[accesscomp] Article on the iPhone
- From: "Bob Acosta" <boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Bob Acosta" <boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2011 21:47:18 -0700
My Trials and Tribulations Learning the iPhone with VoiceOver
Janet Ingber
When I heard Verizon Wireless would be offering the iPhone, I was ecstatic. I
immediately started learning about the phone and VoiceOver, its built-in screen
reader. Though in the end it was well worth it, I didn't know how steep or
frustrating the learning curve would be.
In their book Getting Started with the iPhone: An Introduction for Blind Users
(reviewed in this issue of AccessWorld ), Anna Dresner and Dean Martineau write:
You'll enjoy learning the phone more if you are gentle with yourself. This is
a new skill, and the only way to learn is to make mistakes, probably repeated
ones. Be assured that by trying to learn the phone, you will not harm it, even
when you make mistakes, or when things seem to be getting out of control. Keep
breathing fully and relax! If you find yourself becoming overwhelmed, take a
break.
Those are great words of advice and encouragement.
Even though I researched the iPhone before getting it, when it was finally in
my hands I realized that I had a lot to learn. My plan for the first day was to
learn how to text, make and receive phone calls, and set up my voice mail.
Although my computer skills are very good, using the iPhone was different. At
first it seemed almost overwhelming and I did not accomplish the above tasks in
one day.
As I was learning to use the phone, I got information from many sources. After
struggling on my own for a few days, I purchased Dresner and Martineau's book,
and it was extremely helpful. Apple's accessibility website and blindness
related e-mail lists were also very useful. I had an in-person meeting with a
device specialist at the Verizon Wireless store, but that was less helpful. I
also used Google on occasion if I needed a quick answer. For example, I'd
forgotten how to delete old voice mail messages on the iPhone, so I typed,
"iPhone VoiceOver, delete voice mails" and activated the search button. I went
through the results and quickly found my answer.
Unlike Windows-based screen readers, Apple's VoiceOver has the user interact
with the phone by touching various locations on the screen. The iPhone 4 and
iPhone 3 do not have physical QWERTY keyboards, but instead use a virtual
keyboard that comes up on the touchscreen when it is needed. The only tactile
button is below the actual touch screen. Pressing this button will bring you
back to the home screen, so don't be afraid to use it.
Aside from entering information, most interaction with the iPhone is done
through gestures. Sometimes there is more than one way to accomplish a task.
For example, to activate a button you can find the button, keep your finger on
it, and tap the screen with another finger, or you can locate the button, wait
for VoiceOver to say that the button is selected, and then double tap the
screen anywhere. It's important to learn all the gestures that VoiceOver uses.
A good place to start is in the VoiceOver practice section, located in the
settings menu. Go to Settings, then General, then Accessibility, and select
VoiceOver/VoiceOver Practice. There you can do the various gestures on the
screen and VoiceOver will say the name of the gesture and what it accomplishes.
For me, the toughest gesture was "flick," where you quickly move a finger or
fingers across, up, or down the screen. Flicking one finger to the right will
activate the next element and flicking to the left will bring up the previous
one. This is a good way to review the items on a screen. If you accidentally do
a three finger double tap, which I've done, this will turn VoiceOver off. The
only way to get VoiceOver to come on again is to do another three finger double
tap. There is an option in the VoiceOver menu to have hints speak, which
explains what to do in a specific situation. This helped me a lot. I still keep
my hints turned on even though I know all the gestures and what they
accomplish. Sometimes there are applications where having hints turned on is
very useful such as with setting a clock or entering information into the
phone's calendar.
Here are some problems I had and how I was able to solve them.
Answering and ending a call. One way to answer a call is to quickly double tap
with two fingers, but I found that method didn't work consistently. Another way
is to use the headset that comes with the phone and press its middle button.
Although that method works, I didn't want to be carrying a headset with me all
the time. The third option is to activate the answer button, slightly above and
to the right of the home button. To end a call, select the end button, slightly
above and left of the home button. This is the method that I use. If your
screen is locked when you receive a call, it's necessary to tap the screen once
and then double tap it. This will answer the call and you don't have to worry
about finding specific buttons. In the beginning, I'll admit that I didn't
unlock the screen on time for the first few calls I received.
