Apple iPad
Is the iPad the ultimate accessible electronic accessory? Of course not, but it has some serious potential. Right away, iPad 1.0 already wins the accessible tech toy race hands down. With a few small changes, next year’s iPad 2.0 could begin to render many low vision aids obsolete.
Out of the gate, the iPad is sleek, light and simple with a large, color screen. Apple appears to have left all the accessibility features of the iPhone in the iPad operating system, as has been documented elsewhere (see Accessibility and the iPad: First Impressions and Hey Apple, What About iPad’s Accessibility?). So the iPad starts out with full zoom, high-contrast mode and VoiceOver. But what more could it offer visually-impaired users?
With its large LCD, Apple could raise the maximum zoom and font sizes. The iPhone has limits on how far it’s pinch zoom will go. The ‘Giant’ font size on the iPhone does not live up to it’s name. Readers have commented on earlier posts with similar concerns on iPhone app font sizes. Apple has a chance to improve readability here with no cost to users or to themselves.
iBooks looks beautiful, so the iPad will be a big player in the eBook reader market. On the accessibility front, the iBooks app appears to have limited font selection and no alternate color scheme, a limitation shared by Amazon’s Kindle. The app store may come in handy here as the Kindle app for the iPhone, as well as third party eBook apps, like Sranza, offer these features. With the forthcoming Blio reader app, eBooks on the iPad could become a richer audio and visual experience. One last question outstanding for iBooks is the availability of a text-to-speech function. Amazon took a lot of heat for offering this feature on its Kindle II. Whether Apple is willing to enter the fray is an open question. The app store could, potentially, ride to the rescue here if other eReader apps are ready to step up.
The reason that I cannot use a laptop is that the keyboard gets in the way when I try to see the screen. The iPad does not have this problem. With it’s virtual keyboard (and light weight), I could easily hold it up to my eyes for reasonable periods of time. Apple offers a physical keyboard for sale, but the iPad needs to connect physically as the keyboard is also a stand and a charger. With a Bluetooth keyboard (and a very tall stand), the iPad approaches my ideal of an accessible laptop. According to Apple, the “iPad also comes with Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology, letting you connect to devices like wireless headphones or the Apple Wireless Keyboard.“ This iPad device is solving yet another problem I have with mobile computing.
iWorks will expand the iPad past the iPkone’s functionality further into that of computers. These apps are Apple’s version of MS Office. As iWorks is a native iPad app, it should be fully integrated into VoiceOver, the screen reader. Hopefully, iWorks can also be integrated with the Dragon Dictation app. There is potential here for a portable accessible laptop.
A few hardware features are missing from iPad 1.0, I would not be surprised to see them in future iterations. The fist is a camera (An iPad Camera?). Besides the door an iPad camera could open for visually impaired photographers , it could have a wide range of implications for accessibility. With the right app, a camera would make the iPad an excellent electronic magnifier. An electronic magnifiers currently cost more than an iPad and are cumbersome devices with only one use. With one stroke, Apple could make that market niche obsolete. With the appropriate stand, the iPad could replace the CCTV magnifiers many visually people use to read, saving us from yet another expensive, single-function and aesthetically-challenged low vision aid.
A second useful hardware addition (if it is not already built in) would be GPS. There are many possible accessibility uses for GPS. The first is replacing handheld navigation aids. While iPhone turn-by-turn directions app have not replaced the GPS devices on car dashboards, visually impaired pedestrians could make great use of this. Beyond directions, descriptions would be great (see my post: GPS vs. Talking Lamp-Posts. Why we need a WikiAudioEyesGuide.Org). Apps like Hearplanet offer location-based Wikipedia guides of nearby attractions. With a more exhaustive database, visually impaired pedestrians could easily call up both descriptions of what is nearby and directions to them.
Besides all that Apple could do to make the iPad accessible, the apps is be where the iPad’s accessibility has the most potential. What can the developer community come up with? How can it pick up the ball where Apple drips it? The iPhone already offers great accessible apps. There is the BigNames contacts manager. Nuance offers several dictation apps. There are multiple accessible eBook apps. The list goes on.
