Hi Jean-Philippe. I agree with you that typing on the iPhone is not as fast as with a standard keyboard, but you would be surprised at how proficient you can become with practice. I have the iPod Touch. I have found that one of the tricks to becoming really proficient with the touch screen is learning your applications and where things are on the screen, specifically the distances between things. Just as you are very familiar with where things are in your house, such as how far the furniture is from the walls, etc., you learn to very quickly judge the distances between the numbers and where your icons are on the screen. Another important trick is to get the ergonomics right. I found that when I first started learning to use the touch screen, I was tensing and contorting my hands in a weird way which caused my fingers to sort of spasm a little. You have to find a comfortable position, and learn to relax your hands as much as possible. Since those like me who have been blind from birth have never used a touch screen, it is a new thing and will take a commitment to practice, willingness to learn something totally new and a fair amount of frustration tolerance initially, but perseverance through the learning curve can have a very rewarding outcome. There are easier options out there and I don't think touch screen technology is appropriate for every blind person, but if you have a sense of adventure, are openminded about new things and have the time and willingness to practice, I'd say go for it! On Sep 30, 2009, at 7:00 PM, Jean-Philippe wrote:
> Dear all, > The first thing I saw, sorry, heard, was a demo video on Apple's > accessibility page. It was really impressive, and I already knew > that mastering such a revolutionary interface could not be achieved > in a day. > Well, never mind, I was excited enough to start calling shop after > shop in Paris to see if there was one available to try out. And so > here I was, this very morning, in a phone store in Paris, my hands > on this new magic toy. > I was glad I had read part of the instructions before I came, and > activating voice-over on the iPhone was quite easy, much to the > astonishment of the vendor. > I started fiddling and was soon surprised about how quickly I was > able to make friend with the objects on the object. It's really fun > to manipulate indeed. > Unfortunately, it was impossible to take the iPhone for a walk as it > was stock inside a kind of anti-theft display case and so I tried to > imagine how I would use the iPhone as I'm currently using my Nokia. > And that's where I think I found a limitation to this wonderful > interface. Don't misunderstand me, I absolutely admire the technical > prowess, but you see, the first thing I need a phone for is to phone > people. With a physical keyboard, it is actually possible to dial a > number while walking in the street and holding the phone in one > hand, same for SMS. The problem with the iPhone is that you can't > rely on tactile information at all, and I'm afraid that using voice- > over for something as simple as or typing text can only be slower > than using a physical keyboard. > So my bottom line is that the iPhone is probably a wonderful pocket > computer that can be used as a phone, but I don't see it as the > ideal tool for actually calling people. > This sensation I want to share with you only came after 15 minutes > of playing with the iPhone and I would love to know what someone > who's been using it for a longer time thinks . > Cheers, > JPR > > > > http://myspace.com/jeanphilipperykiel > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
