One Blind Guys Experience with Android. How accessible is it really Mosen Consulting. Revision History. June 2. 01. 6Expanded on the use of OK Google. Refined discussion of Focus Speech Audio. Introduction. If you read this blog on a regular basis, youll already know that I enjoy playing with new technology. Since one of my roles here at Mosen Consulting is to train people in the use of technology, I can even justify playing with new gadgets and calling it work. Three years ago, I bought a Nexus 7 tablet. Thank you for this, it was very detailed and insightful. Ill try to be brief, as I agree with most of what you say here, gripes included. Particularly in regards. I became broadly familiar with the Android operating system in conjunction with Talk. Back, Androids official screen reader for the platform. I then left it neglected, because I didnt consider it an environment that was either pleasurable to use or that could meet my productivity requirements. A lot of the apps that shipped on the device were inaccessible, and I had a lot of trouble getting gestures to register. I got tired pretty quickly of performing a double thump, just to perform an action. Several factors led me to pick up a new device and take a fresh look at the Android experience. First, three years is a long time in technology. The operating system has matured and Talk. Back developers have responded to feedback. Second, using some of Googles apps on my i. Devices has given me huge respect for the user experience they are creating. Google Now, Voice Search, You. Images of Neptune taking during twilight at the Keck Observatory at Mauna Kea, between June 26th and July 2nd, 2017. Image Credit N. MOLTERI. DE PATER, UC BERKELEY. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Think more Creatively. Tube and Maps are great tools. It made me curious to learn more about what the native Android experience might be like, unconstrained by Apples sandbox approach. Third, while it appears that there may be a way with the i. Phone 7 series to charge the phone while using wired headphones, the headphone jack controversy got me thinking about the compromises I have made in exchange for the very good accessibility experience i. OS offers. The many books, podcasts, email messages and blog posts Ive put together since I bought my first i. Device are a testimony to the fact that i. OS and Voice. Over have changed my life beyond measure. Skype Free N Full Setup Matthews' title='Skype Free N Full Setup Matthews' />Yet there are still things I cant do with my i. Devices that I was doing with my old Nokia phones running Symbian all the way back in 2. Apples sandbox approach is designed to keep our phones safe and protect our privacy. All in all, it succeeds very well with this objective. But experienced users pay the price in terms of flexibility. Rick Astley Never Gonna Give You Up Official Music Video Listen On Spotify http Download Ricks Number 1 album 50. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Vs. Conor McGregor Is The SecondBiggest Possible FuckYou. Inside Social. The biggest and latest apps and platforms, plus trends and insights on the biggest online discussions. Join the NASDAQ Community today and get free, instant access to portfolios, stock ratings, realtime alerts, and more Join Today. Even though I consider myself a proficient i. Tunes user, and except for when Apple breaks accessibility I can do what I need to do with it, I still resent that I cant cable my own phone to my own computer, see it as a drive, copy music to a music folder, and play that music in any number of apps. Install Sap On Centos 6 Iso on this page. If needed, I want to be able to delete music from my phone in the same way. I want to do simple things like assign a piece of music as a ring tone, without having to go through a bunch of hoops to have it contain a certain file extension and get it imported in just the right kind of way. I miss the ability to run certain kinds of apps like call recorders, in those situations where being able to record a quick podcast interview when Im mobile would be useful. In short, there are a bunch of ways in which Apple limits my ability to do what I want with the device I paid for. Im sure theyd say that its for my own good, but as an experienced computer user, I think Im the best judge of whats good for me. ANd9GcQeWRoWazaDw4cB83VJw8-PmuoaI2fYMzpKXK-hDY16w_aLmCGt0SF3tA' alt='Skype Free N Full Setup Matthews' title='Skype Free N Full Setup Matthews' />Admittedly, through the use of various application programming interfaces, theyve backed off a little bit over the last few years as Android has become the dominant player. But the operating system itself is fundamentally locked down unless you jailbreak. Jailbreaking is harder to do as Apple closes the exploits that make it possible. It also eliminates the possibility of participating in Apples beta programme. So philosophically, as someone who likes to tinker and customise, my heart is with the ethos of Android. But as the old saying goes, philosophy bakes no bread. As blind people, were constantly battling ignorance and discrimination. We owe it to ourselves to be as productive and efficient as we can be with our technology. So Ill go with the option that allows me to get as much work done when Im away from my computer as possible. With that background in mind, this is my account of what it was like to spend some quality time with a current Android device. This blog post is no more than one blind guys experiences, and its written from the perspective of an end user, designed to be digestible and helpful to end users. Any review like this is going to be subjective. Its influenced by the things I do most with my phone. At least some of them will be different from the things you do with yours. The post has a lot to say about Talk. Back as a screen reader, but accessibility is a means to an end. The end is being able to use the device and applications you choose. So Ill also spend some time talking about the user experience Ive had getting some tasks done. This post has been reviewed by expert Android users, because while it contains my personal opinions, I want as much as possible to avoid errors of fact. There may be some though, so I encourage you to read any comments left in response. Even though Ive tried not to let this colour my review too much, of course its based on the fact that Ive been using i. Devices for years. While some blind people, annoyed with those who point out Androids shortcomings, would claim that it isnt fair or appropriate to compare Talk. Back and Voice. Over, I couldnt disagree more. When a sighted person looks at purchasing a smartphone, theyll compare the two platforms and the way things are done on each. I agree that Talk. Back doesnt have to do things in the way that Voice. Over does, but the two screen readers should be compared based on how efficiently a blind person can get the job done, and the number of apps that work well with it. So Im not going to shy away from drawing comparisons in this post. Choosing a Device. Choosing an Android device can be both liberating and confusing. Not only do you have to consider how much storage you might need and the size of the screen as you do when purchasing an i. Phone, but Android gives you a vast array of options from which to choose, from many manufacturers. In the end, I decided to purchase a Huawei Nexus 6. P. Its a phablet, about the same size as my i. Phone 6s Plus. I bought a Nexus device because they are produced by original equipment manufacturers to Googles specifications. They run Android as Google intended it to be, without added apps or modifications. The price that many Android users have to pay for a wide range of devices and user experiences is fragmentation. Operating system updates can either take months to appear on some devices, or they may never appear at all. Five months after the release of Android 6. Marshmallow, it was only running on 2. When you buy a Nexus device, you can be assured that youll be one of the first to receive updates to the operating system. As someone who likes to be on the cutting edge and try new things, that appealed to me, particularly given that accessibility seems to be improving steadily with every release. Indeed, I briefly upgraded my Nexus 6. P to the Android N preview, until I realised that beta testing an operating system and screen reader with which I was not intimately familiar was a bit too much to take on at once. Upgrading and downgrading was a snap. Simply enrol in the beta, and the update is pushed to your device.