Tablet's got you covered

Not that long ago Gizmodo posted an article around one of its journalists attempting to last a week using a Dell Venue 8 (an 8" Windows 8 Tablet) as their primary device. |success? Sort of....

But the possibility of using your talet as your main computing device is becoming more of a reality with a scattering of high end tablets, wireless connecivity options and the ubiquitious OTG (let's you use your micro USB charging port with any standard USB device).

Admittedly some of these devices are rather expensive when compared to a similarly specified laptop/notebook/ultrabook (thehigher end ones such as the Lenovo Yoga Pro 3) but these can be had for a much cheaper price point (Teclast X series). Some even offer Dual boot capabilities in Windows 8 and Android.

Armed with a tablet with Bluetooth, WiFi and WiDi (Wireless Display) you don't even need any cables to get yourself setup for a tablet centred desktop PC (Masking tape maybe to stick it to the back of your monitor??).

And combine it with a bluetooth keyboard case/cover and you've not only got a touch tablet but a fully functional laptop to go.

Mobile Human Computer Interfaces

In terms of Human Comuter Interfaces (HCI) we've come to expect a fairly standard set of options or in other words, the status quo. But do they really meet our needs and is the concept of the smartphone operating system really being appropraitely considered from a finger friendly perspective? Not really, at least not in most cases.

I am sure some punters will laugh in my face but despite WIndows Phone 8 essentially being an Ugly Duckling of the current crowd, it is one of the better implementations of a User Interface that is specifically designed for use with your fingers. It's generally large tiles (although you can usually select several sizes) allows for easy pressing of desired applications.

Ok, I hear you cry out "But what about iOS???!!" and the other crowd who undoubtedly will argue that Android is much better....

It's undeniable that both operating systems are now a pretty sight and Android in particular, allows for a large amount of flexibility in changing the appearance to suit your needs. But heavy use of text and poor in App design are often a problem. Items such as the back button on the new iOS 7 Safari leaves a lot to be desired  Android doesn't do much better with heavy use of text in its interface that are often difficult to identify as buttons unless you have previous experience (the Save and Cancel buttons up the top right common to most apps is terrible).

Some basic principles of design could really help improve the useability of our finger oriented devices.  Steve Jobs is famously quoted as saying they would not produce a smaller tablet unless you could shrink your fingers. Well our fingers haven't shrunk but the Operating Systems haven't provided us with bigger buttons to press either, regardless of screen real estate.

Mobile Screen Magnifier Round Up

Not that long ago I took a look at the Windows Mobile Phone 8 Screen Magnifier in comparison with the iOS Zoom functionality.  Back then I was a bit oblivious to the fact that at long last Android had acquired its own in-built Screen Magnifier (note that I have no idea about Blackberry OS....).  So, now that all three major players in the smartphone and tablet markets have similar functionality, let's line then up and take a closer look at what each has to offer over the other.

 

Android Screen Magnifier

As the newcomer to this particular functionality (at least to my knowledge) Android has some expectations to live up to and a fairly high bar to match.  There are some key and interesting differences between this implementation and the one present on WIndows and iOS based devices even though at first glance, it offers the same feature set.

Unlike iOS and Windows Phone the Android based magnifier does not zoom in on the keyboard.  What?  Yes that's right it doesn't zoom in on the on-screen keyboard.  This may sound odd at first but if you've ever attempted to type while the screen is magnified you can probably recognise that this actual feature comes in handy.  This one works by retaining the screen itself still being magnified (in particularly the text you are entering) while slotting the standard keyboard at the bottom of the screen.

The other odd feature is that when you get a notification in a dialog box the screen automatically disengages the magnifier.  This might seem unusual to start with as well but ends up working favourably as it stops you from remaining oblivious when there is a change in focus in the application which can sometimes occur in iOS (where you might be zoomed in somewhere and not aware of an item requiring your attention somewhere else on the screen).

Apart from this, all functionality is essentially identical to those in Windows Phone and iOS based devices.

iOS Zoom

The iOS Zoom has been around since the first iPad and offers the same functionality as that available on the Windows Phone and Android based devices.  It's key difference here is that it utilises three fingers to implement its functionality.  This can be both good and bad as it's distinct and you won't be setting it off accidentally but it can sometimes be hard to pull off without accidentally clicking on an icon or something you didn't intend to.

Perhaps the most useful distinction here is that the iOS Zoom still retains its kinetic scrolling and flick functionality.  This is handy for reading long lines of text or if you want to quickly go from one side of the screen to the other without zooming out.

WP8 Screen Magnifier

There's nothing really here to set it apart.  About the only thing I can mention here is that the combination of the layout design, capability to enlarge the font sizes in all aspects of the OS and the implenentation of a basic, but well executed magnifier works well.

So which one's for me?

In my view, Android has the edge on the other mobile OS' here.  The way it implements its magnifier is a much more readily useable system that ensures you stay aware of your full screen content while allowing you to zoom in on what's important

Going Silent

So you've acquired yourself a Smartphone....

For most people who are Deaf and Deafblind, the most likely reason you bought one is to do your Text or SMS messaging on in some accessible way (at least more so than a standard cheap phone).  So you have magnification, text-to=seech and if you're lucky, even Voice Recognition that understands what you say but what about your ring tones?

But why do I need a Ring tone?

Well you don't actually....
Until you put your phone on Vibrate, chuck it in your pocket or bag and realise you can't really feel it when it vibrates (especially true if you've got it in your hand bag).  While in silent mode your average mobile will still make a continuous "ring" when a new voice call comes in but your average text message notification makes a weak buzz.  You can't change the intensity or duration either directly or by assigning a different ring tone (IOS will let you set it to repeat up to 10 times).

Which might leave you missing your messages left, right and centre.....

It's a shame so much flexibility in ring tone is available to people who can hear them but how about a bit of vibratory adjustment?

Activating the Magnifier in Android

My apologies to those with Android devices or who were contemplating the purchase of one and my misinformed post about the fact that Android does not appear to yet have a screen magnifier.

The good news is that it does.  Although since there are several versions of ANdroid running around from Honeycomb to Jelly Bean, so you might need to make absolutely sure that the version you are getting has it.  I was lucky enough to have a little play with a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 today and found out that it does at least have magnification.

To Activate the screen magnifier...
1. Open Settings
2. Open Accessibility
3. Open Screen Magnification and turn it on.

Now that it is turned on you can activate it by triple tapping with one finger.  Controlling the magnification is done by using 2 fingers.  I'll have a better look when I get a chance and let you know the exact details on how to appropriately use the magnifier (instructions are provided in the activation setting screen for the magnifier).

WP8 Magnifier vs iOS Zoom

Both Windows Phone 8 and iOS offer an in-built screen magnifier as part of their accessibility repotoire  Both pretty much do exactly the same thing but Windows Phone 8 uses 2 fingers while iOS requires 3 but there are minor differences that might give one an edge over the other.

iOS Zoom
 iOS Zoom works by utilising a double tap with 3 fingers to activate/deactivate.  From there you are free to utilise other gestures including a 3 finger flick (which dependant on the speed at which you do it will set the screen scrolling at  a particular speed). This is aprticularly handy if you need to zoom in a fair bit and then find a corner of the screen.  Unfortunately when you try to drag with 3 fingers you can sometimes set this off and find yourself nowhere near where you want to be (often requiring a Zoom out and Zoom In again to find where you are).

Using 3 fingers can be a bit inaccurate on a smaller device like the iPhone and this Zoom feature seems more at home on the iPad.  It is quite easy to accidentally "press" a button while you are trying to activate/deactivate or utilise the Zoom.  In terms of clarity the Zoom retains a high level of clear text/graphics even at its highest level of zoom.

Windows Phone 8 Magnifier
The Windows Phone 8 Magnifier, once initiated, works in almost exactly the same way but utilises 2 fingers instead of 3.  At first this does not "work" because you need to make sure you have your fingers slightly spread apart and it is easy to forget to do this (doing it with 3 extended middle fingers tends to spread them apart a litle bit by nature).  But once you get your head around this little trick you will probably find it easier to use 2 as opposed to 3.

A 2 fingered flick has no effect so this gesture appears to be disabled.  WHile I find this a little annoying it tends to work well for phones where small movements are necessary and/or you require much greater control over the position of the zoomed area.

Like the iOS Zoom feature you may also find yourself accidentally generating a "click" instead of 2 finger presses but after a little while and making sure my fingers were seperated I did not have this issue so much with Windows Phone 8.

Overall
Both are good and well implemented and I suspect whichever device you choose, you are likely to be happy with it after a little practise.  For me, the Windows Phone 8 implementation is a slightly better approach for a small screen size (it is also available for Tablets) while I feel the iOS solution is a better approach for larger formats such as the iPad where further scrolling might be required.

