control.html>Learn
>more
>
>
>Zoom
>
>Two iPhones. The iPhone in the background is displaying the wea
>
>
>
>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 screenseven with
>applications you purchase from the App store.
>Two iPhones. The iPhone in the background is displaying the Acc
>
>
>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.
>Callouts indicate the name and location of the physical buttons
>
>
>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 earbuds with clickable microphone built into the cable
>
>
>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
><http://www.tecear.com/Music_Link.htm>TecEar,
>wireless remote headset from <http://oticon.com/>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).
>A visual representation of a ringtone sound wave as it might ap
>
>
>User Guide In Accessible HTML
>
>The iPhone User Guide is provided online in HTML
>format designed with accessibility in mind. You
>can read the guide using your favorite screen
>reader and web browser on your Mac and PC, and
>using Safari on the iPhone with VoiceOver.
><http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone//accessibility/iphone/hearing.html>Hearing
>
>
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>
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