I think the idea is awesome in terms of accessibility and apple will
certainly get praises for that which they deserve, however I think the
product itself is a rip off. sure, it's $499, but then they plan to rape you
at the app counter, so yeah it's accessible alright, but is it worth a place
in your walet? We sometimes let accessibility over power our budgets because
we see something and think, wow, gotta have that one.
Cody
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bryan Smart" <bryansm...@bryansmart.com>
To: <macvisionaries@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 2:59 PM
Subject: Used an iPad today
I'd ordered the 3G model, so will be waiting a few more weeks yet, but I had
some time to play with a WiFi model today.
Generally, it's an iPhone. However, besides the screen size being increased,
the interface has increased in complexity, also. Apple is certainly using
the extra space to expand on what is possible with an iPhone type touch
interface.
It took me only very little time to discover that portrait mode (which lots
of sighted users select), is probably not the best for a blind person. When
you're working with two hands, having more horizontal room seems to make
more of a difference when navigating. Fortunately, it is a snap to try
either way to see what works for you.
I absolutely agree with the posters that were talking about the horrible
oversight about the back plate of the iPad. It is almost nothing but shiny
aluminum. You're supposed to be able to set the iPad on a table to use it,
but I promise, the first time that you place it on any table that isn't
absolutely clear of small dirt particles, you'll pic it up to discover that
the slight motion of you pushing and sliding the iPad has ground the dirt
particles in to the back, and scratched the hell out of your shiny aluminum
back plate. Of course, you can buy the case to fix that. the case is a type
of thin and stiff coated particle board that feels a lot like a traditional
print notebook. One side snugly holds the iPad, and the other side is a flap
that covers the iPad screen when closed. I suppose that most people will
want the case to protect the screen when traveling, anyway. If you go
without the case, though, you are absolutely asking for it. Apple could have
put something on the back to make the iPad more stable. Maybe not rubber
feet, but they could have gone with a felt square in the center, a stylized
strip of some high friction material, etc. The curved back will insure that
the iPad wobbles on the table, and the glossy case will absolutely scratch.
VoiceOver sounded about the same, and responded with the same speed, pretty
much. The speaker was very clear. Didn't get to play music with it, but I
hear the bass is poor. Still, speech is pretty good through the built-in
speakers.
However, it seemed to me that iPad programs opened more slowly than on the
iPhone. Maybe there is more information to load? However, with more memory
and a faster processor, I wasn't expecting that.
I wasn't dramatically blown away by the applications that were available on
it, but working with a big talking touch screen interface started me
dreaming about things that *could* be accomplished with a device like that.
Many people might not need the iPad for web surfing or checking e-mail, but
I think that, eventually, there will be some very unique uses for the iPad.
Bryan
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