David,
I think you should have mentioned, when stating the cost of the iPhone is
over 600 dollars was to point out that if one were to purchase a separate
unit to do all of the things the iPhone does for the blind, the cost would
run well over thousands of dollars, such as the Humanware Trekker Breeze,
the SARA Scanner or Pearl Camera from Freedom Scientific, or the Digital
Talking Book Player, such as the Humanware Victor Reader or the
BookPort/BookSense.
Each of these items perform only one function which is a fragment of what
the iPhone currently has to offer a blind person, and yet, only the cost of
the phone is looked at.
All in all, it was a good response to an otherwise pitiful excuse for what
was supposed to be an unbiased article.
Victor Gouveia
Vice-President
Training Coordinator
VIP Tech
Tel: 1-888-640-6661
Fax: 1-888-640-6669
Home: victor.gouv...@rogers.com
Work: viptrain...@rogers.com
Limiting Disabilities with Limitless Possibilities
-----Original Message-----
From: 'David Goldfield' via VIPhone
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2014 1:38 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: NFB June Braille Monitor/Article on the iPhone
Here is the article which I have just published to my blog.
My comments on the Braille Monitor Article concerning the iPhone
Comment on My comments on the Braille Monitor Article concerning the iPhone
the June 2014 edition of the Braille Monitor contained an article by
Curtis Chong titled Knowing what Is Good about the iPhone and What is
Not.I was intrigued by the title. I have to admit that I've become quite
the Apple fanboy of late and I would have a very difficult time in
coming up with a list of ten objections or things which are "not good"
about the iPhone. In fact, I'm having a very difficult time in coming up
with a list of one or two things which are "not good" about the iPhone.
However, no product is perfect and I can handle objectively written
product evaluations. Unfortunately, this article was not one of them.
I'm going to reprint each of the objections stated by Mr. Chong in their
entirety, with my comments below each objection.
What Is Not Good About The iPhone
1. If you don't want to pay for a data plan, the iPhone has no option
for that. A data plan will cost you about twenty dollars a month. You
need a data plan for the iPhone to be able to communicate over the
Internet.
Response: you need to pay for a monthly plan to get anything on the
Internet. If a consumer already has an Internet connection in his home,
he can buy an iPod Touch or an iPad. These devices run iOS and don't
require an additional monthly data plan. The fact is that any computer
or device that accesses the Internet is usually going to require you to
pay for some sort of access plan.
2. It is very inefficient to make a simple phone call with the iPhone,
particularly if you don't have a person in your contacts list. You can
dial a phone number that you know much more quickly with a keypad that
has real, physical buttons.
Response: not at all. You can simply press the home button and command
siri to call any number, such as saying "call 302 555-1212." That's
hardly what I'd call inefficient. Also, a consumer can order screen
protectors from Speeddots containing tactile keyboard overlays.
Finally, the rivo keyboard, while insanely expensive, gives you a keypad
allowing for quick telephone entry and it also provides keyboard
commands which let you control many other functions of the iPhone.
3. On the iPhone touch typing for texting and email is very slow as
compared to a regular keyboard; this has been somewhat mitigated by
Braille apps, of which there are now two. However, you should know that
research has shown that, on average, a blind person entering data using
the touch-screen QWERTY keyboard is writing at about three words per
minute. By contrast, users of the built-in Braille apps have been
clocked at around 23 words per minute.
response: you can use any number of Bluetooth keyboards if you want to
compose a lengthy email or text message. For short text messages,
composing one is as quick as dictating the text to Siri, just as you can
use your voice to place a call.
4. The iPhone is very much a technology requiring good hand-ear
coordination. People who want real buttons that they can operate
silently by touch will be very disappointed in the iPhone.
As I stated in a previous response, you can purchase affordable tactile
overlays from Speeddots. Besides, in the section in the article covering
the iPhone's strengths, it is stated correctly that the iPhone
demonstrates, with a properly designed user interface, that blind people
can successfully operate a touchscreen.
5. Battery life for the iPhone is still an issue. You have to charge it
at least once a day--a lot more if you use GPS.
Response: yes, I long for the days when products like the Braille 'n
Speak could give us 30 hours of battery life from one charge. However,
this is a non-issue. During the day, I connect my iPhone to my
computer's USB port and when I get home I connect it to my computer for
a few hours before going to bed. Turning off Bluetooth, if you're not
using that service, and turning your screen brightness down to zero
percent will do a lot to save battery life. Besides, it's not exactly a
major inconvenience to plug the thing into a computer or a wall outlet
every night.
6. The iPhone is not small. It is bigger than a lot of flip phones.
response: are you serious? Really, are you kidding me? My wife's
Motorola Droid Ultra has a wider form factor. The iPhone fits very
comfortably in one hand. I mean, we're not talking about a device like
an iPad or a Kindle 8.9 HDX.
7. For a lot of people the iPhone is a lot more technology than they
want. It is not for someone who just wants a phone to make and receive
calls.
response: true, but once blind people discover that the iPhone can act
as their digital book player, restaurant menu reader, Web browser, email
client, money identifier, barcode scanner, radio tuner, game player and
object recognizer they might just want to use it for more than just
making and receiving phone calls.