The iPad certainly has the potential to become the indispensable low vision aid. it could replace several clunky and expensive aids currently in use from magnifiers to handheld GPS to DAISY book readers. It could bring eBook readers and laptops to the low vision market in one device. Let’s just see if Apple can realize at least some of this potential.
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The #iPad as the Ultimate Low Vision Aid? @oberazzi‘s Blog: http://bit.ly/9igSUw #Accessibility
I am legally blind and have exactly the same problem with laptops (that my hands and head need to take up the same space in order to use it). I work full time and am in graduate school and have been desperate for a portable device I can use for school work. I also expect that with a camera, this would make it possible for me to read the board during classes. However, my biggest problem with the current version is that there isn’t a way to use two programs at once (I would at least need to be able to read a document on the web and then toggle over to a word processor of some sort).
I am optimistic about the next version, though. Any ideas on where to find that extra-tall stand?
Thanks for your comment.
I think that this first version may turn out quite useful, though my bet is that iPad 2.0 will have the camera and be even that much more useful.
I have no clue where to get that stand, but I want one!
If pinch zoom could be expanded to the entire device (not just photos and web browsing), life would be much better for this low-vision sufferer.
It can (more or less). if you enable the ‘zoom’ accessibility mode, a triple tap will zoom into any part of the screen.
Tim: I just looked at recent video on youtube that comes from this article on the iPad as an eBook reader. http://db.tidbits.com/article/11150#comments
The video indicates that the iBook application that comes with the iPad can magnify text MANY times rather than once or twice. Have you tried to read books with the IBook reader?
I just got mine and am enjoying it greatly. I wish, as I am sure I am not alone, that all ereaders would allow for font sizes as big as desired. I have a Bible program called Biblescope that gives you complete control over font size and contrast. It seems if someone can do that in one program, it would not be too difficult to do it in all apps. I have my wallpaper set to a black screen which helps me to see the icons. I wish you could have a quick and easy way to change the contrast on the fly. Some screens it is needed and some it is not. I still use 5x reading glasses for some things, but it sure beats my itouch.
Have you tried the e–reading app Stanza. It is fully customizable. You can set both fonts and colors.
Hey Tim. Stanza is definately the best of the ereaders. I think though, that when I upgraded to the latest version, it made it so the largest font is just a bit too small. I did learn last night when reading that holding it vertical and not horizontal helped me to not have to move my head so much since I do still have to have my face fairly close to the screen. Do you know of any good ipad apps for the legally blind?
I have yet to get an iPad, so have not looked for iPad specific accessibility apps. I hope to get one this fall, so will do so then.
[...] http://www.timobrienphotos.com/2010/03/ipad-low-vision-aid/ [...]
I know this list is a little old, but I wanted to add a post. VoiceOver is really powerful and accessible. It makes text-to-speech simple and even allows a student of mine to present to classmates by just tapping each paragragh in succession.
I really appreciate the distance to screen vs. laptop issue being explained. I’ve been saying this to colleagues for about 3 years, but no one seems to get it! As a Teacher of students with Visual Impairments, it was a duh! moment for me. My one student has used his iPad more than any other device, and as of yesterday is getting realtime braille on a refreshable braille device. It is ridiculously seamless and easy to set up.
I’m still waiting for the large print App market to kick in.
Hi, I wrote about this back in April. I did actually get an ipad and I’m sitting in the library typing on it now. I set it up with a bluetouth keyboard and an adjustable stand (lapdawg). The stand is HUGE, but it’s the only one I could find that would allow me to have the screen up where I coudl read it. It also allows me to set it up so I can read in bed without having to hold the ipad (I get ipad wrist after a while). After getting this, for the first time in my life I was able to sit back on the couch and watch a movie, rather than sit on the floor leaning forward.
For school work it is still not exactly what I need. I can use it to follow along with presentations on the Web or via powerpoint (if I can get the slides beforehand). And I can use this wonderful App called iannotate to read pdfs. It gets the type relatively large and I can underline and highlight all over it and then export the annotated version to my desktop. This way, I can do some work on the subway or during my lunch break or even in bed.
