Hello Mary,
• It sounds, from your description of the IA writer app, that you are actually
using the iPad to type texts. I've been using an Apple bt keyboard to
accomplish this if I have to write anything of length, because I find it so
much faster to type that way without having to wait for vo feedback for each
letter typed. So I'm curious, as I assume you're not using a bt keyboard in
conjunction with this app, as moving your hands from the keyboard to the iPad
would be inefficient, and you have all the access to keys or key combinations
on the external keyboard that this app supplies. I get the convenience factor
of not having to have two pieces of gear if you use this app. Just wondering
about the efficiency hit.
For any extensive text inputting on the iPad I use a Bluetooth keyboard. And I
generally use the Apple keyboard because I touch type and also make use of all
the standard shortcut keys for editing and selecting. However, I don't always
carry along a Bluetooth keyboard with my iPad, and I really like the fact that
you can make editing corrections and modifications with the iA Writer app. So,
for example, if needed to excerpt part of a document that I placed in my
Dropbox, make a few modifications, and send it in a mail message, it's fairly
easy to do this in the iA Writer app without a keyboard.
• Also, I have an iPad 1, so if you're on the newer model, perhaps there is
less lag between touching letters and vo announcement?
The iPad 1 definitely shows more lag in terms of keyboard responsiveness than
with the iPad 2 if I'm running VoiceOver and also if I have other apps in the
App Switcher. I also have to clear the Safari cache out in some instances to
see better performance -- I think Emrah mentioned this about the iPad on this
list quite a while ago, and I found this to be true in my experience.
I recently received the TouchFire keyboard for the iPad. I haven't had much
opportunity to play with it, as recently there seem to have been lots of other
distractions *smile*. The TouchFire keyboard is a Kickstarter project to
design a very lightweight keyboard that rests on top of the iPad and that can
be carried/held against the back of the magnetic smart covers that are used
with the iPad 2 and 3, and folded out of the way when you don't want the
keyboard between you and the screen.
The keyboard is a thin, molded silicon overlay that fits over the bottom part
of the iPad screen, and only weighs a couple of ounces. It's held in place
magnetically on the iPad 2 and 3. Although it can be used with the first
generation iPad, it doesn't automatically lock into the correct position with
the magnetic attachment -- it has to be overlaid on the screen -- so I'm not
sure how easily its position could be tweaked by a blind user. The "f" and "j"
keys are flagged, and you can rest your fingers on the keys without activating
the screen/keys.
Even though the lag when typing on later model iPads is less than for the
first generation iPad, I may have to turn VoiceOver off when I type to get real
speed out of this, because you can type faster than the touch typing mode of
VoiceOver can respond. It's also a bit odd in sensation, because the new
keyboards feel slightly sticky. We've been told that's because they come out
of the factory absolutely new, and as soon as a bit of dust of wear gets on the
silcone, the stickiness will go away. Also, the keys have square outlines, but
the surface isn't flat. Each key has four small indentations that support the
key against the iPad screen. You can swipe through the bottom of the silicon
(where the lock screen control is in landscape mode, which is below where the
bottom row of keys would appear) and have the gesture work.
I know that the Touchfire is supposed to support other language keyboards,
including French, but I find that the position of the right hand keys ("o",
"p", "l", "m") on the French keyboard is slightly off from the position of the
same keys on the English input keyboard that the Touchfire matches. (I asked
someone to look at this to check, and there is a slight offset with the
"virtual" keys for those letters being centered slightly to the left of the
corresponding keys on the English input keyboard.
I'm not sure how I like this yet, because I've been doing other things than
just trying to type with it. You can read more about this keyboard in a review
by the Gadgeteer:
• Touchfire Screen-Top Keyboard for iPad Review by Julie on July 11, 2012:
http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/07/11/touchfire-screen-top-keyboard-for-ipad-review/
This was $45 from Kickstarter, including shipment.
HTH. Cheers,
Esther
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