Category: Cell Phone Talk
Has anyone tried the Tactile Screen Protectors for the IPhone and other Apple Products by Solona.
http://www.solona.net/tactile-screen-protectors-for-apple-products-by...
I have not exactly tried it, because I don't have an IPhone myself. But several of my friends have them, and use the tactile overlays, and love them. A couple friends who have IPhones do not have the tactile overlays. I've played with IPhones of both kinds, just to test them out, to see if I want one, and I find it far, far easier to use with the tactile overlay on it. Just my thoughts, though many others here will have more experience, I'm sure.
i don't have an overlay, and never plan to get one. if you are good at memorizing where things are you'll have an easy time and can just grab a screen protector from anyware for much cheaper.
What should one look for in a screen protector? Aside from getting it for your model. Are they hard to install? I've thought if I get one of these, I'd want to put a protector on it just to keep the screen free of dirt and all.
it's really simple to put them on, only tricky part can be lining it up with your touch screen. i have a standard one for my ITouch 3g and it's not even noticable to me unless i take it out of my case
To be fair, they are 6 dollars, plus 3 dollar shipping. It is not like we are talking $40 gadget.
I orderred two different ones yesterday to test them out and will let you know.
I can type pretty well (ok, typos aside) on a computer keyboard, but I still like keyboards that mark the f and the j key with a dot, so I think a screen protector that ables me to find those keys, and the main control keys, even faster and more efficiently might be a worthwhile investment, even if I am perfectly capable of finding those myself.
I'll let you guys know what I think once I have tested them.
-B
You're right about the price of course. Here's the one thing that has held me back en them, so curious how it all works: if it has keys marking the keyboard, what happens when that area is no longer used by a keyboard, eong. you're in a window with no keyboard? Will it interfere with dragging and stuff? I'm curious !know how it works out. Certainly I would have expected a higher price tag based on the niche market.
Anyway am interested in whatever you come up with. Also what happens when you take a protector off? Is the screen then sticky and nasty, or what?
most protectors have a silicon backing so there's nothing left on the screen when they are removed, and they can be put back on again
So it doesn't stick? Interesting.
Also has any of you done it without sighted help? I guess since sticking isn't an issue there's a bit of a threshold there ... I would just be worried about getting a wrinkle in it, or accidentally touching the sticky side when needing to line it up.
i put my own protector on, it's actually pretty simple. it really doesn't matter if you touch the sticky side or not, only a lot of dust or dirt will cause it not to stick. just need to line up two corners square and you'll be good to go putting it on. i'd suggest lining up the bottom on an IPhone or ITouch, that way if there's a place for the home button you can get that lined up right.
Ah OK. In a pinch I've done PVC application where you only have a few seconds of bonding time before it hardens, but that is round coupler to round (hopefully) groove. Sounds like they make these to fit just right, you don't have to worry about cutting a straight line, just lining it up. Sounds good. I still will be curious as to what happens if you use the Solona ones and then try and use the space where the keyboard is on the protector, but due to the software, there's no keyboard there anymore, e.g. you're on home screen and such. This is all semi moot right now as I've yet to get the device, but still. You all with your info are making it easier for the rest of us, and at least some of us appreciate all the info you put out here and elsewhere.
I bought a screen protector for my IPhone at the time i bought it, along with a hard plastic holder with a belt clip. THen the phone itself has one of those little rubber cases with the hole in the back for the Apple logo. About the only thing I can find wrong with that case is that while it does seem to fit the phone the whole for the earbud jack isn't lined up exactly right with the jack itself. Fortunately that particular part has a little flap that can be lifted up so the earbuds can be put in. A minor inconvenience but no more than that. I may look into one of those tactile overlays at some point but since I'm reasonably proficient with the touch screen (although it still does take me a while to send a text), I may not. ANd I'd rather be a bit slow than send texts with lots of errors in them. But I had to disable autocorrection in Voiceover becase it kept correcting me when I'd do, say a YouTube search for a band name like the Corries. It changed Corries to Virtues. But at least it still alerts me if I misspell a word.
