I actually thought Curtis Chong's article was more balanced myself. I 
think it's true that the iPhone isn't for everyone, whether your sighted 
or blind. I'm not saying things couldn't have been worded a bit better 
in places, but like I said, I didn't find this article objectionable, 
and I've been an iPhone user for over two years.

A sighted person can still go to a cell phone store and buy a feature 
phone with a numeric keypad. Furthermore, they can get this without 
buying a data plan. I'm not sure if this is still even an option for a 
blind person any more. Giving an iPhone to someone who just wants a 
feature phone with physical buttons on it is a mistake, whether that 
person is blind or sighted.

Siri is not always a solution when you want to make a call or send a 
text message. Sometimes you're in a loud setting, or you don't want to 
just pull out your phone and start talking to Siri in a public place. I 
remember with my Nokia phone, I could make a call or send a text message 
just using one hand and even keeping my phone in my pocket while I was 
walking to the bus stop. You can't do this with an iPhone.

It's true you can hook up a bluetooth keyboard to help with data entry, 
but this is another expense and another device to carry around.

I don't think a shorter battery life is a non-issue. My son, who's 
sighted, really missed the fact that he could go days on his feature 
phone between charges, and he can't do that with his smart phone. He 
used to joke about how his friends would have to look for a place to 
charge their smart phones when they're at a concert or a club, but he 
didn't have to worry about it with his feature phone. Some people may 
always have access to a computer or a wall outlet, but this doesn't mean 
everyone does all of the time.

Getting a discount on a smart phone, and agreeing to a two year contract 
with a data plan, doesn't mean the iPhone is free or even cheap.

