Perhaps the following article from AccessWorld will help:
Using VoiceOver with the Accessible Amazon iOS Kindle App
Janet Ingber
A free and accessible iOS version of the Kindle app from Amazon was
released on May
1, 2013. This app gives people who are blind or visually impaired
another option
for purchasing and listening to books and periodicals. Previous versions
of this
app were not accessible with VoiceOver. This article will discuss
installing the
app as well as purchasing and reading content.
Here is part of the Kindle description from the iTunes Store:
The Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, giving
users the
ability to read Kindle books, newspapers, magazines, textbooks and PDFs
on a beautiful,
easy-to-use interface. You'll have access to over 1,000,000 books in the
Kindle Store
plus hundreds of newspapers and magazines. Amazon Whispersync
automatically syncs
your last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across devices
(including Kindle),
so you can pick up your book where you left off on another device.
You can read the
entire description at the iTunes Store
.
Installation and Set-Up
In the iTunes App Store, type "Kindle" into the search box, and the
first result
is the new Kindle app. The first time the app is launched you must enter
the e-mail
address and password for your Amazon account, so you will need to have
an account
before beginning the registration process. Prior to entering the
information, there
will be a dimmed "Register this Kindle" button and an unlabeled button.
Once the
e-mail address and password are entered, the "Register this Kindle"
button becomes
active, and the unlabeled button disappears. When the new screen loads
(and assuming
you haven't previously purchased anything from Amazon's Kindle store),
VoiceOver
will say, "You have no items in the cloud."
On the bottom of the screen are four buttons: "Switch to Grid View,"
"Cloud," "Device,"
and "Settings." For easier reading leave the "Grid View" in its default
setting.
Activating that button will cause items to be read as a grid instead of
as a list.
If the button is activated, then the material will be presented in grid
format, and
that same button will change to "List View." If the "Cloud" button is
activated,
then all Kindle items will be displayed, including those that may be
present on another
device. If the "Device" button is activated, only the items on that
specific device
will be displayed.
The Settings Menu
In the Settings menu, the "Back" button is in the upper left, and the
"Done" button
is in the upper right. The first heading is Library Sort Order. By
default it is
set to "Recent," but the Library can also be sorted by author or title.
Selection
is done via radio buttons.
Sync
The next item in the Settings menu is the "Sync" button. Any content
purchased on
a device should automatically sync to any other supported device. If
content isn't
synced, activate the button. To test this feature, I tried to sync my
content on
the iPhone Kindle Library with my MacBook Air and PC running Windows XP
and Window-Eyes
8. The Mac app was completely inaccessible. Sighted assistance was
needed to register
the device, and accessibility didn't improve after that. I got a bit
further with
the PC version. My books appeared on the screen, but when I opened the
books, I couldn't
read them.
Registration
The name of the account holder will be listed, and a Kindle e-mail
address will also
be shown. In my case it took the first part of my e-mail address and
added "@kindle.com."
Use this address to send documents directly to the Kindle. Next is a
button labeled
"Contact Us," which brings up a form for entering text. Following that
is a button
labeled "Page Turn Animation," which is turned off by default. Next is a
"Social
Networks" link. When activated it explains how to share your information
and post
parts of books to your social networking Wall or Newsfeed. There are,
then, links
for Facebook and Twitter. The final Settings option is a button labeled
"Other."
When this button is activated, it brings up a list of options, including
"About"
and "Terms of Use."
Library
The app's home screen displays content. To change which material is
displayed, use
the button in the upper left. By default it's set to "All Items," but
other options
are "Books" and "Newsstand." If there are items in any of the
categories, they will
be listed. The button to go back to the main Libraries page is located
in the top
left corner, but instead of saying "Back," it gives the name of the
section currently
being displayed. For example, if the Books section is on the screen, the
button will
say "Books." The "Done" button, which is used to exit the screen, is in
the upper
right corner.
Purchasing and Downloading Content
It is not possible to purchase content directly from the iOS Kindle app.
Your device
must be connected to a wireless or data network in order to transfer
content from
the Kindle store to your device.
For the iPad, go to
Amazon's iPad Kindle Store
, and for the iPhone or iPod touch, visit
Amazon's Kindle Mobile Store
. For this demonstration, I am using an iPhone 5.
Searching for Content
Once you are on the website, if a "Sign In" form appears, sign in with
the same account
information used when registering the app.
On the homepage, there are many links, including "Books," "Newspapers,"
"Magazines,"
and "Free Popular Classics." In addition, there is a search form
consisting of an
edit box and a "Search" button. The page is easy to navigate, and search
results
are clearly displayed.
If, for example, you activate the "Magazines" link, a new page will load
that presents
many categories, including Arts & Entertainment (163 listings),
Lifestyle & Culture
(257 listings), and Science (12 listings). If you activate the "Science"
link, you
will see a listing of the titles in that category. Select a title, and
the next page
will give you details. Though there may be some gibberish on the
resulting page,
VoiceOver reads all of the text clearly. The text will tell you
information like
the delivery schedule and subscription and single-issue rates. You will
find buttons
for available actions, such as to subscribe or download the current
issue. Once you
purchase an option, you'll be asked where the content should be sent. I
have only
one device, so my iPhone was the only option. Underneath is information
about the
magazine, and below this is some gibberish and some reviews.
