I broke my finger and have been using Voice Control for four weeks — a reminder of why accessibility is super important.
Voice Control: When technology becomes more accessible everyone wins
Tag Archives: iphone
Vision-Focused Accessibility Efforts
A new article published last night by The Wall Street Journal takes a look into how accessibility-focused technology has the “potential to fundamentally change the mobility, employment and lifestyle of the blind and vision-impaired.”
WeMo Baby – The iPhone Baby Monitor
Belkin has made parenting a little more convenient with the new WeMo Baby iPhone Baby Monitor that turns your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch into a baby monitor. Setting up the WeMo Baby is very easy – after putting the monitor in the baby’s room, parents can download the free application on their iOS device and simply connect to their Wi-Fi network. The application offers helpful alerts about the baby’s status, and an upgrade is available through Evoz that allows parents to receive notifications when their baby begins to cry. Upgrading also enables parents to see their baby’s crying patterns, which can be very helpful in planning the baby’s sleep schedule. Compatible with all iOS mobile products, this product can be purchased at select retailers for $89.99.
AT&T faces complaint over iPhone Facetime blocking
Public interest groups on Tuesday said they will file a complaint against AT&T for blocking certain customers from using Apple’s FaceTime video app over the mobile network, a practice that may violate rules on Internet access.
SoundAmp Helps Persons Hard of Hearing
For just $0.99, a person who is both hard of hearing and an smartphone owner can be granted sound again. SoundAmp is a relatively new iPhone application that works by picking up sounds via the microphone, amplifying and processing them in real-time, and sending them to the attached earbuds/headphone. Also, with it’s “Boost” feature, high frequency amplification can be increased. This is paramount when talking to the elderly who tend to lose the high frequency range.
Georgia Tech Develops Braille-Like Texting App
Imagine if smartphone and tablet users could text a note under the table during a meeting without anyone being the wiser. Mobile gadget users might also be enabled to text while walking, watching TV or socializing without taking their eyes off what they’re doing.
Vital Signs Camera App
emote monitoring and telehealthcare are topics that often get raised when people discuss the future of the Aging In Place movement, and this app from Phillips may be a sign of things to come. The Vital Signs Camerauses the standard camera in your iPad or iPhone to monitor both your heart rate and breathing rate. The app’s software is able to recognize small changes in the color of your face to measure your heart rate with beat-to beat accuracy. Likewise, the camera tracks the movements of your chest to measure your exact breathing rate. The app can also create tables and graphs of a user’s history, helping to make sense of the data gathered and reveal any long-term trends. The newest version of the app can even monitor two people at the same time.
Click here for more information about Vital Signs Camera App on YouTube
Sprint Mobile Accessibility App
Sprint has worked with the developer Code Factory to develop the Mobile Accessibility app geared toward the visually impaired. The application focuses on providing audio feedback to navigate the phone. In addition to other feature. the phone reads back text in response to where the user touches the screen. This app utilizes the consumer’s abilities to remove previous limitations of mobile phones.
Accessibility features need support, too
A few years ago, Apple Inc. captured yet another huge slice of the consumer market by releasing a new iPhone that was, out of the box, completely accessible to blind and low-vision users. The triumph was stunning on several fronts. First, while blind and low-vision people were texting and sending email using other cellphones, it was only made possible by purchasing secondary software for several hundred dollars. The other feat that amazed was that the iPhone is operated via touch screen controls, no physical buttons to touch and push.