Category: accessible Devices
For those of us who really want the latest and greatest in toys, Voice over finally comes to the ipod touch.
The new models come in 8 32 and 64gb sizes. $199 to $399.
I realize many won't care about this info, but for those of you who've wanted an accessible pocket pc/ mp3 player there you have it without dealing with at&t.
http://www.apple.com/accessibility/itunes/ipodtouch.html
One thing to add is, that the 32 and 64 models work with Voiceover. Not the 8 GB. At least, I hope I'm right. :)
No, as I understand it, all of the 3rd generation touch's work with VO, which would include the 8gb. Bare in mind though, that they will be selling a 2g touch as well as a 3g touch 8gb model.
hey that's great news, looks like it's something to add to my christmas list. :)
hmmm that's all very well, but given it's a touch and has a totally flat, touch sensitive screen it's not going to make it that much more accessible is it?
Absolutely, it's gesture based technology and a great screen reader that gives you access to every program built in to the device. While there are some that will never like it, I know dozens of blind folks who enjoy using their iPhone, and there will be probably thousands more that buy an iPod touch!
Sounds to me like it's going to operate on the same principle as the Wiimote if it's gesture based. The part that concerns me about the IPhone, and probably the only thing that might keep me from getting one, is the part about text messaging, especially since I absolutely refuse to use the text shorthand lingo. But I think I'm going to go to AT&T and see if they won't let me test drive an IPhone. If I can learn to operate that there's probably no reason why I couldn't use an IPod Touch or even a Nano, provided of course I can ever figure out how to operate ITunes itself using Window-Eyes. I'll grant that the screen seems more friendly but it still confuses me.
I read that the 8 gb does not have Voiceover. It has something to do with the hardware.
I have the 4th gen Nano, which is not touch screen. I have a clear case that makes the click wheel easier to locate and use.
Its nice to see that this is the case as it seems apple glossed over it and didn't seem to mention it like they did with the iPhone and Snow leopard when they made the annoucement on wednesday and they usually seeme to atleast mention accessibility in their announcements even though for obvious reasons they never go into grave detail. Now if microsoft would only follow apples lead with the zune that would be nice as their are some compelling reasons to get the zune as well.
so what's the issue with the iPhone and text messaging?
I already have an ipod nano, and at the moment I'm not in the market for a new phone, but when I am, I imagine the iPhone might be a pheasible option (although they are very pricy), especially as the number of nokia phones which talks can be installed on is decreasing..
The problem with IPhone or Ipod Touch and text messaging is that it is, apparently, a bit of a lerning curve and also rather slow to touch type using the touch screen. Does IPod Touch allow for external or bluetooth keyboard to be used? I kow the IPhone does not, as far as I was told.
The IPhone is not geared towards people who want to d anything seriously office related, it is, first and foremost, an entertainment device. And I suppose if you compare it to the cost of,say, Nokia N86 and a separate screen reader it is downright cheap, but if you get the screen reader software free from a disablity resource then the Nokia phone is probably a more affordable option.
I'm very happy with my N82 but the IPod Touch is definitely on the verge of peaking my interest, especially if I can somehow use a Bluetooth keyboard with it.
Cheers
-B
ah b yes I see what you're saying. I can well imagine that typing on the iPhone might be frustrating to say the least - a querty keyboard that fits on to such a small platform is difficult for even the most avid texter I can imagine.
NO bt keyboard support as of yet. though there is BT 2.1 support as of this revision.
Also, as for which models of the touch have VO my wife who works for the fruit, called a system engineer this morning, and his information is that Vo is available on all three touch devices where voice command is only available on the 32 and 64 gb models. Take that for what it's worth. I've ordered my 32gb model already and I'll let you all know what I think. I used the Iphone for about 3 weeks, and loved it but I didn't want to switch to AT&t so, it didn't work for me so this is super exciting for me.
Also, the default voice on the mac is alex, quite clear and extremely responsive hope one day they can get it in the portable devices as it's much better than what's currently there.
One question, have you tested the braille display support for VO, I´md imagine it´d be the same on a Mac or the IPod Touch.