Wow, having a tactile overlay might be a game changer for me. I'm considering an IPhone when my contract runs out. Now that they're on Vorizon, I may have to just check one out. Are there these overlays for regular touch screen IPods? I'll check out the website. Also, is it easier to text with a blue tooth keyboard? I hear those are like really cheap, and I like my Qwerty keyboard on my cell.
Okay, cool website. One of my best friends has an IPod that she's trying to get rid of. It's a newer model, with a touch screen and speech. I may buy it from her. I think one of these screen protectors might be helpful. The whole touch screen thing really scares me, and these might be a good way to orient myself with them. For those of you who've tried these, I'd love some feedback before my foray into Apple land.
Thanks
I have an otterbox defender case for my iphone 4. can I still get a tactle screen protector for it? Also to the previous poster am getting a bluetooth keyboard I think for christmas. Will let you know.
i've got a iphone 3g. smile. i'll look at the sight for screen. smile.
My friend gave me her Ipod 3 G. I went ahead and bought a tactile screen protector. They're pretty reasonable at about $9.00, so if it doesn't work, I'm not out a ton of money. Now, if I could get the hang of ITunes, but that's a topic for another thread. I'd still like some feedback on those screen protectors though.
I don't have a protector, but I get along quite well with the touch screen. I would suppose, judging from what I have read about the tactile protectors, that they would significantly increase typing speed etc.
Thanks, that's what I'm hoping.
it's not that the protector will increase your speed. i have a generic one and i type resonably fast on mine. all it does is help you find the placement of keys, and then it has to be that the keyboard is in the exact same configuation each time, which it could very well not be.
Oh, never thought of that. I'll have to explore things a bit when I get the IPod from my friend.
I placed an order for a screen protector two weeks ago and got charged of course, but have not received the order. I've emailed twice regarding the order status, but still hav enot received any words. Does anyone have a telephone number or another email that I can try to track down my order?
Me too. Only for me, it's been like three weeks. My payment posted on the 4th of January. I just emailed today. Talk about crappy service! I'm not sure I even got an email saying my order was accepted. Does anyone know what kind of turnaround there is on this product? Or, another company that makes similar products? My excitement has turned to disappointment!
Here is the one reason I haven't bought a tactile screen protector, much as I like Solona:
I'm finding you can quite efficiently use the portrait and the landscape layout. These keyboards have different spacial orientation, and yes, I did make measurements to find out, though they were crude.
So, since I don't want to be locked into one single keyboard, I have foregone the Solona solution.
Another thing to bear in mind for the touch-screen-timid: Steve Jobs and kind, the Shining Happy People from Cupertino, recommend that people type on the virtual keyboard without looking.
Well duh, if photons are nearly or completely useless to you, but this was aimed at sighted user.
Two things: First, if your attention is on what you're typing, you're more likely to increase speed. Second, the algorithms used to do Autocorrect not only predic predict based on the spelling, but also on the relative location of the keys.
Now, you or I with Voiceover get feedback when sliding the finger around.
But consider what they're proposing sighted users do: Basically type with no feedback, except what's on the screen.
You develop the muscle memory for it, and it works, perhaps to the surprise of some.
Wow, that was confusing. Does anyone know where I can get a braille manual for the Ipod touch screen 3 G? I find it easier to learn if I actually read the directions first.
Sorry if it was. better writers on here for sure.
Google iPod Touch Manuals and you'll get a PDF. Maybe someone on here who can / knows how can print it out on the Braille printer if they have the translator software to do it with.
I hear ya: Manuals in Braille are awesomeness, but more rare than the California Condor.
I have to agree with the post regarding developing memory. I find that I am able to type faster and faster and it's amazing how the fingers remember where to go. I use usually two fingers and it's just fine. Okay! on a moving vehicle it's a bit harder but practice makes perfect right? Don't be touch screen shy. It's an amazing way to use a phone and I will never go back to buttons with a menu system.