I did a search for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and when the Search
page loaded,
my results were clearly displayed, and I activated the result that I
wanted. When
the new page loaded, there was some gibberish, but it wasn't difficult
to find the
necessary information, such as title, author, and price. Next is the
button to buy
the item with one click and the pop-up button again showing my iPhone.
Below that
is a link to hear a sample, and after the link is a brief description of
the book
followed by a few reviews.
Downloading
I activated the button to buy the book, and the next page said, "Thank
you for your
purchase: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving. We are
sending your
item, and it will automatically appear in your Home screen when the
download is complete."
I assumed the item would appear in my iPhone's Home screen, but it was
on the Kindle
app's Home screen. Along with the name and author, VoiceOver also said
that the book
was downloaded. A confirmation e-mail was sent to my inbox.
Reading Kindle Purchases
To open a book or any other Kindle purchase, double tap on it. Once the
book is opened,
VoiceOver will say, "Double tap for menu. Swipe down with two fingers to
read continuously
and tap. Tap and hold to select text."
The Menu
Double tapping anywhere on the screen while the book is reading will
bring up a menu
with choices, including "Bookmark," "Return to Book," "View Options,"
and "Go To."
The "View Options" button allows for changes in font size, color, and
brightness.
The "Go To" button lists locations, such as "Go to the beginning of the
book," "Go
to the cover of the book," "Location," and "Highlights." To go to a
specific page,
activate the "Go To" button and, then, double tap "Location." A
phone-style keyboard
will appear for entering the page number. Once the number is entered,
activate the
"OK" button, and the book will be on the new page. The next time the
book is opened,
it will be on the same last page that was read. The final option in the
menu is a
picker item, which allows you to change locations by swiping up or down
with one
finger. The picker moves in 10 percent increments. It will not announce
page numbers,
but it will say percentage and Kindle screen numbers. To get out of the
"Book" menu,
activate the "Home" button in the upper left corner.
Navigating Text
While reading a book, do a three finger swipe to the right to go
backwards to the
previous page. To go to the next page, do a three-finger swipe left. If
VoiceOver
is reading continuously, an indicator will sound whenever there's a page
change.
To stop VoiceOver when reading continuously, do a two-finger tap
anywhere on the
screen. Through the rotor, it's possible through to read by characters,
words, or
lines, but this only works on one screen at a time and not with
continuous reading.
There is a search option in the Book menu, which allows the reader to
search for
specific text. Results are clearly displayed. Double tapping a result
brings the
user to the page where the text appears.
Bookmarks can be easily set by bringing up the menu at the point in the
book where
you want to set the bookmark. Then, activate the "Bookmark" button in
the upper right
corner.
Text can be selected and, then, highlighted. To do this, double tap and
hold on the
text you want to select. This gesture can be a bit tricky because it's
similar to
bringing up the menu. When the text is selected, the app will make a
sound, and VoiceOver
will speak about highlights. To adjust the text that is selected, swipe
until you
hear either "left most selection edge" or "right most selection edge."
Double tap
and hold to adjust how much text should be selected.
Near the top of the page are buttons to choose a highlight color. If you
don't have
any color vision, it doesn't matter which color is chosen. Highlighting
colors include
pink, yellow, and blue.
If a word is selected, a dictionary definition will appear at the bottom
of the screen
along with options to get more information from Google, Wikipedia, and
other dictionaries.
It is possible to write notes in the book. After the text is selected,
activate the
"Create a Note" button. This will bring up an edit box and keyboard.
After typing
the note, activate the "Save" button. This button is located above the
"I" and "O"
of the QWERTY keyboard. Flicking on the screen does not work for finding it.
If there are any notes, highlighted text, or bookmarks, they will be
listed in the
"Go To" section of the menu. Double tap on the entry you want, and that
page will
be displayed.
As part of this evaluation, I also purchased the latest issue of Rolling
Stone
. There were some additional menu options for reading the magazine,
including a "Table
of Contents" button and options to go to the previous article and next
article. When
the next article is activated, the title of the new article will be just
above the
button. In the menu page are radio buttons for "Text View" and "Image
View." Make
sure the "Text View" is checked.
I found that the Kindle didn't always do well when reading the magazine
with the
rotor. The menu doesn't include an option for setting bookmarks or
writing notes,
and there is not a "Go To" button. The dictionary function did work.
To delete material, find the item in the Library and swipe up or down
with one finger.
VoiceOver will say "Delete." Double tap the selection and follow the
prompts to delete
the item.
Conclusion
The Kindle app provides another way for people who are blind or visually
impaired
to access print material. It's relatively easy to use from the start.
VoiceOver had
no difficulty reading the content, and the ability to perform searches,
look up words,
set bookmarks, highlight text, and write notes within the book makes
this app an
excellent choice. To help you navigate this app and for further detail,
a free guidebook,
"Kindle for iOS Accessibility Gestures: Quick Reference Guide"
is available.
On 7/28/2014 3:26 AM, Raggedy Ann wrote:
Has anyone had any luck using the Kindle ap on the IPhone? I've heard
conflicting reports, and since I need to purchase either the ap or the
Kindle itself, I would like some opinions.
Thanks.
Ann
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