Related Topics :
Activating the Screen Magnifier in iOS
Activating the Screen Magnifier in Windows Phone 8

Android Accessibility still Lacks Screen Magnifier?

While Android has always seemed to have decent Accessibility options which have improved over the years, now including such features as KickBack (Haptics), it still appears to be missing a Screen Magnification system built in.  Of course, as with any platform that is as open as Android there are ways around this but it's generally not as simple to use as the magnifiers available in Windows Phone and iOS.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to utilise a screen capture utility and then zooming in using a photo editor/viewer.  It's not a very elegant way to implement the functionality but it might hold you out while you're waiting for one to arrive.

I do understand that not everyone requires a screen magnifier.  Indeed, everyone's accessibility requirements are different, but you only need to do a search online to realise there are quite a few people asking for one.

Changing Font Sizes in iOS

iOS goes about enlarging your font in a slightly different way although it generally appears to have larger font use in the menu's to start with, the setting only applies to fonts in your messages (and not the menu's and general usage of the phone).  To change the Font Size in iOS :

1. Open Settings
2. Choose General (on a tablet this is already the default selection)
3. Select Accessibility
4. Select Large Text

This will allow you to select a Font Size up to size 58 points.  On an iPhone this gives you about 5-6 characters wide in an SMS message so you may find it actually harder to read as words have to be split quite regularly.

You can also change the font sizes in WIndows Phone 8.  Click here for more details

Changing Font Sizes in Windows Phone 8

Fonts on your average Phone/Tablet probably border on the botuse when it comes to legibility (in most likelihood you are becoming familiar with the icon in use and not "really" reading the text).

But Windows Phone 8 will let you adjust the system font size to some extent and this is carried through to most applications and settings menu's (including your SMS messages).

To change the Font Size in Windows Phone 8 :
1. Swipe right to get to your Applications List.
2. Scroll down and select Settings.
3. Select Ease of Access
4. At the top of this settings screen is a slider that lets you increase/decrease the font size.

Font Sizes can be changed in iOS as well.  Click here for more details

Review : Magnifying Glass with Light

App Name : Magnifying Glass with Light
Developer : Falcon in Motion LLC
Compatible with : iOS devices (iPOd, iPhone, iPad Mini, iPad)
Link : Magnifying Glass with Light
Price : Free ad Supported version or $1.99 for Pro edition
Reviewed On : iPhone 5

Features :
This has a lot of features in an App that would bring it into line with many dedicated Video Magnifiers.  The feature set includes  :
- High Contrast Mode
- Switch LED light On/Off
- Control for light intensity
- Crystal Clear Mode
- Image Stabilisation
- Focus Locking
- Screen capture/Photo
- Freeze Frame

First Impressions :
At first, the scren appears a little cluttered as many of the features appear directly via icons/bars.  In portrait mode along the top you have the Camera switch (for switching between front and rear facing cameras), focus lock and settings button.  At the bottom you have the photo button, zoom intensity slider and light on/off and along the right edge you have a light intensity slider.  Entering the settings lets you switch on/off image stablisation, crystal clear mode, remove the light level adjustment from the display, turn LED light onto Auto mode and whether you want Freeze frame mode on or off.

A simple but powerful set of tools.  Despite feeling cluttered to start with (I was used to an App with only a Zoom slider) it becomes easy to navigate very quickly and you can memorise where various functions are.  I did have some minor niggles making sure I pressed the smaller icons like the Light switch.  This is where the ability to override Apple's settings of the buttons on your phone might come in handy (ie dedicating your Volume buttons to zoom in and out) but as far as I'm aware Apple does not allow this.

A Closer Look at the Features :
The Magnifier :
The Magnifier itself has a maximum capacity of 5x so it's not all that powerful but it does stay well within the feasible range of the Digital Camera's zoom capabilities.  The focus is generally quick although it suffers the same problem as most phone based magnifiers (a difficulty to focus on very close objects).  The ability to turn the LED light on/off is a much needed feature missing in most phone based magnifiers to assist in darker areas or even the problem with your phone casting a shadow.

Image Stabilisation/Crystal Clear Mode :
In my testing I didn't notice that much difference between standard modes and having these switched on.  There did appear to be a greater lag in focussing though when they were turned on.

Other Features :
The other features work as I would expect them to.  I'm not too keen on the High Contrast mode but then I've always preferred the natural colours (it generally inverts colours).

