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Some of you may have noticed a slight increase over the past few weeks in the number of spam posts making it onto the site. In most cases the automated bots responsible for these will try to make just a single post, but earlier this morning we were hit by about 20 spam posts in just a few minutes. Fortunately I was online at the time, so was able to quickly remove these and block the account from posting any more.

In part, this increase in spam is due to the success of the site.…

I've just read about a new GPS app that sounds very interesting.

Called MyWay, it's been developed by the Swiss Federation for the Blind, and supposedly works like Loadstone on Nokia phones.

It is described as a GPS orientation aid which provides distance and directional information to a selected point of interest. These might include an address from your address book or a point on a self-defined route.

A…

Following a number of requests, we have recently added a new section to the AppleVis site where people can post reviews of accessories that they use with their iDevices.

There are many sites that already offer reviews, but we believe that there are many instances where the insight and experience of a blind or vision-impaired user can offer a perspective not currently available elsewhere.

So, if Santa was…

We are pleased to announce the first group of apps to be inducted into our iOS App Hall of Fame.

Our goal for the Hall of Fame is to showcase the passion and hard work that developers put into creating great apps that are fully accessible to VoiceOver users, and we think the apps that you have chosen are perfect examples of this and of what the iOS platform can offer to the blind and vision-impaired.

I'm sure you are all keen to find out which apps have been chosen, so with no…

This month we are encouraging everybody to contact the developers of Words With Friends, and ask that they make this very popular game accessible to all.

Unlike its sister app, Hanging With Friends, this game is currently not playable with VoiceOVer. The developers have made some…

We are pleased to announce the launch of the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame, where we will be acknowledging and celebrating the apps that exemplify all that is great about owning an iDevice.

Our goal for the Hall of Fame is to showcase the passion and hard work that app developers put into creating great apps that are fully accessible to VoiceOver users. These apps place powerful tools into the palms of our hands, and give access to services, information, media and entertainment that…

I'm pleased to announce that you can now submit Mac apps to the AppleVis website.

The operation and structure of the Mac App Directory is very similar to the existing directory for iOS apps, and submitting apps is just as quick and easy.

When you visit the Submit Content page, you will now see an additional option to post to the Mac App Directory. The information required when submitting an app is mostly the same…

In the time that it took for an update to download and install, NAVIGON went from being the first GPS app that VoiceOver users were likely to recommend, to being unusable.

Running NAVIGON 2.0 with VoiceOver seems to need more resources than older iDevices can muster, resulting in erratic and unresponsive behavior from the app. If you have anything other than an iPhone 4S, the chances are that simply trying to get NAVIGON to respond to a double-tap will have you throwing your iDevice at…

Most of you will probably have noticed that a few stray podcasts have appeared on this site over the past week.

This is something new that we've been testing, and as it appears to be working, I guess it's about time that I actually mention it!

So yes, we now have an AppleVis Podcast. You can even find us in iTunes.

"Hurrah", I hear you all say.

We all know that podcasts can be a great way of demonstrating apps and iOS features, perhaps even more so for VoiceOver users…

If you are a Navigon user, I would encourage you not to update to version 2.0 just yet.

I've updated to this new version and am experiencing major problems.

The update installed fine. I was then required to select which map areas I wanted to download. The download took quite some time, and at various stages VoiceOver became unresponsive.

However, it did eventually complete, and I was presented with a button to start the app. On doing so, things immediately went from bad to…

Earlier this year Kwasi Mensah, creator of Stem Stumper, spoke on iOS game design and accessibility at a conference. His talk inspired at least one developer to make their own game accessible, and the result is now in the App Store.

Meanwhile for iOS is an interactive comic, where the choices you make will determine how the story unfolds.

The plot centers around Little Jimmy,…

Just a quick heads-up to let all our U.S. readers know that AT&T has launched its own "Voice over IP" app.

The AT&T Call International App will let you use your existing wireless service to make cheap international long distance calls with your iPhone. There’s no monthly recurring charge, prepaid balance or commitment term required.

Not being in the U.S. myself, I cannot access the app, so do not know how accessible it is.

…

I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new feature on the AppleVis site, our Campaign of the Month.

Each month we will select an app that currently has accessibility issues, and ask you all to contact its developers and encourage them to improve VoiceOver support.

To make this easy, we've created a handy little form that will do most of the work for you. The form even includes a draft message that you can either use as it is, or edit to your own liking.

The app we have…

Apple has officially confirmed that several bugs in iOS 5 are negatively affecting battery life.

In their statement they acknowledge the problem and said that they will "release a software update to address those [bugs] in a few weeks." Apple haven't provided any information on the specifics of the bugs, nor have they offered any temporary work arounds or advice for those experiencing poor battery life.

Shortly after their statement, Apple released a beta build of iOS 5.0.1 to…

Google is reportedly on the verge of launching a native Gmail app for iOS. According to these reports, the app has already been submitted to Apple and is awaiting approval.

If these reports are true, the app might give users far greater control over their Gmail than is possible through the iOS mail app. This could include push notifications and better threading of messages.

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