Fleksy – Does Fleksy change the way the blind uses the iPhone?

So now that Fleksy has been released for a few weeks now, I would like to look at the app, and see if it measures up to the hype that surrounded it at #NFB12?

How does Fleksy work?

Fleksy is a new keyboarding app for iOS that allows blind or visually impaired users to type on any iPhone or iPod touch. Once the user loads the app, Fleksy loads the speech engine and then brings up a text box and the on scren keyboard. Once loaded, a user can then tap on the screen where they think the character they need would be, and then the the user swipes right to complete the word they just typed. Once the user swipes right the app tries to guess what word they typed and puts it on the screen. swiping down will go to the next suggestion, and swiping left will delete the word. swiping right again will add punctuation.

thoughts

So how well does it work? Fleksy has proven to be a very accurate app. I believe it has up to 90% accuracy The speech is good, and it is very responsive. Several users have said they do not like the price of the app, but for the licensing and technology needed to build this app I can see why this is needed. There are still some things I do not like though. First, I think we should have an iPad version of this. This app will work on the iPad, but the app will still need to be doubled to be used in full screen on the iPad, which lowers accuracy. I urge the makers of Fleksy to please make an iPad app. I would also like to see some saving abilities. Local and iCloud saving would be an excellent thing to add. I would love to see the load times fixed to be a bit quicker, but I do understand why this happens.

Conclusion

Fleksy is a great new app to help the blind and visually impaired type quickly. Even though this is the best audience, I do think that this app could be used in other applications. I think that if the makers wanted a more broad audience, then they would market this app as a fully eyes-free capable app for sighted users who need to keep their eyes on the road or who need to watch where they are going while walking. Even though the app has a lot of new features and is very useful, I think it would be very worth the price if it has some of the features mentioned above. Despite the price, I recommend everyone get this app and support these guys. I also would recomend any iOS developers check out their APIs for their own apps.

Fleksy – A new way of using a keyboard on mobile devices!

Yesterday, I was able to get a look at the new keyboarding technology from Fleksy. Fleksy is going to be a new app for iOS that lets the user type text without having to use exact placement fingers on the screen. All you have to do is tap where you think letters should be and type a full word, and the app will predict which word you are trying to type. After trying this system, I believe that this app/technology is at least 90% accurate.

How does it work?

Fleksy is a simple and intuitive new technology that lets you type without having to find keyboard keys. To start, you start trying to type a word. Once you are done, swipe right and the app will predict what you typed. If that word is not correct, swipe down or up to get more suggestions. The swipe right also puts a space, and there is also commands to add punctuation as well. Swipe left will also delete the word you just typed.

Conclusion

Fleksy is an incredible new technology that will be making its way to the iOS app store very shortly. The developers have also said they would like to create APIs for other developers to use their technology in other apps. I plan to add Fleksy technology to all future app releases I come out with, and would love to see other developers do the same. If you are here at the 2012 National Federation of the Blind convention, try and find one of their representatives and they will give you a demonstration.

Diet Coda

I have always felt that the iPad would be a perfect device for Web Design, but I have not yet found the perfect web editor to accomplish this. I have tried Markup, Gusto and others to accomplish this but none of these completely made a great experience as some editors on the Mac or PC could. On Mac OS X, Panic Software wrote a wonderful piece of software called Coda that has been around for many years. Now, Panic has brought Coda to the iPad and has called it Diet Coda. Diet Coda lets a web developer write code and upload that code directly to a web server. This app also lets a user login to their web server through SSH for server administration needs. So how well does this app work for VoiceOver users?

Diet Coda as good as it is, does not allow for much VoiceOver support. The app is very graphical in nature, but Panic Software did not label all of its buttons to work well with VoiceOver. This is very obvious from the beginning. Once a user sets up a site, It is impossible for a user to pick which site they want to work with, because Diet Coda does not have text labels or accessibility hints to help the user figure out which site they are selecting.

Other than that the app is lacking a few features I think would make this app Stellar. One of these include the ability to have offline site storage like Coda for Mac OS X. I also think that iCloud or Dropbox support would also go a long way to make users happy.

