No, actually that is not my "problem" with Android. If you have used
technology solutions for as many years as I have, you understand and expect
that no solution is the same. I don't expect iOS to behave the same as Android
or vice versa in the same way I never expected Mac OS to behave like Windows.
There is no one size fits all solution when it comes to accessibility and I
think most iOS users realize that. They choose iOS because it is easy to use
and its progressing and despite its bugs, it still gives us just about the same
access as our sighted friends and family with little fuss or concern over what
particular device can run what particular version of iOS. If I get an iPhone 5
or 5S or 6, I know it can run iOS 8. You cannot say the same for Android
devices. Good luck with that..
Android has several problems that go beyond accessibility. It's not as
stable as some would like it to be simply because of how overall fractured it
has become, especially over the last year alone. When you have over six active
versions of the software out there running on dozens of types of different
devices, this leads to a similar problem that Windows has faced and has led to
its decline. There are just too many devices and versions of Android for
developers to meet and support. The most telling statistics I've read are that
only 11 percent of Android users are and, more importantly, Can run the latest
version of Android. So, realistically, even if we want to make the assertion
that Android accessibility will, some day, equal or surpass that of iOS, the
blind would have equal access to mobile devices, this wouldn't be true. We'd
actually be paying far more in the short and long term to keep up with that
technology than sticking with Apple simply because we couldn't keep that
current access for long on our device.
The other 800 pound gorilla in the Android room has to do with the hardware
manufacturers themselves. Frankly, they don't want you to have the latest and
greatest software for long. Of course, Apple wants you to buy the latest
iDevice version as well, but the Android world has taken this marketing
methodology several steps beyond Apple. Simply addressed, your Android device
you buy today will not be able to upgrade to the latest version of Android
within six months. There are so many manufacturers of Android devices out
there right now that they are clawing and struggling for business. This is why
you have all these offers of free Android devices if you sign up for this
contract or that contract and why you hear dozens of different advertisements
each month for all these different Android devices Verizon or AT&T are trying
to sell you. Of course, this also then indicates why Android devices are
returned for repair something like 50 times more per user than Apple devices.
It's also why, by themselves, Apple is out selling all of these Android devices
that are out there.
Now, I know the automatic reaction that some are going to fling back at me
is that I'm just bashing Android and are going to counter with whatever data
they want. This is all, however, marketing facts that you can discern by
spending some time reading articles and talking to people in the handset
business who work for AT&T, Verizon, and the others. It's all a money game and
there is a great deal of money out there. The mobile devices market has become
one of the largest for companies, and it's only going to get bigger. For the
person who said something about the Apple Watch being a "dumb" product, well,
remember that Steve Balmer once claimed the iPhone would never sell and there
were those who first called the iPad the, "Maxi Pad".
The problem that Apple faces is what happens to any company or sports team
that reaches the top. You then become the target for any and all criticism and
you are placed under the microscope by the media on a daily basis. Every new
Apple device inevitably faces the usual FUD rumors of blowing up, breaking and
causing other horrible things to users in which we eventually discover that the
stories turn out to be either completely false or, at the very least, highly
exaggerated. It's the nature of the beast though. Microsoft was treated like
this for several years, but, unfortunately for them, they had Steve Balmer to
lead them down a path of destruction without the help of the media. Despite
what some think, Tim Cook is not leading Apple down a similar road. In fact,
the marketing data firmly indicates the opposite since he took over in 2011.
The reality is competition is what drives advancement and improvements.
So, I personally want Android and Windows Phone to be options and to light
continuous fires under Apple to keep moving forward. The more choices we, as
the blind have, the better. Whatever solution works for you and gets the job
done, stick with it and support it. That's what has enabled us to reach this
point in access to technology, folks.
However, at the same time, for me, I like to be using the best that is
available and stick with the option that is going to be stable and progressive
for years to come. The way Android is perpetuating itself downward simply
because of its marketing methodology, I don't see it being a viable option for
myself. It needs to steer away from the course Microsoft took with Windows.
Look at the amount of malware and viruses on Android devices out there. I've
read estimates of over 60 percent of Android users having malware and not even
being aware of it because they simply don't know or don't realize their phone
or tablet can have such problems. I don't want to buy or add antivirus software
to my mobile device and deal with all of that nonsense personally and I don't
want to have to jump through hoops on my specific hardware choice to get my
accessibility to work simply because I didn't buy a Google phone and chose
something different.
Based on what I know about Apple's internal mindset and focus on
accessibility, I'll stick with iOS until I find myself believing there is
something out there better for the long term. You have no idea what is going
on internally with Apple, but as a person who has been blind his whole life and
who has made technology the center of his life, I'm very satisfied with what
is to come. It might not come overnight, but Mr. Cook has a far more bigger
interest in accessibility than some are assuming they know.
Take Care
John D. Panarese
Director
Mac for the Blind
Tel, (631) 724-4479
Email, j...@macfortheblind.com
Website, http://www.macfortheblind.com
APPLE CERTIFIED SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL FOR MAC OSX 10.7 LION and 10.8 Mountain
Lion
AUTHORIZED APPLE STORE BUSINESS AFFILIATE
MAC and iOS VOICEOVER TRAINING AND SUPPORT
> On Nov 21, 2014, at 5:46 AM, Debbie Palmer <wadham.ho...@googlemail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Hi
> I'm an android user and I am totally blind and I, not being a particularly
> tetchy person don't have any problems at all using the android platform. I
> think the problem is that a lot of Apple users who look at the android
> platform think it should work in the same way but its completely different.
> The thing is that there's a choice out there and those of us who choose the
> android platform shouldn't be slagged off so lets just accept that there are
> two very stable platforms out there and accept it.
>
> Debbie
>
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