After a long search for an accessible cell phone and five years of having no accessibility whatsoever with a Samsung brick, I took the plunge into the world of the iPhone last week and am very excited to use this piece of technology which is accessible out-of-the-box for those with a visual disability.
First, some issues you may have noticed if you’re using iPhone 3GS. I have personally have had issues with the Apple Mobile Manager application unexpectedly quitting during a sync in iTunes. Forums online propose many solutions including turning off Genius in iTunes to doing a full restore. So far, no issues since turning off Genius, but your solution may vary if you are having this issue. I have not yet seen anything from Apple on this, so stay tuned.
The laptop itself is working quite well, despite Safari seeming to crash on facebook. I suspect this is an issue that is still being worked out despite the last update. Other than that issue, I have been having a very good time using the laptop to check mail, browse the web and create documents, all without missing a beat. Organizing rules in Mail is quite easy and painless, as is organizing music in iTunes.
Another joy has been using the Apple remote and Front Row. Not only can you use the remote to skip back an forth through your iTunes playlists, but you can use it to interact directly with the program to select whether you want to play music, TV shows or videos and whether you want to play songs by album, artist, genre or any other category offered. I highly recommend a remote, especially if you’re planning on hooking up your Mac to a stereo as I did on the weekend.
As for the iPhone itself, it is truly a game changer in the world of access technology. The phone is intuitive to use once you master the gestures needed to use the touch screen. The audio quality is comparable to a land line and using apps and other features of the phone is quite intuitive. Apple offered me a one hour tutorial on the phone, however I doubt I need it since I have the phone nearly mastered. I am looking forward to putting some third party apps on it and taking them for a spin.
So far, I’d give the phone a 9.5 out of 10 in terms of quality. There have been few software issues and Apple should be commended on creating a phone that is accessible. If you’re blind and looking for a phone that will talk to you, consider the iPhone on your shopping list. For the price, it is well worth it, especially if you’re the type of person who needs to be plugged in to e-mail and reachable by phone.
The voice quality is much better than Eloquence, the staple for JAWS users the world over, but not as great as Alex. You can adjust speaking rates and some verbosity options in the phone as well, making it somewhat customizable.
I’d like to see Apple make some improvements with the hardware interface for the iPhone. First, it would be nice to see a mag safe sync/power cable that would keep the phone from being pulled off of a table or desk while charging. Second, the phone should be able to charge only when connected to AC power and automatically know if your laptop is plugged into the wall or not. If not, it should sync with available battery power. This would save both the laptop battery life and frustration from the user who needs to use both toys at once.
If you are going to buy the phone, get a case that allows you full access to the entire screen, as some covers can hide the status bar near the top. Particularly annoying if you’re using VO and cannot touch the status bar. Also, keep a polishing cloth on hand for the screen as you will be tempted to use it at all times and the screen can become oily very quickly.
Tags: iPhone, Mac Book Pro, troubleshooting, Voiceover