Conclusion

While Diet Coda is a great app, I cannot recommend it for very low vision or blind users, because of the lack of VoiceOver support. Otherwise, this is a very good app except for the essential need for Internet support. If your iPad does not have internet, then this app will be useless to you. This is why I feel this app needs to have offline support. Otherwise the feature set provided by Diet Coda is a great benefit to any on the go web developer.

AppBraille

One limitation of any application that uses custom fonts is that that font cannot be copied or used in any other app on an iOS device. Due to some research, this limitation can be overcome. Now, Braille can be copied between apps on all iOS devices.

Look for the AppBraille technology In all future releases of VisualBraille, VisualBraille Lite, PocketBraille Reference, and PocketBraille Lite. Plus some new AppBraille specific apps that include AppBraille Explorerer, and AppBraille editor.

Brookstone iConvert Scanner for iPad 2 and the new iPad

With the iPad 2 and the New iPad, many hardware and gadget vendors have decided to build all new accessories to enhance the use of our favorite tablet. One device that I have recently purchased is the new iConvert Scanner from Brookstone. This device lets a user connect their iPad to a document feed scanner device available only at Brookstone. With this device, a user may scan documents and photos straight to the iPad.

How does it work?

The iConvert scanner is a device that plugs in to AC/DC power with an included power cord. Once the device is plugged in, the user places the iPad in the stand on top of the device, and then holds down the scanner’s power button for 3 seconds. Once this is complete, the scanner is primed and ready to accept documents. To use this device, go to the iTunes App Store from your iPad, and look up the iConvert app from Brookstone, which is free of charge. Download this app and then start it from your home screen. Once you have started the app, look around the screen using VoiceOver. There are several settings in here but the main thing we want to find is the scanner status and the scan button. The scanner status will tell us if the scanner is connected and working, and the scan button will let the user scan a document. Before you double or split tap the scan button take your document, and set the margins on the scanner to fit the size of your paper. Then, take your paper, and gently start feeding it in to the scanner. If the scanner is on, the feeder will grab your paper and move it in to the scanner proper alignment. Now, we can press the scan button on the iPad. While this process is going, sit back and wait. This should not take longer than 3 to 5 seconds, Once done, find the save button on the screen. This button will be in the same place as the scan button. Once you tap the save button, your scanned document will be saved to the camera roll for further use. The saved image is at 300dpi, so you will have a clean and crisp version of your document.

Conclusion

Even with a price tag of $140.00 the iPad scanner is a great and crisp scanning solution for mobile devices. Eventually, I would love to see Brookstone come out with a bluetooth version of this that will work for the iPhone and iPad, but this is pretty nice as it is. In my next post, I will really give the argument why this is really handy for the blind, and yet, it does have to do with OCR.

Favorite Apps of 2010

Hey Everyone.

I figured I would share with everyone which apps I used the most in 2010, and would like to hear what apps you have used this year.

1. ZumoCast

ZumoCast has proven an invaluable app for my daily use. I can access all of my files from home, and listen to media while on the go. I usually use this app on the iPad instead of the iPhone though.

2. The Weather Channel.

I use this app every day to find out how the weather will be as I head off to work. I really like the organization of this app, except  I do not like some of the VoiceOver labels.

3. Unibus (iBus-Mobile)

Even though this app went down for a while, it is still the best app for finding out the next bus times for a particular stop.

4. AOL Radio

AOL Radio is an awesome streaming music app from CBS. It may not be the most stable app, but the channels are good and it is free. They even have channels that you can’t find anywhere else, like the video game sound track channel.

5. VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is one of my favorite media players for the PC and Mac. Now it is for iOS. VLC for iOS allows you to play just as many video formats as you can on your own computer. This is a good app for iPad users, and is also good in conjunction with ZumoCast.

6. Audible

The Audible app is a good way to download your Audible books straight to your iDevice. You can even get achievements for listening to books!

7. iWork for iOS

iWork for iPad is a fully featured Office Suite. It is still good for on the go use, but can do any desktop based work if a bluetooth keyboard is present.

8. IM+ for iOS

IM+ is the best instant message app for VoiceOver users. with IM+ you can chat with people from almost any network. You also only have to have one app instead of a special VoiceOver only app like Fring.

9. Facebook for iOS

Facebook for iOS is an awesome app for social networking. the sections are well designed, and in a design similar to the iOS home screen.