Setting up voice mail. The first thing I wanted to do was let people who called
know that I was learning the iPhone and if they received a voice mail message
to please call me again. It's possible to do this directly on the phone, but
since it was my first day with the unit I wanted a method that didn't involve
activating any buttons. All I needed to do was call my phone from another
phone. When the standard voice message came on I pressed the pound (#) key. I
was then prompted to create a password and record an outgoing voice mail
message.
Making calls. Making calls can be done by voice command, choosing someone from
the contacts or favorites lists, or by bringing up the virtual phone keypad. I
found that using voice controls usually worked, but I wanted additional
options. A few times I accidentally called someone when browsing through my
contacts list. It's a good thing I didn't accidentally call my cousin in
Australia. One way to avoid making calls by accident is to go into the Settings
menu. The first control is Airplane Mode. Turning on this option will block the
phone's ability to make calls. This option is also initially useful when
editing your contacts list. In the contacts list is an option to add the
contact to the favorites list. Basically it's a list of the numbers you call
most frequently. It's Apple's answer to speed dial. Once a contact is added to
the favorites list, it takes fewer steps to call him or her. Open the phone
application, then activate the "Favorites" button, which is the first button.
This will bring up a list of your favorites. Locate the name of the person you
wish to call and double tap it.
Typing. My previous phone was an LG EnV2. It had some accessibility including
the ability to send and receive text messages. The phone had a QWERTY keyboard
and I learned how to type with my thumbs. Unless you choose to use a braille or
Bluetooth keyboard, you will need to use the phone's virtual keyboard.
There are several ways to type on the iPhone. I tried double tapping, where you
tap the designated character twice to add it to a document, and touch typing,
where you put a finger on the character, wait for VoiceOver to say the letter
or number, and when the finger is lifted, the character is added. This method
was definitely the one I preferred. There are settings to have the iPhone use
auto-correct which will anticipate what you want to type. Learning to type on
the phone's virtual keyboard took practice, but eventually my speed increased.
The Notes app, which comes on the phone, is a good place to practice. Should
you decide that you don't like the virtual keyboard, the app Dragon Dictation
is free from the App Store and allows you to record your message rather than
type it. Even with this app, you will have to type in at least the recipient's
name if you are sending an e-mail or text message.
Texting. In order to send a text message, you need to choose a recipient. As
with many things on the iPhone, there are several ways to do this. One way is
to go through the Contacts list, find the person you want to text, open the
contact, and activate the text message button. If the person is someone you
text frequently, it might be easier to put the person in your Favorites list.
In that list, select the "more info" button to the right of each person's name.
This will open the contact information, where the text message button is
located. I found this extremely useful, especially in the beginning while I was
learning to use the keyboard.
Another way is to start typing the recipient's name in the "To" edit box. The
more letters you type, the fewer results you will get. A list of people with
the names beginning with the letters you typed will come up. From there, double
tap the person you wish to text. If a contact has more than one phone number,
you will need to be careful to select the one you want.
On my old EnV2, I was able to bring up the person's name by voice, even though
the phone's voice recognition wasn't always correct, so it took time for me to
learn how to choose a recipient. The first text message I sent from my iPhone
was to my husband. The message said, "I hate this phone." Now, I absolutely
love it.
Resources
Here are a few of my favorite resources.
AppleVis. This is an excellent website which rates apps, gives information on
how to accomplish tasks, has links to informative articles and podcasts, and
much more.
Apple's accessibility site. The site contains information about VoiceOver.
All With My iPhone. Cory Ballard presents tutorials on a wide variety of apps,
some of which are developed specifically for users with vision loss, while
others are mainstream.
Getting Started with the iPhone: An Introduction for Blind Users by Anna
Dresner and Dean Martineau, published by National Braille Press.
Robert Acosta, President
Helping Hands for the Blind
Email: boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx
Web Site: www.helpinghands4theblind.org
You can assist Helping Hands for the Blind by donating your used computers to
us. If you have a blind friend in need of a computer, please mail us at the
above address.
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