Overall :
I'd have to say it's ne of the better magnifiers I've seen on a mobile phone.  The limitations it does have I would associate with the camera in the iPhone (difficulty with close focus, a little bit of lag and difficulty maintaining focus).  For $1.99 it does have to compete with many Free Apps on the iPhone that claim to do similar things but its feature set makes it stand out as one o fthe better of the bunch.  My only complaint is that it only reaches 5x Magnification and my glasses have 6x but there's nothing stopping me from using them together (some dedicated Video Magnifiers go much higher).

Rating : 4/5 (Good but needs a little improvement)

Activating the Screen Magnifier in iOS

There isn't much in the way of 3rd party screen magnification in Apple products as the Apple Magnifier usually works a treat.  iOS devices are no different except for maybe the iPod Nano (if you can double tap with 3 fingers you might get away with it...).

To Activate the Screen Magnifier in iOS devices :

1. Open Settings (The grey icon with Gears on it)

2. Select General (on an iPad this is the default start location for settings)

3. Scroll down until you get to and select Accessibility.

4. Select Zoom and turn it on.

To activate Zoom simply double tap your screen with 3 fingers (note that Windows Phone 8 uses 2).  To deactivate the Zoom simply double tap with 3 fingers again.  To Zoom in double tap with 3 fingers and then hold, drag your fingers up to increase the zoom.  To Zoom out, double tap with 3 fingers and hold, then drag your fingers down.  You can scroll around the screen by swiping with 3 fingers.

App'y Independance

The boom of the App which combines with an internet enabled Multifunction device has seen an explosion in things you can achieve easily with your Smartphone or Tablet.  Here are 10 things you can do that might help your ability to be more Independant :

1. GPS Navigation
GPS in Australia still has its flaws due to a lack of Satellite visibility (it works by triangulating your position by bouncing a signal off several satellites) and this also causes problems with Urban Canyoning (Signals get bounced off buildings and/or blocked due to the low angle of the Satellite).  But thigns are slowly improving and the ability to utilise Mobile towers for triangulation improves performance and accuracy in urban areas.  There are many Apps available on all platforms so its more a matter of what suits your fancy (I prefer Sygic for walking and TomTom when I'm helping navigate in a car).

2. Document Scan
While I haven't seen fully featured Object Character Recognition (OCR) Apps yet there are plenty of Apps available that will do Document Scanning into PDF file formats.  From here you can import it into many other Reading Apps and use Pinch to Zoom functionality to view the text at what size you need.

3. Instruction Manual Reading
I honestly don't know how MOST people can read those manuals in 8 point font sizes but most companies now supply manuals in an electronic format.  Apps like Good Reader will keep you organised with easy access to all your Manuals and you can zoom in and out to your hearts content.  I use this for all sorts of things from building Lego to reading manuals for my new Hardware.

4. Public Transport Route Planning
Since Public Transport is State based and access to route information and timetables is different in each State you get different functionality depending on where you are.  But these Apps are generally a good overview to plan your trip especially if you are very reliant on Public Transport.

5. Business Card Recognition
You might get mixed results with these but they work well if you can get a decent photo (since cameras on phones have improved this is getting better) and your card is a fairly standard layout.  They promise to take a photo of a card and automatically fill in the details for your Contacts but sometimes they can get so muddled its easier to do it by hand than trying to fix up the mashed up results.

6. Easy Share Contacts
Forget the Business Card altogether and go straight to being Bump Buddies!  Apps like Bump let you automatically share your contact details with another person by simply being close in proximity (they generally use Near Feild Communication).

7. Make Relay Calls
Ever since the Internet Relay Service was established and the release of Internet capable devices this sort of thing has been looked into.  Nowadays you can access it via several means including Instant Messaging services (like WIndows Live Messenger for Mobile) or by SMS relay.  Video Relay is also becoming possible as more devices become enabled with Video capabilities.

8. Communication Board
Whether you can't hear or speak, mobile devices offer an infinite source of communication capabilities that range from the simple note App to a more complex and customisable communication board (where you press pictures).

9. Dictation
I've never had much luck with Dictation programs but Dragon has introduced its free software on various platforms.  Supposedly it does not require training but I've never had much luck with these (they still get affected by background noise).  But as the technology progresses they should remove the need to type.  Apps like Siri have been met with mixed experiences (Android is considered to be better at this if not as comedic.  ie you can ask Siri to marry you and she will reply that it's not in her license agreement).

