Hi Alex,
I don’t want my personal opinion to taint your interest in purchasing
the app. I do feel like the skunk at the picnic for being the only
person who has found the app disappointing, but after another round of
putting the app through its paces, I don’t get the wow factor. WhereTo
lets you choose from a wider selection of business categories and
gives you the same distance monitoring that BlindSquare provides.
Ariadne performs the same function you mention regarding the bus
travel example. I’m not saying the app can’t be great for some people,
but for me the excitement just isn’t there for the money you pay
compared to other orientation apps. I knew not to expect turn-by-turn
directions. I knew it was not a fully functional navigation app like
the Seeing Eye app, but I was expecting better accuracy, better
stability and, frankly, better coverage than what BlindSquare is
providing. The app is not providing nearly the amount of information
it ought to be providing for an area I am very familiar with. Anyway,
I’ll stop slamming the thing. I know people are loyal to it, but at
$24 I thought it worth sharing my candid thoughts on the thing.
Besides, if Apple refuses my refund request, I’ll have no choice but
to start liking the blasted thing.--Joe
*From:*viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>
[mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *Alex Hall
*Sent:* Sunday, October 27, 2013 12:48 PM
*To:* viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>
*Subject:* Re: BlindSquare, A Disappointment
First, I do not have this app, but I have done a lot of research into
it and am thinking of buying it at some point.
That said, it all depends on what you want from a navigation app.
Blindsquare can’t do turn-by-turn directions, so that’s where other
mapping apps come in and it is why Blindsquare can run in the
background. What you can do, though, is monitor a POI, with the app
telling you where it is in relation to you as you move. This way, if
you know the general layout of your area but not where a specific
point is, you can find it easily enough. You can also set up triggers
to have the app alert you when you pass within a distance you pick of
a point you pick. For example, if you need to have the bus stop at
First and Main, just set a 200 meter trigger for that spot. You can
then use the app to see your current street, and when you are on Main
or First and the app alerts you that you are within your notification
distance, you can have the bus stop or remind the driver where you
need to get off.
On Oct 27, 2013, at 11:41 AM, Richard Turner
<richard.turne...@gmail.com <mailto:richard.turne...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Also, to add to Sieghard’s comments, usingBlind Squaretogether 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:
<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>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:
<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>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 towww.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
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