What would be really cool wuld be to have some sort of braille keyboard input device, some of the braille displays have that and it works with the pc screen readers,but no idea if it´d work with VO, though I doubt it.
I´d definitely like to test drive this device at some point, in a few months may be.
to sugar baby, its a touch screen device so no actual qwerty keyboard you type on the iPhone by tapping the letters on the screen. Personally i couldn't stand it and wanted to smash the phones to bits out of frustration, but some blind people seem to like it, so to each their own. the iPod touch is compelling if you could do a couple of things for me. If you could connect one of those after market recording attachments that they make for the ipod so you can use it as a stereo field recorder ala the olympus or edirol or zoom units, but then if you can also use that microphone along with the version of skype to make calls over wi fi, then there may be a reason to get one. While i can do most of those thing from my phone i don't believe the voice recorder on my phone would be suitable enough to use as a feild recorder.
From everything I have read, VoiceOver is NOT! available on the 8 GB Touch. The 8 GB touch is esentially the 2nd Generation hardware and does not have a fast enough processor to run VoiceOver. The 32 and 64 GB versions have a faster processor and the iPhone 3.1 software which has VoiceOver. I do not have one, and so could be wrong, but if anyone is tempted to get an 8 GB and are expecting VoiceOver to be on it, I would go to an Apple store and verify it for sure.
I can see where entering a lot of text could be slow (at least until you get in a lot of practice), but I did play with one at an Apple store for about 15 minutes, and it is definatly a way cool device!
And whether you like the device or not, Apple has done a wonderful job of bringing accessability to a mainstream device.
yes the 8 GB touch is the 2nd generation device and thus does not include voice over. They basically did with the iPod Touch what they did with the iPhone when they introduced the new models. Instead of discontinuing the older units they priced the older ones lower and put the newer models in th e price point that they used to occupy.
Correct. No Voiceover in the 8GB Touch. I've been to the Apple store and verified this.
I have the 64GB touch, and love it, except for text entry, which is still just a bit clumsy. Something about pounding on glass instead of typing on true keys is just a little weird. Some people like it better than their PDA's, but I don't. That being said though, it sure isn't a deal breaker for me, as the possibilities are limitless. Consider this! Suppose somebody writes an ap for it that is a Daisy book reader? One could, sayt, use the rotor for navigation, or certain gestures, or a combination. The Daisy player can play RFBD, as well as NLS titles by simply downloading an in-ap update. Congratulations. The Stream and Booksense are both dead in the water, as more people will buy an iPod than a specialized device. When that day comes, I will be thrilled, as I think mainstream software is the wave of the future, and if it's made accessible to us, and we can use it too, we should.
Yep bought the 8gb for my wife who is sighted, and the 32GB for myself, very satusfyed. Sure beatus my 60gb ipod video with rockbox!!
Hmmm, this seems really interesting. I might check this out in a few months.
I think the iPod touch is the modern day PDA and its great thats it accessible, Its about time a mainstream company gave the companies that make accissible electronics a run for their money after those companies have been raking us over the coals for so long. Now if someone with an accesible touch could varify something for me please... Can you use the skype app on the ipod touch? I do believe there are microphone attachments you can use with th eipods for example to turn them into stereo field recorders, so was wondering if that would work for making a phone call, providing the skype app worked on the touch .
yup it is about time. same can be said with vo on a computer. am watching this very closely because it's something that i'm interested to see. can apple make their pc screen reader as accessible as we or jaws or more so whilst keeping stability?
If Apple can put voice over into their ipods and things to make them fully accessible, I can't understand why they can't make a better job with mobile phones so we can actually read the menus better rather than having to use another screen reader, or in the case of mp3 players similar.