10. Prizmo for iOS

Prizmo has to be one of my favorite apps for iOS. With Prizmo, a user may scan documents by taking pictures of each document, and then convert that document to text, business cards and more. I am also waiting to see how DocuScan for iOS will do from Serotek Corporation when it is released on the App Store.

Conclusion

So those are several of the apps that I like, and use every day. I would love to know what apps everyone else is using on a daily basis, so please leave comments with your favorite choices.

Have your computer(s) in your pocket with ZumoCast!

ZumoCast

Have you ever wanted your phone, your PDA, or any mobile device to be able to access all of your files on your home computer? Since the creation of the Internet, people have always wanted the ability to access their files remotely, without having to bring around expensive media such as hard drives, CDs, Flash drives, or floppies. ZumoCast is an app meant for streaming music and videos from your home computer to your iOS device. What many do not know is that this application can do so much more.

How it Works.

ZumoCast is an app that requires an installation on a host PC or Mac, and the iOS application to be installed on your device. Once you have these installed, head over to http://www.zumocast.com, and create n account. Account creation is free. Once you have an account, ZumoCast will point your iOS device to your computer, and your computer will tell your device what it has as far as files, music, and videos. You can then select something to read, play, or listen to, and ZumoCast will stream the content to your device. The app will do one more thing. ZumoCast will also allow you to download any file, song, or video from your computer to your iOS device to be viewable offline, or through another application.

Initial Screens.

The initial screens of ZumoCast tell you how to set up ZumoCast on your computer, and how to sign up for an account. You may also sign up for an account from the iOS app itself. Each of these screens are VoiceOver compliant. All labels are read, and are centered on the screen. Once your account has been created, ZumoCast will ask you to install the computer based app, and log in. Once this is done, tell ZumoCast that the app has been installed on the computer, and the program will log in, and bring up all of your files.

Files

The files section shows all available computers. You can also view which files have been downloaded from here as well. When you select a computer, ZumoCast will show you which folders have been shared. These usually include Documents, Music, and Movies. Though the desktop app, you may add more shared folders. Once a file has been opened, tap the download button on the top right to download the file. VoiceOver will read any document opened by ZumoCast assuming the document is text based. Once the file is downloaded, you can go to the downloaded section, and open the file again. From here you can open the file in other iOS applications, such as Documents To Go, or iWork.

Music

The music section also shows two areas. All music, and downloaded music. Under all music, you can see all of your music stored on your computer. You can then select to view by album, artist, songs or playlists. Below these items is a label that states the number of songs. All labels are VoiceOver compliant. Selecting an option will bring up the sorted list. The audio and video player is based off the iPhone iPod player, and is VoiceOver compliant. You may also download these songs to your iOS device. This comes in handy if you have audiobooks that you would like to listen to offline. This will not put music in the iPod list however. Any audio you download will stay in ZumoCast, unless you have other apps that support the file type.

Videos.

The video section is also set up like the music section, but you will see a list of all videos on your machine. these are not sorted in any order. You may also download these videos to your device, and open them with other applications, such as VLC Media Player. The videos section uses the same iPod video player, so will be VoiceOver compliant.

Transferring.

This screen shows you all active downloads. Tapping a transfer will tell you all current data, which includes the file name, speed of download, percentage, and how much has downloaded. When a download finishes, the transfer will be removed. There is also a bar at the top of this screen that shows how much space is being used on your device. This will show how much space you are using with other apps, how much ZumoCast downloads take up, and how much available free space is on your device. All labels are VoiceOver compliant.

Settings.

The settings area lets you sign out, change the video orientation, and to set a passcode lock. This is to make your downloaded files more secure. All settings are VoiceOver compliant.

Conclusion.

ZumoCast has shown itself to be one of the best remote storage and download apps in the App Store today. For the low low price of nothing, I feel that this app is a must have for all iPhone and iPad users out there. I have only found one issue with this application. VoiceOver users will find that this app is a bit high on memory usage. While running this app with VoiceOver, your speech will slightly stutter. If you are on a device with a pre-A4 processor, such as the iPhone 3GS, you will find that the app will not properly run, and VoiceOver will act up fairly badly. I have really not had a problem with this issue on iPads running VoiceOver. If this changes I will let everyone know. Even though this is an issue for some, I still would recomend this app for anyone wanting to access their home computers.