I do, however, still have problems getting real work done – like writing papers – on the ipad. It’s having to toggle back and forth from, say, a pdf to the pages word processor. But, all in all, I’m really happy with it.
Hi, all…. my 11 year old daughter has recently been diagnosed to have stargardt’s disease…. we have bought her an ipad last week. would love any comments on its uses and apps particularly for a young child. would make our navigation a lot simpler..
Thanks
One of my 3 students with Stargardts is also a girl, and right off the top of my head I think she also 11 years old. Maybe Tim can send you my email address (without posting it for all to see) and your daughter and my student can become e-mail pals. They could share Tech solutions and hints.
Having worked with a Stargardt’s student in another state
The real key in apps is giving her the right mix of 3 catagories: exploration, productivity, FUN.
exploration: apps that allow a child to gain information in an area of interest. and connect with like minded individuals. Think blogs, kid news sites and other informative apps that have academic content. Unfortunately my review so far is hit and miss, with a lot of education labeled content being non-academic. And even worse inaccessible.
productivity: iWork is a must as it’s accessibility is very good and in the end ‘producing’ is the key to the work world. Education is catching up, but you will want to make a point of allowing alternate media for projects. Many teachers are stuck in the written word as podcasts are gaining steam and technology media schools (I graduated from Full Sail University) are embracing multi-media project designs.
FUN: Kids learn by playing, I think there’s a company named PlaySchool out there? interesting concept, too bad it hasn’t caught on… Games need to engage but also expand a students intuitive feel for the device and medium. They can engage research and challenge.
I say all this because I’ve been disappointed in the lists I’ve found. I’m trying to create an SQL database website for education, but no promises as my plate is uber full. Feel free to contact me.
I am a Teacher of the Blind and Visually Impaired, I use the iPad with my students all the time. I currently have 3 students with Stargardts. When using the iPad they find it helpful to have the screen set to reverse polarity (found under accessibility in the general settings). This allows more use of the rod cells which are healthy, without becoming so dark that the cone cells do not have enough light to work. Also set the screen brightness lower, or to self adjusting which will help with too much light coming from the screen. Goodreader is a great app for reading PDF files, and it supports custom colors, fonts, and has a pretty good font size. The Nook app from Barnes and Noble, to date has proven to have the most helpful font settings for eBooks. Fun games my students enjoy are Finger Physics (very addictive) Marble Maze and Fling. All have larger graphics and can be played without seeing fine details. I am hoping with fingers crossed that Apple eventually starts approving apps that allow the iPad to be used as a monitor. If so Enhanced Vision, developers of the Transformer portable CCTV are willing to look into an app that would let you use the iPad to view images from the Transformer (great portable CCTV check that out all you traveling college students). They are also working to develop a Mac native application to let you run the Transformer on the Mac. Right now however it is still PC specific. Over all I consider the iPad a great tool in my bag of many tools. It is not the single best solution for any one activity, but it sure works great for many.
In the spring look for the iProp from iprop.com it sounds like a possible hands free solution for those of you who need to view up close for longer periods of time. Its design is like the flexible floor lamps, and it stands from the floor and can be bent over a bed, or twisted in place over a desk. It is not very portable and is not something to carry in a back pack. For glare reduction… for $10 you can get a glare reducing screen protector from hdaccessories.com you can also find a wide variety of accessories at killer prices. If you get the screen protector, I will tell you now it is not fun to apply, and might require help. It took me 30 minutes to get the bubbles out using a credit card to press and push them to the edge.
I’m curious what you would think of Eatoni’s TwTool app for iphone, available on the app store. It has a variety of keyboards you can choose. Two of the: nano and half-phone can be typed blindly. They have very big keys, and only 4 of them, so you don’t have to be very precise to hit them. It certainly does take some practice, but it can be done. I can do it, at least. The keys are even bigger when the same app is run on the ipad, of course.