8. The iPhone is not cheap. Even with a two-year contract, the basic
unit can cost $200. The full retail price of the iPhone is approximately
$650.
I received my iPhone 5C, 32 GB version, for free if I agreed to sign a
two-year contract with Verizon, which I was more than happy to do.
Admittedly, that particular deal expired on March 31 of this year but I
have heard that at least one other carrier was offering a similar deal.
It is likely that consumers who do a bit of searching will be able to
acquire an iPhone for a fraction of the actual cost if they are willing
to sign a contract with the carrier.
9. First-time users of the iPhone have reported initial frustration with
this powerful technology. It is not uncommon for these people to feel as
if they want to throw the phone away during the first month. Answering
calls and hanging up calls seem to be two particularly difficult
problems for beginning iPhone users.
Response: does this mean we shouldn't recommend JAWS or NVDA to some
consumers who are new to Windows because we can find a percentage of
users who experienced frustration with their screen reader during the
first few weeks or months of use. It is common for people to find a new
piece of hardware or software frustrating or difficult to use when
they're first learning how to use the product. Yes, using a product with
a touchscreen is a very different way of interacting with a device and
frustration can occur. This is true, by the way, with sighted consumers
as well as blind consumers so this really is a very silly objection.
10. The iPhone requires a fair amount of dexterity and the ability to
tap quickly. People who have motor issues or poor dexterity will likely
not benefit from this technology.
Response: I don't believe this is correct. I'm no expert on this but I
remember reading about how the iPhone can be adapted for consumers with
difficulties with hand movement.
I acknowledge that Mr. Chong also compiled a list of many advantages of
owning an iPhone; I was amused that he listed that one of them was that
NFB Newsline was available as an app. However, I found this list of
things which were "not good" to be misleading and an example of
irresponsible journalism. Mr. Chong is entitled to his opinions.
However, the NFB is a very influential organization and many of its
members as well as readers of the Braille Monitor take these articles
very seriously because they are being published by a well-known and
well-respected organization which claims to represent the visually
impaired. I am concerned that this article could convince many blind
people, as well as friends and family members who support them, that the
iPhone will not be a good product for them. This is tragic, as it could
potentially be responsible for deterring blind consumers from enjoying a
device whose functionality is unmatched by any competitor. It is my
sincere hope that Mr. Chong would examine the validity or lack thereof
of the objections which he states in his article and that he would
consider writing a follow-up piece to correct these statements.
Feel free to visit my new Web site http://www.DavidGoldfield.info Feel
free to visit my LinkedIn profile
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-goldfield/12/929/573 Visit my blog
http://davidgoldfield.wordpress.com Follow me on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/davidgoldfield David Goldfield, Founder and Peer
Coordinator Philadelphia Computer Users' Group for the Blind and
Visually Impaired
On 6/5/2014 1:13 AM, Neal Ewers wrote:
Curtis Chong the author of this article has been around for some time. It
would have been interesting if the article had been written by someone
younger.
Neal
-----Original Message-----
From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf
Of Teresa Cochran
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 11:19 PM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: NFB June Braille Monitor/Article on the iPhone
Um. Where to start? Well, if you don't want a smart phone, don't get one.
If
you don't want to pay for a data plan, get an iPod Touch, or an iPad
without
a data plan. What are those, you say? Hmmm. As for the virtual keyboards
they're not as fast for anyone as a regular keyboard. How fast was the
old
method of using the teeny keys on a "real" phone keyboard or even the
numpad
keys for typing letters? Not very. And why not use Siri to call a number?
What is Siri? Hmmm.
I will say that I have come across folks at my local blind center who
receive iPhones and haven't the slightest idea how to operate them. A
well-meaning person might have given it as a gift, but they ask me why
they
can't do things more simply. Maybe for some, a bit more one-on-one
attention
would have been a good idea.
having said this, I think this article is more than a tad condescending,
if
addressed to most blind folks out there.
Teresa
"The golden age of science fiction is twelve."--Pete graham
On Jun 4, 2014, at 8:52 PM, 'David Goldfield' via VIPhone
<viphone@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Has anyone read the June Braille Monitor? there is an article covering
the supposed pros and cons of the iPhone. I have to admit that it would
be
very difficult for me to come up with a list of ten things which are "not
good" about the iPhone but this article supposedly did just that. I plan
to
write a detailed blog post in the coming week with my responses to the
ten
objections but I'll just say that it's one of the most irresponsible
pieces
of journalism I've ever read from that magazine. Please, understand that
this is not meant as a bash about the NFB vs any other organization or
even
a criticism of the Monitor. However, the piece infuriated me because the
NFB is a highly influential organization and many of its members and
readers
of the Monitor will take the article seriously just because it comes from
a
nationally recognized blindness organization. My fear is that many
people
may read this article and will be convinced to not buy an iPhone due to
things which the article claims are "not good" about the device.
--
Feel free to visit my new Web site http://www.DavidGoldfield.info Feel
free to visit my LinkedIn profile
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-goldfield/12/929/573 Visit my blog
http://davidgoldfield.wordpress.com Follow me on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/davidgoldfield David Goldfield, Founder and Peer
Coordinator Philadelphia Computer Users' Group for the Blind and Visually
Impaired
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