Here's where the touch screen really shines for us, I think:
I'm sure I can't be the only one thinks this: Isn't speech with buttons / arrows / blah blah blah such a pain in the ass? The touch screen means if you know where something is, you don't have to go bump bump bump all the way down there with tab or the arrow keys, you just push it as fast as you thought about it. You want to go back, you know it's top left. Done? usually top right. Options? Usually a bottom row of buttons. So while the keyboard itself is hard to learn, just using programs and even the web is surprisingly very easy in a way I wouldn't have expected.
Imagine if you had a Braille page you could interact with. That's what it's basically like.
I've never used a touch screen anything. But all this tap here, flick that. Sounds confusing. Plus, the whole keyboard thing! AAAh! See why I want the braille manual?
Well there's people will be able to do better at explaining this than I but:
At the beginning forget about Flick. Still, to be honest, if I can get away without using flick I don't use it, it's basically like tab or shift tab so yes you can get lost.
This is my first touch screen also. Basically it's all in the implementation: All in how they did it.
First, let me tell you, it's not horrid loads and loads of speech going yadayadayada at you all day. It is as close to Braille as sound can be, you're obviously a Braille reader so whatever they call spacial orientation you already have. So you know, when you look at a Braille menu or book or whatever, you just sort of scan across to whatever it is you're looking for, you breeze past blocks of stuff to the indentation or whever tells you you're on a new section.
In a way, the iPhone or iPod will do this.
It makes a quiet 'chink chink' sound if you're crossing empty space inside a border. When you land on an element, it speaks it. By element, it basically means thing: it could be an html element if you know what that is, a control like a button or text box, or just a line.
There are ways to read it more specifically, zoom into it I guess, so you can do character by character or word by word, but just the basics you just slide your finger around.
When you're on something you want to open or activate, just hold your finger there and tap anywhere else on the screen. By anywhere, I mean there is about a quarter-inch border all the way around the edge which is outside the screen real estate, meaning the part that can light up / show characters pictures and the like
That's basically the beginning. But you'll not even need to learn the sounds it makes, they're basically pretty intuitive.
You can tell when things open or, if you are using flickwhen you cross a line by the sounds it makes. I think as a Braille reader you'll probably surprise yourself by how quickly you pick this up.
Personally, I didn't get the device because it had a touch screen: I got it for what it does and all the apps. But, to be honest, due to the implementation I've gotta say though I usually curse, mock, and make fun of Apple for the way they totally don't get the Enterprise consumer market and play the twinkle-toed little boutique company, they really did a number here, and it's worth it if you can at least take a look at one.
One really amazing thing that happened with mine is my Flotilla Commander in the coast guard sent us all a staff list that was an image. Probably a JPeg but I don't remember. Anyway, a $1.99 SmartScanner app from the App store OCR'ed the thing instantly, I copied the text and updated my staff list.
I got a couple free bar code readers I can point the pod at the box of whatever the wife left on the table and texted me saying would I start it cooking, but we both forgot I didn't know what it was / the instructions. Beats the hell out of a SWAG (scientific wild-ass guess). And, those things really do work.
If you're used to a production / Enterprise environment, you'll definitely find things TwinkleToes forgot to put in their product, but there's usually a free or very cheap app to do it.
Thanks, there's deffinitely gonna be a learning curve for me. I haven't gotten the Ipod from my friend. But, I think she'll show me the ropes a bit. What's typing on there like? Or, do you just use a small portable keyboard for that?
for now I've just been using the onscreen keyboard. I set it to Touch Typing, they call it, where you move your finger around on the keyboard and lift it when you're on the key you want.
If you're close to my niece's age, your thumbs are twin-texting turbines anyway. For some of us, thumb typing has definitely been a learning curve, but surprisingly, easier on the touch screen than a conventional thumb keyborrd.
I'm going to purchase a foldable keyboard here in a bit for long emails and the like, but wanted to maximize the portability by learning the onscreen one. Plus, gotta wait till after the tax refund comes in and I'll take my portion of that for the keyboard and external battery.
