Mobile Devices and Productivity

1
Mobile Devices and Productivity

• By the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
  Institute Access Technology Team
• Anne Taylor
• Director of Access Technology
• Wesley Majerus
• Access Technology Specialist

2
Types of Cell Phones

• Low-Cost Phones with out-of-box accessibility
• Google Android
• iPhone
• Symbian-based phones
• Windows Mobile-based phones, including PDAs and
  Smartphones

3
Ways to Access Cell Phones

• Built-in voice commands or limited menu read-out
• Eyes Free Shell for Google Android
• VoiceOver for iPhone
• Talks for Symbian
• Mobile Speak for Symbian
• Mobile Speak Pocket (PDAs with touch screens)
• Mobile Speak Smartphone (Windows Mobile phones
  with no touch screen)

4
Pros and Cons of low-cost phones

• Pro
• No large outlay of money
• Can be easy to operate and maintain, no extra
  software to worry about or install

• Con
• Difficult to find, not well publicized by
  manufacturer/carrier
• May not allow access to all features, may only
  lead you partway through menus

5
Pros and Cons of Eyes Free Shell

• Pro
• Available Free of Charge
• Allows access to touch screen interface

• Con
• Learning curve
• Speech sounds somewhat poor at this point
• Does not allow access to some applications
• Not always certain which apps you can access with
  it
• Speech feedback is minimal in some applications

6
Pros and Cons of VoiceOver for iPhone

• Pro
• Comes packaged with iPhone
• Can be enabled by screen access software user
• allows access to several iPhone apps

• Con
• Learning curve could be steep for some
• Sometimes difficult to hear voice on call
• May not be good solution for someone doing a lot
  of text entry

7
Pros and Cons of Mobile Speak

• Pro
• Only screen access package available on all
  carriers
• built in Braille drivers for all supported
  displays
• input and output in Contracted Braille

• Con
• Mobile Speak Pocket (for Windows Mobile PDAs)
  uses difficult-to-learn touch screen interface
• Mobile Speak for Symbian sometimes less stable
  than Talks
• Mobile Speak for Symbian speech can be harder to
  understand
• Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile requires that you
  know whether you have a PDA or Smartphone
• If you start with a Smartphone or PDA and want to
  switch to other type of Windows Mobile phone,
  transfer fee applies

8
Pros and Cons of Talks

• Pro
• Familiar-sounding speech synthesizer
• Stable

• Con
• Each Braille device you use must have a driver
  installed on phone, in many cases, only one can
  be installed at a time
• Some Braille commands differ depending on which
  driver is installed ex switching to Contracted
  Braille output
• No means of inputting text in contracted Braille

9
Mobile Phone Productivity Tools

• Notes
• Vieka Word Pad
• QuickOffice
• Twitter
• Twikini
• Tweets60
• JibJib
• Blogging
• Email
• Music and other Multimedia

10
GPS on Mobile Phones

• Mobile Geo
• Wayfinder Access
• LoadStone
• Navigon GPS for iPhone

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Mobile Geo

• Specialized GPS software based on Sendero Group
  methodology
• Works only with PDA and Smartphones running
  Mobile Speak
• Use number keys/touching various parts of PDA
  screen to get information
• Intuitive interface
• Provides directions in verbose manner that are
  easy to follow
• Quickly access destination, nearest POI, next
  route steps
• Maps downloadable by region or by individual
  state
• No data plan required
• Double the price of Wayfinder Access

12
Wayfinder Access

• Mainstream Solution adapted for use with Talks or
  Mobile Speak on Symbian phones
• Requires data plan for route planning and dynamic
  map loading
• Maps can be downloaded individually before trip
  for limited functionality i.e. plotting ones GPS
  position
• Bluetooth GPS receiver recommended
• Limited virtual map exploration
• Not as verbose with directions/Points of Interest
  as other software
• Considerably less expensive than some specialized
  products

13
Resources

• Apple iPhone http//www.apple.com/accessibility/
  iphone
• Google Android http//www.android.com
• Mobile Speak Screen Reader www.codefactory.es
• Nuance Talks http//www.nuance.com/talks

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Contact Us

• Anne Taylor
• Director of Access Technology
• National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
  Institute
• 1800 Johnson ST
• Baltimore, MD 21230
• 410-659-9314 ext. 2413
• ataylor_at_nfb.org
• Wesley Majerus
• Access Technology Specialist
• National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
  Institute
• 1800 Johnson ST
• Baltimore, MD 21230
• 410-659-9314 ext. 2422
• wmajerus_at_nfb.org

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Thank You!
Thank you for attending this session at ATIA 2009
Chicago! Watch for us in Orlando this
January! Please help us improve the quality of
our conference by completing your session
evaluation form. Completed evaluation forms
should be submitted as you exit the room or to
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