Category: Cell Phone Talk
I am going to get a cell phone sometime soon and am wondering how the cell phone app on the iphone is? What about other phones. The main reason I would be getting the phone is for the phone capabilities, although I would like other capabilities as well. Also, I have some questions about the IPhone:
1. How similar is the iphone to the mac with voiceover (especially with trackpad gestures)?
2. What is it like to type on the IPhone?
3. Can I try the IPhone somewhere (like an apple store) to see what I think of it?
4. Are there other specific apps that, if I got an IPhone, I should get?
Thanks in advance.
The phone part of the iPhone has worked well for me so far. Typing on it will take some getting used to if you've never had a touchscreen phone, but it's actually not as hard as it might seem. There are two informative threads in Cell Phone Talk concerning favorite iPhone apps. National Braille Press has two books that serve as a great introduction: Getting Started with the iPhone and Twenty-Six Useful Apps for Blind Users. Hope this helps.
You can certainly try the Iphone out at an Apple store, but depending on the knowledge of the employee who helps you, you might have a tough time conveying to him what Voiceover is and how to turn it on. Ask him to go to the Iphone's setting, then to general, accessibility, and click Voiceover to "on." I don't personally own an iphone but have used it many times, and still have trouble with an Iphone's keyboard, or touchBoard... yes I made that up. if you use it every day, though, I'm sure you'll fingers will adjust and you'll have no problem typing on it.
i have an IPhone myself and have had no issues with it what so ever. the phone app has been amazing for me and is very easy to control even while in call. typing does take getting used too but i've gotten very fast at it now
1. How similar is the iphone to the mac with voiceover (especially with trackpad gestures)?
As far as I know, the gestures are exactly the same. they do the same things on the IPhone as they do on the track pad.
2. What is it like to type on the IPhone?
In my own personal experiences its been pretty slow, even with touch typing. It takes a long time to compose a text message and it requires a lot of concintration. My solution to this was buying an external slide out keyboard for the phone. I use the N U U mini key keyboard for all my typing needs on the iPhone.
3. Can I try the IPhone somewhere (like an apple store) to see what I think of it?
Absolutely you can try an iPhone at the store. Like others said above, the apple store staff might not be very knowledgable about voice over so you might have to tell them how to turn it on, and try out some gestures and see what you think of it.
4. Are there other specific apps that, if I got an IPhone, I should get?
Yes there are hundreds of cool apps, some more useful then others. I always look at apple vis for new apps, and I follow them on twitter when people recommend new accessible apps.
Thanks for all the comments. I have now visited an apple store and met with the knoledgable staff (yay) that were there. I'm liking the phone much more than the ipad that I tried last month at a friend's house. Now, some more of those stupid questions that you all have already answered for other people:
1. I found typing to be quite a nuisance, and am sure that a keyboard (preferably small), is necesary. Can you give more details on the N U U mini key keyboard you mentioned? Also, has anyone tried the speed dots screen protector?
2. Are there good GPS programs that I should get, and how much do they cost? Also should I get a bluetooth GPS reciever if I end up using it?
Thanks and I'll be back soon with more stupid questions.
if you haven't worked with typing long don't ditch it quite yet. you need to play around a lot longer before you can decide if you like it or not. as for GPS apps, navigon is pretty good, it's price can change from time to time. You don't need an external reciever with the IPhone, and i'm not even sure you can pair one anyways.
There are two different typing modes. One is where you double tap on the letter you want, or something like that. I could never quite understand how that one worked, but the second method has worked for me like a charm. Just slide your finger across the screen, depending on which row of letters in the virtual keyboard it is located, and lift. You'll hear a tiny click, which means the letter has been selected. That takes some getting used to, but you'll get the hang of it. I have a bluetooth keyboard for those times when I get sick of the virtual keyboard, and believe me, that certainly has happened. Play with it a while until you get used to it is all I can say. Yes, punctuation marks are available as well. Underneath the shift button on the keyboard portion of the touch screen, there is a button which voiceover will read as, "more numbers." Double tap on this and it'll bring up the number row, and underneath this, a list of commonly used punctuation marks like the comma, period, question mark, etc. oving back to the lower lefthand corner of the device, if you move your finger up above the, "More letters" button which would bring you back the alphabet, there's a button above this which says, "More symbols," double tap that, and move your finger across the screen to see things like percent, star, and a bunch of other less-used things that I can't quite remember off the top of my head right now.
There are things underneath the row that has the star symbol in it too, but I don't recall exactly what. You'll be able to type anything on an iPhone.
One more question: The apple store staff said that is necesary to close applications from the app switcher. How can I do this? They didn't quite get it at the store.