10. Emergency Distress Button
If you are someone who is at high risk of Health issues but want to live independantly this might be your answer (alternatively there is VitaCall but you need to be within a certain range).  Many of these can be set to do things such as automatically dial a number and leave a voice message, send an SMS containing a plea for help along with your GPS coordinates and much more.

Talk is Cheap....

While the benefits of a multifunctional Smartphone are undeniable these, some people just want a phone or can only access certain parts of a phones functionality (ie the Deaf cannot make phone calls).  Various functions have replaced this including SMS messaging, Video Conferencing (Video Relay) and many others.  But talk is still cheap....

Almost all phone plans focus heavily on Talk-Time which is fair enough if that's all you use but what if you don't?

Most plans come with about 100 free SMS per month.  Phones like iPhone get around this by sending messages through your data plan to your iTunes account (blue messages) but still revert to the old fashioned way when this is not accessible (green messages).  But you still  need to pay for the Talk-Time you don't use.....

And video conferencing will chew through your data plan in no time *for many Deaf this is a much more appropriate method as it allows for communication in native sign language).

Screen Magnifier for Windows Phone

 Windows Phone and Windows in general has been languishing a bit behind in terms of accessibility.  Until fairly recently, Windows Mobile, now called Windows Phone,  has not had access to an in-built screen magnifier.  This functionality has been left to third party software (which sometimes does not work with all programs).

To activate your Windows Phone Screen Magnifier :

1. Open Settings
2. Select Ease of Access
3. Make sure your Magnifier is set to the On position

To utilise the Magnifier now you need to use two fingers.  To start the Magnifier double tap your screen with 2 fingers.  To scroll around the screen drag two fingers across the screen in the direction you want to go.  To zoom in double tap with two fingers then hold and drag both fingers upwards.  To zoom out double tap with two fingers and then hold and drag downwards.

Read the small print...

 Don't want to spend any money on a magnifier and you have a Smartphone?  Well really you don't even need a free app to do this one.

Simply use your phone's camera functionality and take a photo (this works best with phones that have a flash for close range text reading).

Once you have your photo you can navigate to your photo album.  These days almost all phones have the @Pinch to Zoom@ to feature that Apple introduced on it's first iPhone.  Simply use this feature to zoom in and out of your photo to read anything from far away signs to the small print on a label (good for those pesky Product Keys).  If you're still having problems reading the text you may want to initiate your phone's screen based magnifier for an extra boost.

For long range continual magnification you can activate the Camera in conjunction with the screen magnifier.

Useful related Tips :
Activate the Windows Phone Screen magnifier
Activate the Screen Magnifier in iOS 

Got the Smarts

Back when phones were phones (err remember those?) adaptive technology was a hodge podge of specialised Hardware and/or Software.  Needed to do Object Character Recognition work?  You needed a $1500 flat-bed scanner plus good software  Needed mid to long range visual assistance?  Well you needed to buy a monocular telescope.  A lot of these devices were wonderful things that provided people with various physical, sensory and psychological challenges a better chance at interacting with the world around them.  But they were expensive and in many cases cumbersome, for many who required more than one device it became a matter of requiring a forklift to carry your ensemble.

But things began to change...

In the early 2000's we started seeing the release of touch based mobile phones.  A melding of two devices, the mobile and the Personal Data Assistant (PDA).  Many supported clunky interfaces such as WIndows Mobile 5 but with various hacks and tweaks these devices could be forced to be accessible (Often available through PocketGear which has since been rebranded to Appia) .  Making these phones reasonably accessible was best left to those who knew their ways around the hidden registry.

Back on June 29th, 2007 the face of adaptive technologyunderwent a fairly big facelift with the launch of the original iPhone (see Wikipedia for more information).  Despite being quite simple in terms of its functionality, for example it was unable to send MMS, it popularise the smartphone to the point of becoming a mass market item.

While we took several steps backwards in terms of interface design (loss of form equating to function, no user feedback etc) we gained access to an easily useable multi-function device that was highly portable.  Later a stime went on we saw software released for various accessiblity tasks such as Magnifying Lenses, Video magnifiers, Voice Recognition, Text to Speech, Barcode Reading, Document Scanning and Communication Boards.

Since then, Disability Technology has become more affordable as it shifts from a dedicated Hardware/Software approach to almost strictly a Software one that exists on multiple platforms (iOS, Android and Windows Mobile).  Cost issues have almost been removed (most software is free or under $5) and high levels of accessibility to mobiles is now being pushed to the fore (many accessibility options are mirrored on all platforms).

We look forward to further development in the area of Smartphone technology.