iPhone

VoiceOver is an assistive tool that interprets text on screen and delivers this information back to the user in audible form. This enables blind users to navigate and access apps on their device. When VoiceOver was first introduced in iOS devices in 2009, it became an affordable alternative to other commercial screen readers.

The concept for the device, which is about the size of a business card, has 65 pins which rise up to signify instructions such as ‘go straight’, ‘turn right’ and ‘stop: intersection’. Currently, blind and vision impaired iPhone users can listen to Google Maps directions via headphones. This can be dangerous for people trying to negotiate traffic and the designers hope that Blind Maps will provide a safer alternative.

Thomas Gallagher, a researcher at UNSW, told the Sydney Morning Herald that indoor mapping technologies could further increase the independence of blind and vision impaired users, similar to how global positioning system (GPS) technology helps people navigate outdoor spaces.

General

To echo what many other critics have expressed, Maps shows some inaccuracy in the mapping content that it provides. The level of detail that the app provides is minimal at this stage and as many have reported, some landmarks are misrepresented.

There are a number of new features that have been introduced by the iOS software update. These include:

This week, Nuance released the software development kit so developers can begin to integrate Nina into their apps. The virtual assistant technology can be used across both Android and Apple iOS apps.

Media Access Australia staff tested the public transport option in the Google Maps app for iPhone and found it is accessible via the VoiceOver screen reader. This means people who are blind or vision impaired will now have greater access to information on Sydney’s trains, buses, ferries and light rail services when using the Google Maps app on the Apple iPhone.

Information that can be accessed through the public transport option on the Google Maps app includes:

The app automatically detects words as a user is typing and works with the inbuilt iOS screen reader VoiceOver.

While traditional keyboards offer a tactile experience for blind or vision impaired users, touch screen keyboards often prove challenging without something tangible to guide users while typing. However the Fleksy app will improve this experience for blind or vision impaired users through automatic detection of words as the user types combined with VoiceOver which will announce suggested words.

Improvements made to its voice activation software Siri, which will now also be included on the iPad tablet, will increase the accessibility of apps, particularly those with geolocation features.

One of the biggest announcements made today is the introduction of Apple’s own Maps service. The Maps app will now replace the Google Maps app as the primary maps service on all iDevices and will have integration with Siri.

Below is a review of Remember The Milk version 2.0.2. The app has since been updated and users have reported decreased accessibility on the iPhone.