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AFB have just announced the forthcoming release of AccessNote, their note taking app for iOS.

With many of us already using mainstream apps that offer more functionality than appears to be present in the initial release of AccessNote, it will be interesting to see where it will fit in the iOS marketplace. At $30, some might anticipate that it will sit rather uncomfortably.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on AccessNote. What do you think it will bring to the iOS platform…

Within the last couple of years, many apps have entered the market specifically for iPhone users who are blind.   They range from color identifiers, to VoiceOver-specific Facebook clients, to touch-typing apps…and everything in-between.  Some people think a higher price tag for blindness-specific apps is reasonable, others do not.  The answer, I think, lies somewhere in the middle.

As many AppleVis users have pointed out in various discussion threads,…

Fleksy is getting better on an almost daily basis as its betas reach testers. It's pushed my bluetooth keyboard to the sidelines and while it would be better if we could bring it up in each and every application instantly instead of typing in a separate application (if Apple had allowed it), that might not be quite far-off. Syntellia has made Fleksy's SDK available to developers, meaning they can integrate it into their…

I've just added a new page to this site that lists iOS apps developed specifically for the blind or people with low vision.

With the benefit of hindsight, this seems like something that we should have done some time ago, but they do say better late than never ... right? <smile>

The list does not include games, as I feel that these would not sit comfortably on this list. The apps that are included all offer functionality and features that are not available from…

When I heard the news of the release of iOS 5, I didn't own an iDevice. However, I was thrilled to know that it'll provide Premium voices as well as the previous ones which are now called Compact voices. So I was looking forward to trying them as soon as I got my iPhone 4S. I used to think that my 4S came with the Premium voices though I didn't have the "Use compact voice" option under Settings->General->Accessibility->VoiceOver -- I was wrong. Honestly, I was mistaken partly because I was…

As I finished reading How the Blind Are Reinventing the iPhone in The Atlantic, I couldn't resist sharing it with you. I'm pleased to see that Apple's access-oriented efforts are deservedly being brought into the limelight. It'll also help developers become fully aware of access issues and the infrastructure which is available to them if they wish to work…

When it comes to adding to the list of the benefits of owning an iDevice, some don't hesitate to mention excellent tech support. That's intriguing enough, but the proof of the proverbial putting is in the actual eating. As some of you might remember, a while ago I posted a review for the unusable New Oxford American Dictionary. Simply put, I love dictionaries and always want to try new and…

When MultiTap Text was released a few days ago on the App Store, I found the description quite intriguing and thought it can easily supplant a physical keyboard in most -- if not all -- circumstances:

Stop struggling with the iPhone QWERTY! With MultiTap Text, texting is a breeze! Multitap Text application allows you to enter text using a numeric keypad instead of iPhone’s default keyboard. You can…

Apple and Google love their mobile operating systems. They do their best to convince users that their way of implementing features is better than the competition. Of course, therein lies a fundamental difference. Apple uses iOS on its own handsets and iDevices but Google practically gives away Android to hardware manufacturers -- to every company which wants to utilize and modify it.

It's no secret that Android is a fragmented operating system and some even call Android's status quo…

First and foremost, I admit that I love the double-tap approach Apple has implemented in VoiceOver. However, as one becomes more and more familiar with certain apps, it would be quicker to locate a button or link and then activate it via a single tap instead of two. Imagine being able to flick around left or right to find something and then tap once to activate it.

So I suggest that a new setting called "Simple tap to activate" be added to the VoiceOver section of the Accessibility…

After my first and second posts concerning VoiceOver new features, it's time to mention one more feature.

I know how useful VoiceOver sounds are. They're used to signal the move from one control to adjacent ones, notify users of a focus switch, and so forth. However, the more one…

Yes, it's too big a dilemma to be ignored by VoiceOver users. While sighted iOS users can easily rely on app reviews to determine if an application works the way they want, VoiceOver users should solely rely on websites such as AppleVis -- the most comprehensive repository of app reviews from the viewpoint of the visually impaired, a couple of email lists and the very occasional mention of VoiceOver support on the App Store before making a purchase.…

Well, had it not been for the unusability of many Reference apps, I'd have mentioned this first. Any decent and feature-rich screen reader should provide a pronunciation editor. All TTS engines have their own pronunciation problems or quirks and VoiceOver's TTS engine (called Nuance…

As I’m gradually adding apps to my iPhone 4S and enjoying the extensive features and gestures provided by VoiceOver, I thought I’d add my desired features which might be considered by Apple for inclusion in future releases of iOS. Of course, I use the phrase “iOS 6” here and in the rest of posts dedicated to this topic because it seems the most logical release of the OS which can accommodate my features; however, there would be nothing wrong with implementing one or…

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