I posted a board topic very similar to this one with no idea that this board was posted. lol But yeah, it's very exciting that the iPod touch is now accessible, thanks to VoiceOver. And I agree with Jesse, I would be thrilled to see iPods being able to read DAISY files as well as perhaps Braille files.
well its a matter of someone doing a daisy or braile app for the iphone but they probaly wont cuz they make a hell of a lot more money selling you the special hardware to play it on
May I share some thoughts? Some great posts here and I want to address the text messaging one. I use an IPhone and have been since June 19th when it came out. As you use it more and more you will notice your fingers learning where things are. I thought E-Mail and TExt messaging would be unpleasant but as I do it more and more it's turning in to a reflex without much thought. Like anything practice makes almost perfect and if you take time to work with the IPhone or IPod touch you will be amazed at how easy it is to use. No menus to learn it's just on the screen. This is my primary phone and as a professional I need to access my e-mail, calendar, contacts, and occasionally look up information on the web. I have done more with this phone then any other I have used. So, don't let the touch screen be a barrier. Embrace this new technology and enjoy it.
Well said, Willie. And Monkeypusher, that's exactly my point. They would make a lot more money selling you a PAC Mate or a BrailleNote. But when those apps come out, those things will be slaughtered, and I will laugh.
I'm going to give the Ipod touch a few more months and see what happens. I'd love to have one though. It sounds cool!
I'd like one as well. Think I'll put it on my Christmas or birthday wishlist along with the IPhone.
If you have an iPhone, you really don't need an iPod touch because it's basically the same thing. lol
I know. And I very well might just go that route. I would, however, still like to get my hands on an IPod Touch to demo it if possible. Unfortunately though I don't believe there's an Apple Store in Twin Falls. All I really do know is that I'm really getting pissed at my current phone. I don't know if it's a Mobile Speak issue or a defect in the brand of phone I have, but I've noticed that sometimes, though still more often than I'd like to admit, if I turn the phone off and have to turn it on later it doesn't boot up all the way, then takes a longer time than usual to power off when I go to restart it. That and when the time comes for me to get a new phone I've had enough of paying extra for an extra screen reader that won't even work with all the built-in aps. I believe I sense another trip to AT&T on the near horizon so I can try to get more familiar with the IPhone. I do wish I could just borrow one but ah well. Such is life. Getting back on topic though, I may still get myself an IPod Touch just in case. That way of one goes for whatever reason I'll still have the other to fall back on for tunes. And of course there is still the VR Stream if all else fails.
I'm going to wait a while on either the tuch or iPhone. The iPhone has the required $30 data plan, and I don't think you can make your own ring tones. I'm not always near a wireless network to use apps on the Tutch, and it would make a huge dent in my bank account. New ones are released every year so I'm going to see what happens.
Well, the iPhone would be the same, wouldn't it? I mean, the iPhone is basically the same as the iPod touch, aside from the fact that it uses only Wi-Fi connections. With the iPhone, obviously you can use Mobile Web, but that would be more expensive. And the apps for the iPhone pretty much work with the iPod touch. So it sort of goes both ways here.
I've never gotten the hang of browsing the internet with a cell phone so that's no big deal.
It's probably best to get the internet with your iPhone, though, so you can go straight to iTunes from your phone and download the music and the apps you want. You'll have to have the unlimited data plan, which is a little pricy, but I'm sure you'll have fun with it.
Oh? You can't put your own music on the phone? I've got all this music on my computer that I legitimately own the CD's and that's primarily what I would be listening to.
Oh, yeah, you can put your music from your computer on there.
The iPhone has wi fi, so I don't see why the data plan has to be included. I'll stick with my$10 unlimited data plan for the Nokia phones for now.
Yeah, Jean, exactly my point. The iPhone has WiFi as well as Mobile web, so I would think it would better to stick with just the WiFi.
And from what I've heard from other people on here, VoiceOver works beautifully with the iPod touch, so I'm excited to get it. I hope to get it next month, but we'll see about that.
hmm, how easy is it to make your own ring tones with the Iphone? what other limitations does AT&t have for the Iphone?
as for ringtones its the same limitations that AT&T has for all their locked phones. ringtones has to be under 300k. Other than that you should be able to get them on the phone. The reason AT&T requires the $30 data plan is because of the phones having wifi they most people would use that and never get the data plan so then make it a require ment for all phones that have wifi just about .. atleast most of their smart phones anyways. If you have a non smart phone then the data plan is $15 amonth. and its not usually required. And there are a few apps that use things like the phones GPS reciever or Cell signal for certain things that wont work on the iPod touch since they don't have those tools built in. And this probably doesn't matter to most people on reading this, but rumour has it that the ipod touch line may get refreshed sooner rather than later with a camera.