On 6/5/2014 12:40 AM, David Goldfield wrote:
>     My comments on the Braille Monitor Article concerning the iPhone
>
> the June 2014 edition of the Braille Monitor contained an article by
> Curtis Chong titled Knowing what Is Good about the iPhone and What is
> Not. I was intrigued by the title. I have to admit that I’ve become
> quite the Apple fanboy of late and I would have a very difficult time
> in coming up with a list of ten objections or things which are “not
> good” about the iPhone. In fact, I’m having a very difficult time in
> coming up with a list of one or two things which are “not good” about
> the iPhone. However, no product is perfect and I can handle
> objectively written product evaluations. Unfortunately, this article
> was not one of them. I’m going to reprint each of the objections
> stated by Mr. Chong in their entirety, with my comments below each
> objection.
> What Is Not Good About The iPhone
> 1. If you don’t want to pay for a data plan, the iPhone has no option
> for that. A data plan will cost you about twenty dollars a month. You
> need a data plan for the iPhone to be able to communicate over the
> Internet.
> Response: you need to pay for a monthly plan to get anything on the
> Internet. If a consumer already has an Internet connection in his
> home, he can buy an iPod Touch or an iPad. These devices run iOS and
> don’t require an additional monthly data plan. The fact is that any
> computer or device that accesses the Internet is usually going to
> require you to pay for some sort of access plan.
> 2. It is very inefficient to make a simple phone call with the iPhone,
> particularly if you don’t have a person in your contacts list. You can
> dial a phone number that you know much more quickly with a keypad that
> has real, physical buttons.
> Response: not at all. You can simply press the home button and command
> siri to call any number, such as saying “call 302 555-1212.” That’s
> hardly what I’d call inefficient. Also, a consumer can order screen
> protectors from Speeddots containing tactile keyboard overlays.
> Finally, the rivo keyboard, while insanely expensive, gives you a
> keypad allowing for quick telephone entry and it also provides
> keyboard commands which let you control many other functions of the
> iPhone.
> 3. On the iPhone touch typing for texting and email is very slow as
> compared to a regular keyboard; this has been somewhat mitigated by
> Braille apps, of which there are now two. However, you should know
> that research has shown that, on average, a blind person entering data
> using the touch-screen QWERTY keyboard is writing at about three words
> per minute. By contrast, users of the built-in Braille apps have been
> clocked at around 23 words per minute.
> response: you can use any number of Bluetooth keyboards if you want to
> compose a lengthy email or text message. For short text messages,
> composing one is as quick as dictating the text to Siri, just as you
> can use your voice to place a call.
> 4. The iPhone is very much a technology requiring good hand-ear
> coordination. People who want real buttons that they can operate
> silently by touch will be very disappointed in the iPhone.
> As I stated in a previous response, you can purchase affordable
> tactile overlays from Speeddots. Besides, in the section in the
> article covering the iPhone’s strengths, it is stated correctly that
> the iPhone demonstrates, with a properly designed user interface, that
> blind people can successfully operate a touchscreen.
> 5. Battery life for the iPhone is still an issue. You have to charge
> it at least once a day—a lot more if you use GPS.
> Response: yes, I long for the days when products like the Braille ‘n
> Speak could give us 30 hours of battery life from one charge. However,
> this is a non-issue. During the day, I connect my iPhone to my
> computer’s USB port and when I get home I connect it to my computer
> for a few hours before going to bed. Turning off Bluetooth, if you’re
> not using that service, and turning your screen brightness down to
> zero percent will do a lot to save battery life. Besides, it’s not
> exactly a major inconvenience to plug the thing into a computer or a
> wall outlet every night.
> 6. The iPhone is not small. It is bigger than a lot of flip phones.
> response: are you serious? Really, are you kidding me? My wife’s
> Motorola Droid Ultra has a wider form factor. The iPhone fits very
> comfortably in one hand. I mean, we’re not talking about a device like
> an iPad or a Kindle 8.9 HDX.
> 7. For a lot of people the iPhone is a lot more technology than they
> want. It is not for someone who just wants a phone to make and receive
> calls.
> response: true, but once blind people discover that the iPhone can act
> as their digital book player, restaurant menu reader, Web browser,
> email client, money identifier, barcode scanner, radio tuner, game
> player and object recognizer they might just want to use it for more
> than just making and receiving phone calls.
> 8. The iPhone is not cheap. Even with a two-year contract, the basic
> unit can cost $200. The full retail price of the iPhone is
> approximately $650.
> I received my iPhone 5C, 32 GB version, for free if I agreed to sign a
> two-year contract with Verizon, which I was more than happy to do.
> Admittedly, that particular deal expired on March 31 of this year but
> I have heard that at least one other carrier was offering a similar
> deal. It is likely that consumers who do a bit of searching will be
> able to acquire an iPhone for a fraction of the actual cost if they
> are willing to sign a contract with the carrier.
> 9. First-time users of the iPhone have reported initial frustration
> with this powerful technology. It is not uncommon for these people to
> feel as if they want to throw the phone away during the first month.
> Answering calls and hanging up calls seem to be two particularly
> difficult problems for beginning iPhone users.
> Response: does this mean we shouldn’t recommend JAWS or NVDA to some
> consumers who are new to Windows because we can find a percentage of
> users who experienced frustration with their screen reader during the
> first few weeks or months of use. It is common for people to find a
> new piece of hardware or software frustrating or difficult to use when
> they’re first learning how to use the product. Yes, using a product
> with a touchscreen is a very different way of interacting with a
> device and frustration can occur. This is true, by the way, with
> sighted consumers as well as blind consumers so this really is a very
> silly objection.
> 10. The iPhone requires a fair amount of dexterity and the ability to
> tap quickly. People who have motor issues or poor dexterity will
> likely not benefit from this technology.
> Response: I don’t believe this is correct. I’m no expert on this but I
> remember reading about how the iPhone can be adapted for consumers
> with difficulties with hand movement.
> I acknowledge that Mr. Chong also compiled a list of many advantages
> of owning an iPhone; I was amused that he listed that one of them was
> that NFB Newsline was available as an app. However, I found this list
> of things which were “not good” to be misleading and an example of
> irresponsible journalism. Mr. Chong is entitled to his opinions.
> However, the NFB is a very influential organization and many of its
> members as well as readers of the Braille Monitor take these articles
> very seriously because they are being published by a well-known and
> well-respected organization which claims to represent the visually
> impaired. I am concerned that this article could convince many blind
> people, as well as friends and family members who support them, that
> the iPhone will not be a good product for them. This is tragic, as it
> could potentially be responsible for deterring blind consumers from
> enjoying a device whose functionality is unmatched by any competitor.
> It is my sincere hope that Mr. Chong would examine the validity or
> lack thereof of the objections which he states in his article and that
> he would consider writing a follow-up piece to correct these statements.

-- 
--
Christopher (CJ)
Chaltain at Gmail


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