I look at the whole thing as when I first got Windows in the mid 1990s: Sure there were people said a blind guy couldn't, and I had to learn it all myself / nobody was gonna try and show me what they thought was undoable, but I just used the tapes that came with JAWS 1.21 and learned it.
The same can be said of the BlindCoolTech.com podcasts on the iPod Touch. Frankly I did listen to those while at work long before I got mine.
But the real deal, just like when I got a Windows machine, was I took a couple weeks (my vacation) and knuckled down and just plain learned it. When you get yours, one of the bookmarks in Safari (their web browser) is a link to their Manual. Make sure and click (double tap) where it says 'VoiceOver Users Click here'.
That page works much better with VoiceOver, and you'll want to read their VoiceOver help before learning the other apps. Once you learn how the gestures work, you'll be good to go.
I generally try and refine mine by using the Practice Gestures option in Settings | General |Accessibility | VoiceOver.
I don't know if you're old enough to have made a transition like from DOS to Windows, but I really think in many ways the transition is similar.
hmmm, i've never had a problem with flick. and i would recommend it really handy to new users. curoius as to why you wouldn't/
Oh yeah, I remember the old Dos days. My very first laptop computer had it on there. How much are wireless keyboards aproximately. Of course, there's always gonna be some that are more expensive than others. But I'm wondering if it'll be worth it to get one.
As to the answer with flick, yes I have learned how to use it, but what happens is sometimes it seems you can flick past the screen, such as in the Facebook app, and then if you want to just use regular moving your finger around to locate something, you're several screens back. That's primarily why, unless I'm using it wrong?
BLW, you'll find keyboards anywhere between forty to over $100.
If you are a good texter you could get away with the thumb keyboard. When my niece goes at it with the Blackberry you'd think a damned woodpecker was trying to bore a hole in the phone, that's how fast they are. I, personally, opted for the Freedom IConnex Foldable mini keyboard, and if you buy it I'll post on here the emails the guy from Freedom Input sent me. I don't know how good it is yet, except from the reviews on Amazon, but if you get serious about this stuff private message me and I'll send you all the accessory gear I'm getting including an external battery pack. iPods don't have as big a battery as do iPhones. And if you're used to a PAC Mate or Braille Blazer or whatever going for 20 hours plus with batteries, you'll have to think again. I just constantly turn my wireless on and off, on when I need it / am close to a power source, off when not.
Hope this helps
I'm a pretty good texter, but then again, I have the tactile F and J keys. the IPods don't have those. I may invest in an external keyboard. I forgot that having wireless on drains the battery faster. I asked my friend what the battery life was like and she says about 30 hours for audio. It's a 32 G. so I'm not expecting it to have as long of a battery as an IPhone.
The external batteries are small.
OK here's the text on the keyboard from Amazon:
Freedom i-Connex Mini Bluetooth Keyboard for Apple iPhone/iPad and Other Devices
$49.99 $44.17
And, from my protracted albeit geeky research, here is what I plan on getting for charger / battery:
Remember your iPod won't come with a charger.
Power:
battery:
Proporta USB TurboCharger 3400 (USB Emergency charger for iPod/iPhone/Blackberry/Nokia/HTC)
Our price: $39.95
Apple USB Power Adapter for iPod/iPhone
$12.00
Cases:
splash FLIP Napa Leather Case with Clip for iPod Touch 4G 4th Generation (Black) NEWEST MODEL
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Our price: $26.95 You Save: $13.04 (33%) New & used from $26.95 In Stock
Cable
Extra Long 6 Foot (6ft) iPhone / iPod USB Charge and Sync Cable, Double the Length of the Standard Cord
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Our price: $8.99 New & used from $5.29 In Stock
The leather case has a pouch to put accessories into. There's a ton of cases out there and some are probably more to your tastes: I've a liking for leather myself but you should look at what's out there.
If you're confused by it, so was I: I still don't get the difference between all the types. We need us a fanchild on here to write up some descriptions of the types, descriptions that have something more useful than the high-school coolness meter.