OK, so does this Ipod really work? I mean, can any users share their experiences with this product so I can decide whether to buy it or not?
Over at screenlessswitchers.com there is an audio podcast. I personally think they are the greatest thing ever. I ended up returning my touch, because I opted to go with the iPhone instead just to have the phone capabilities.
OK, so can you use Itunes on your Ipod touch?
What I meant is can you download song using Itunes, because there was something that I read that made me think differently. Sorry for the goofy question.
Absolutely! It's sometimes easier in my opinion to just download straight to the touch rather than from the pc first and then to the touch. With jaws 11 and iTunes 9, the iTunes experience is very good, and so you wouldn't have issues either way.
I have concerne about using the same device as a phone and music player. On the other hand my current phone isn't really that great, and uses MobileSpeak Smartphone. It's slow and the iPhone has been pretty snappy for the few minutes I've used it. I'm on AT&T. I've heard the iPhone's battery only lasts about 7-8 hours and I'm not sure if that includes usic-listening. This is not good news. Someone recently told me the touch's battery lasts far longer. Some here have used both. What do you have to say?
O my! where to begin. Ringtones: it is very easy to make your own ringtones for an IPhone. I use an audio editor called amadeus pro for the mac, save the file in .m4a format, rename the file changing the a to an r and there it is. import it in to itunes and it will sync to your phone. I don't know if goldwave or audacity can save in m4a but as long as you can save a file in m4a your good to go. The ipod works quite well and uses little battery power. I use it on the train to work and my only complaint is the shuffle function could do a better job. Yes, the battery is unfortunately the week link. I'd say you can get a day out of it but it depends on what you are using. I leave wifi off and use bluetooth. Although I despise the $30 for data I have found that the radio apps for the IPhone are rather adicting. I use Wunder radio and OOTunes. So, if you didn't have an unlimited plan the bill would be extremely high. One thing to note: AT&T does have a file size limit for download and it's 10 Megabytes. Why they do this I don't know but it's there. The only problem I have had is downloading movies from the store. Too large. When making a choice I would consider if you want a phone or not. If you are in the market for a phone in my opinion it doesn't bet better then the IPhone. If you just want a music player the touch is a fantastic choice.
You cannot save files from Goldwave in m4a format, unfortunately. It does support mp3, wav, and ogg.
i think there may be a plugin for goldwave to do that file format, may require you to have quicktime installed (which you do if you already have itunes installed) or you can get quicktime alternative if you don't want to install quicktime. You are required to get the $30 smart phone unlimited data plan with the iPhone. and you can get one of those cases for the iPhone that has an extra battery built in that you can use to extend the battery life from what i heard they aren't too expensive. but considering if you use the iphone as a phone, media player, and web browser 7 to 8 hours is pretty damn good though.
My best friend has an iPod Touch 32 GB model and she really likes it and she uses it for everything. I already added it to my Christmas list. At first my parents didn't know if I could use it, and I already have a Victor Stream but it keeps locking up on me. So this could be my backup if my Stream were getting fixed in California. I really want the 64 GB, but it's a bit expensive. My parents said that I'd have to pay for it myself, but that's fine. I'm very impressed with Apple! :)! For those of you that are interested, there is a podcast about the iPod Touch on the Blindcooltech website. Check it out at
www.blindcooltech.com
Now all I have to do is learn the rest of the iPod (I only know a few things about it), and learn how to use iTunes. My friend is going to show me all of that stuff and even more when I get it. i'm excited!
Hope this helps,
Macy
I will be getting the 32 gb touch next week. I'm absolutely excited!
As I said on my board topic about this, I've had the opportunity to use the iPhone, which should get me ready for the touch. This iPhone is my friend's phone, so yeah.
sweet! Let me know what you think! I'm going to be going to an Apple store Saturday or Sunday.
im surely getting an iphone as a graduation present, i would like that
i already played with my roomate's phone, the only problem is the batery life on the iphone. my older brother has an itouch