I agree with Ana. It's really disappointing when one cannot reliably
expect that store staff will be able to help one with the accessibility
options. I lost interest in any further dealing with the iPhone after
an evening visit to a local store where no one on duty was any help
except I think to tell me a model and say they did not have it in stock.
In fact, if I were going to go all megalomaniac on that problem, I
think phones should ship with all the accessibility features on by
default!
That way, the salesperson would have to know and show the customer how
to find and turn the features on or off. This would take a little time
for each encounter but it would also give the salesperson opportunities
to show off features and I bet some of them would appeal to more
customers than just blind people.
Dear Marketing Staff:
you're welcome for the suggestion.
Go forth and pilot it.
DoreneC
Seattle WA
-----Original Message-----
From: Ana Garza <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 3:38 pm
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] Smartphones Flunk for Blind Users
The other thing to keep in mind about accessibility is that store
employees don't always know how to be helpful, so it's best for us to
go in knowing what we need. That's a lot of work, but it's the best way
to get help. I recently purchased an Android phone (and yes, the lack
of email and browser is extremely frustrating). when I went into the
store to have the phone activated, the employee was very happy to do
that. When I asked her to turn on accessibility, she didn't know how,
but she was happy to figure it out. It wasn't until I got home that I
realized I needed to have asked her to turn on Talkback, Kickback, and
Soundback, the screen reader and the vibrate and sound effects part of
accessibility, and I needed to have asked her to download the Eyes Free
shell. so my initial experience with the phone was negative.
My guess, Harry, is that the person who worked with you at the Apple
store didn't have all of the components on, so your experience was not
a good way to measure accessibility. I have a MacBook Pro now, and the
trackpad, which uses the same technology as the phone is very
responsive, almost too much.
all that said, I think your efforts (i.e., voice recognition) are
valid. It's not unusual for people to lose their fine motor skills as
they get older, and as someone who does a lot of typing and has to be
careful to rest her wrist throughout the day, I'd enjoy the option of
keeping my hands still whenever possible.
Leave list:[log in to unmask]
VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://listserv.icors.or g/archives/vicug-l.html
Send questions on list operation
[log in to unmask]
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
Archived on the World Wide Web at
http://listserv.icors.org/archives/vicug-l.html
Signoff: [log in to unmask]
Subscribe: [log in to unmask]
|