AppleVis Blog

Premium voices in iOS 5: What went wrong?

When I heard the news of the release of iOS 5, I didn't own an iDevice. However, I was thrilled to know that it'll provide Premium voices as well as the previous ones which are now called Compact voices. So I was looking forward to trying them as soon as I got my iPhone 4S. I used to think that my 4S came with the Premium voices though I didn't have the "Use compact voice" option under Settings->General->Accessibility->VoiceOver -- I was wrong. Honestly, I was mistaken partly because I was pleased with the way the Compact voices were functioning.

When access reaches the mainstream: Interesting article about iPhone accessibility

As I finished reading How the Blind Are Reinventing the iPhone in The Atlantic, I couldn't resist sharing it with you. I'm pleased to see that Apple's access-oriented efforts are deservedly being brought into the limelight. It'll also help developers become fully aware of access issues and the infrastructure which is available to them if they wish to work on accessibility. Moreover, the article touches on something which is also my own concern -- literacy and spelling issues. This isn't related to Apple at all and is more of a side-effect of using a speech-based screen reader on whatever platform -- mobile or non-mobile.

Papa Sangre Becomes the Latest Inductee into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame

We are pleased to announce that the latest iOS app to be inducted into our App Hall of Fame is Papa Sangre.

In a very tight vote, Papa Sangre edged out a number of other iOS games to become only the 14th inductee.

For those of you not familiar with this app, Papa Sangre is a dark and engrossing video game that is made unique by not having any video. Instead, you use only your ears to navigate this land of the dead, where the only way of escape is to solve Papa Sangre's puzzles and dilemmas.

Singing the tune of ooTunes Radio

It's comforting to know that a mainstream application we're purchasing is accessible; however, it's more outstanding to know that the developer of such an application is just an email away, ready to listen to our concerns and make the necessary modifications. The other day I was using ooTunes Radio and noticed that the Back button in various windows cannot be pressed using the two-finger Scrub gesture. Not a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.

Support Our Campaign to Make the SiriusXM iOS App Accessible

This month we are encouraging you all to support our campaign to make the SiriusXM Internet Radio app accessible to VoiceOver users.

For those of you who aren't familiar with SiriusXM, it is a subscription-based service that offers more than 140 commercial-free radio channels to listeners in the United States. There are several ways to access the service, which has dedicated channels for a wide range of interests,  including music, sport, talk, entertainment, news, comedy, traffic and weather.

Unfortunately, the latest versions of the SiriusXM iOS app have significant issues for VoiceOver users, and the older versions of the app that were accessible are no longer able to access the SiriusXM service.

Bluetooth OnOff: the latest round in the Apple vs innovators game

When I heard the news of the recently released $0.99 Bluetooth OnOff app, an application which allows iOS users to turn bluetooth on and off quickly without going to Settings/General/Bluetooth, some thoughts came to my mind. First and foremost, I hope Apple doesn't remove this app from the App Store as it's quite easier to alter a feature like Bluetooth this way without delving into Settings. I also hope to see the same official apps for the WiFi and the Airplane mode switch. After all, it's not easy to rationalize how doing this is against the concept of "consistency" which Apple has tried to promote and implement over the past few years in iOS. Along the same lines, I'd very much like to see official call recorders, call blockers and SMS filtering apps in the App Store.

Apple's excellent support is a boon to VoiceOver users

When it comes to adding to the list of the benefits of owning an iDevice, some don't hesitate to mention excellent tech support. That's intriguing enough, but the proof of the proverbial putting is in the actual eating. As some of you might remember, a while ago I posted a review for the unusable New Oxford American Dictionary. Simply put, I love dictionaries and always want to try new and comprehensive ones as they come my way. However, the hefty $29.99 price tag was more than enough for me to tolerate an unusable app on my iDevice.

MultiTap Text isn't accessible -- at least yet

When MultiTap Text was released a few days ago on the App Store, I found the description quite intriguing and thought it can easily supplant a physical keyboard in most -- if not all -- circumstances: