Blindsquare is a fantastic app for basic navigation including finding POIs and hearing intersections and address ranges as you approach them. In fact in this respect it's much more informative than Sendero's app. It even lets you set custom POIs which Sendero's app does not.
Apart from the lack of turn by turn directions, Blindsquare is only missing one key piece of information in my opinion which is descriptions of intersections, for example three-way or two-way. This means you cannot rely on Blindsquare to tell you whether an intersection is safe to cross in a given direction. Blindsquare, then, is fabulous for navigating in familiar areas. For example when I'm out walking I use Blindsquare as a landmark, if you will: a tool to give me the confidence that I'm on track. It gives much more information than Sendero's app. But it's not a full-fledged blindness specific GPS app because of the lack of details about intersections. Sendero's app gives more information about intersections, but I haven't found it to be terribly reliable, especially because it only queries its servers every fifteen seconds for lookaround data and because it omits lots of other information about your surroundings. Suffice it to say there's not an all-in-one blindness specific GPS solution for iPhone that I'd completely rely on. If I had a Trekker Breeze or Sendero GPS for the BrailleNote, I'd use it instead in a heartbeat. But between Blindsquare, Ariadne, Sendero for iPhone, Google Maps, etc., you can at least do okay. Grant From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Richard Turner Sent: October 27, 2013 8:42 AM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: BlindSquare, A Disappointment Also, to add to Sieghard's comments, using Blind Square together with Google Maps gives the best combination for knowing what is around you, what street is coming up and turn-by-turn directions for one third of what you would pay for one year of the Seeing eye app. Blind Square has been updated numerous times since it came out and the next release will likely simplify the main screen and may get closer to what you were expecting in the first place. Very few app developers have been as responsive to user feedback. I would strongly recommend that you contact the developer directly with your concerns and I think you may find, with some patients, that you will become much more fond of using it. If not, then by all means, go for that refund. Good luck with either choice, Richard _____ From: viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Joe Sent: Sunday, October 27, 2013 7:50 AM To: viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> Subject: RE: BlindSquare, A Disappointment Hi Sieghard, The BlindSquare app is very accessible. I don't want to give anyone the impression that it is not, and as far as I know, Apple gives other reasons for why you can request a refund. It's a long shot, hence my pointing out my, hope, for a refund. In that regard, Android gets a small nod from me for allowing a try before you buy scenario, but that's beside the point and not an attempt to stir up a debate. I listened to a few podcasts about the app. That's ultimately what motivated me to take the plunge, but I may not have heard the one you're specifically referring to. If you can think of the episode title or date, I'd be much appreciative. At $24, I'd be glad to find ways to like it, though I did spend time reading through all the documentation. Anyway, just my two dollar's worth. I'm open to being convinced otherwise, but so far the alternatives are winning out. Joe From: viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sieghard Weitzel Sent: Sunday, October 27, 2013 10:36 AM To: viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> Subject: RE: BlindSquare, A Disappointment Hi Joe, First of all, I doubt you will be able to get a refund. Apple has been giving refunds for inaccessible apps, but you can definitely not argue that Blindsquare is inaccessible since it was made for blind users. I think Blindsquare is awesome when it comes to finding out what's around you. First of all it is by far the best of these apps (I am not including the Seeing-Eye app when I say "these apps") when it comes to announcing upcoming intersections without having to interact with the device. I know Ariadne has a Monitoring function which is supposed to do this, but I somehow never found it was all that reliable. I admit, however, that after I bought Blindsquare I deleted Ariadne from my phone and I haven't used it probably in at least a year. I also like the fact that it's very easy to put in my own points of interest in Blindsquare. Later I can, for example, sit in my house and I can check out where these points are in relationship to my house, e.g. "Start of Trail, 550 metres at 11 o'clock". You can, of course, do the same with other points of interest, e.g. stores, restaurants etc. >From what you said I assume you haven't listened to any Podcasts about Blindsquare because then maybe you might have had a better idea about what to expect. But I think it's a good idea to go to www.applevis.com <http://www.applevis.com> , search for Blindsquare and listen to especially the one Podcast, can't remember the name of the person who does it. Maybe you will find some information or hear about uses you hadn't thought of before. Regards, Sieghard From: viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Joe Sent: Sunday, October 27, 2013 7:25 AM To: viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> Subject: BlindSquare, A Disappointment I purchased the BlindSquare app on account of I did not want to spend a lot more for the Seeing Eye GPS app. To be fair, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, except I was hoping for a little more familiarity with my environment. As it stands, the only real advantage is that BlindSquare can tell me, maybe what intersection is in front of me, and that with some turning this way and that to make sure the app is not capturing intersections further away than what you're looking for. Actually, it seems a little illogical that you would need to tap into two screens to turn on a mode that ought to be readily accessible from the main screen. By all means buy it if you're on the fence, but my personal recommendation is that it's more than a little overblown. If you use Ariadne GPS with a combination of WhereTo or Around Me, and pair these up with Google MAPS or Apple's own Maps app, you'll be more than good to go without spending more than twenty bucks. I would venture to suggest that even Sendero's Look Around app could help. Me, I'm hoping I'll be able to get a refund. Thumbs down.--Joe -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> . Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com> . Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> . Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com> . Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> . Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com> . Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> . Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com> . Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
