#NFB2012 – Welcome!

If you have heard abut this site from this year’s NFB convention in Dallas, I strongly urge you to subscribe to this site, so you can receive updates on new products, reviews and general iOS news. I hope everyone enjoys the site, and their time at the convention. It only comes around once a year! I hope to see everyone again around the Anatole.

NFB Convention 2012

If you are at the National Federation of the Blind convention this year in Dallas, you can find me around the hotel this week with information on the best Braille apps for your iOS device. If you would also like help with getting used to your device, try and find me. My name is Michael Doise, and I will be around the Hilton Anatole this week. You can also pick up information from the NFB of Texas suite or from the convention information table.

 

I hope to see you this week, and I hope everyone enjoys the convention!

Netflix is back for the blind!

Netflix just updated their app yesterday with two neat things. First is pretty obvious. Netflix now works with the retina display on the new iPad, but the second thing is the best for those who are blind. Netflix adds on their change screen for their update that they have added better support for VoiceOver users. I am not sure what that means, but it sounds like they have made netflix work with VoiceOver again on iDevices. I would love to hear readers thoughts on this or if they have seen it work better now.

Blind Bargains for iOS

A few days ago, Blind Bargains from the A T Guys just released their new application for iOS and Android that brings excellent content for the blind and visually impaired to iOS and Android devices. As the developer, I really enjoy this app myself due to the content that these guys provide to the blind community. The app is accessible on both platforms, and as the developer for the iOS version, I too use and enjoy this app on a daily basis.

I urge everyone that is blind or visually impaired that uses one of these device types to download this new app from the iOS App Store or from the Google Play.

FlipBoard for iOS

I know it has been a great long while since I have written a review of an app but I am back to review one of my favorite apps for iOS for accessibility, and its name is FlipBoard. The question here is, if FlipBoard is accessible with VoiceOver on the iPhone and iPad.

What is Flipboard?

Currently, there are several news apps out for iOS, but none are as graphically stunning as clipboard. On the iPad, Flipboard works like a book. When the app opens you are presented with a cover page that shows the highlights of your personalized FlipBoard experience. When you want to go on, simply take a finger and flick left to turn the page. On the second page you can set up FaceBook and Twitter to display in this nice book like view. Flipboard will arrange your posts, pictures, and media in a way that looks wonderful to the eye. On the iPhone, Flipboard does the same thing, but a little differently. Instead of turning the pages of a book, you flick up like a note pad or calendar to reveal each page.Users can also add individual twitter, Facebook and blogs to their main FlipBoard sections for more detailed viewing.

Is it accessible?

In short the answer is NO! Not just no, but NO! Flipboard is not accessible what so ever. A user can not turn a page, click the settings button, or even click on each section. Very few buttons work, and when they do they just say, “button.” This is on both iPhone/iPod versions and the iPad version as well.

Conclusion

I constantly use clipboard having some vision, but if I were to need a news app and I was totally blind or had worse vision than I do now, I would not get this app. There is no accessibility, and there is not a way for anyone who is visually impaired to use this app. I really wish that the developers would work on this, and I urge everyone to get this out there and get some demand for accessibility in Flipboard so everyone can use it.

PocketBraille Lite now Available!

I am proud to announce that PocketBraille Lite is now available in the App Store. Now you can learn the Braille alphabet and punctuation for free, so go check it out!

NFB Convention

Hello everyone. Today and tomorrow I will be at the National Federation of the Blind convention in Austin for the state convention, and we will have PocketBraille reference, and VisualBraille all on display for everybody to see so I encourage everybody to come out and enjoy what we have to offer and hopefully learn a few things as well. Who knows, there may even be a few surprises for some lucky interested people. This may include free copies of my apps so come on by.

PocketBraille Beta Program.

Good afternoon everyone,

I would like to invite my readers to respond to this.

I am starting a beta program for my apps. This program will start with PocketBraille Reference and PocketBraille Lite. Because both of these apps have undergone many changes and editions, I would like to make sure these apps look and sound great before release. If you are interested, please email me at

mikedoise@gmail.com

I will only take a few testers at this time so it is on a first come first serve basis.

 

I would like to thank everyone for reading the blog and for supporting Braille and technology products.

PocketBraille Lite 1.0 coming soon!

Good evening everybody. As some saw last week at White Cane day, I am releasing a version of pocketBraille that is free for all users. This edition will contain alphabet and punctuation characters only and will support a brand-new look that will be released in version 2.0 of pocketBraille reference. So enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments when it becomes available which should be in the next week or two.

PocketBraille Lite

Would you like to try out a free version of PocketBraille to see if you like it? PocketBraille Lite will soon be out in the App Store, and this app will let you try out the features of PocketBraille Reference without paying anything extra for it.