Appled

[Brian Gaff]

Well sounds like you need a lot of dexterity to me...

>>>

>>> The following information comes from Apple:

>>>

http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html

>>> <

http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html>

>>>

>>> The same VoiceOver screen reader made popular on the Mac is now a

>>> standard feature on the iPhone 3G S. It's the world's first

>>> gesture-based screen reader,

>>> enabling you to enjoy the fun and simplicity of the iPhone even

>>> if you can't see the screen.

>>>

>>> What makes VoiceOver on iPhone truly remarkable is that you

>>> control it using simple gestures that let you physically interact

>>> with items on screen. It's

>>> easy to learn and fun to use. Instead of memorizing hundreds of

>>> keyboard commands, or endlessly pressing tiny arrow keys to find

>>> what you're looking for,

>>> with VoiceOver, you simply touch the screen to hear a description

>>> of the item under your finger, then gesture with a double-tap,

>>> drag, or flick to control

>>> the phone.

>>>

>>> VoiceOver delivers an experience unlike any screen reader you've

>>> ever used before. Traditional screen readers describe individual

>>> elements on the screen,

>>> but struggle to communicate where each element is located or

>>> provide information about adjoining objects. This contextual

>>> information is very important

>>> but typically filtered out by other screen readers. For example,

>>> "off-screen" models used by traditional screen readers to

>>> represent applications and web

>>> pages intentionally strip away contextual information and

>>> describe web pages as a list or menu of items. But with

>>> VoiceOver on iPhone 3G S, you'll experience

>>> something entirely new.

>>>

>>> Because VoiceOver works with iPhone's touchscreen, you interact

>>> directly with objects on the screen and can naturally understand

>>> their location and context.

>>> So, when you touch the upper-left corner of the screen, you'll

>>> hear what's in the upper left corner of a web page, and as you

>>> drag your finger around the

>>> screen, you'll learn what's nearby, providing an amazing new

>>> sense of context and relationship between the items you hear.

>>> For many, VoiceOver on iPhone

>>> will provide, perhaps for the first time, a true sense of how

>>> things appear on screen, not just descriptions of what they are.

>>>

>>> You'll hear descriptions of every item on the screen, including

>>> status information such as battery level, Wi-Fi and cellular

>>> network signal levels, the

>>> cellular network provider, and time of day. It even lets you

>>> know when the display changes to landscape or portrait

>>> orientation, and when the screen is

>>> locked or unlocked.

>>>

>>> The speaking rate is adjustable so you can set it to a speed that

>>> best suits your listening ability. VoiceOver uses distinctive

>>> sound effects to alert you

>>> when an application opens, when the screen is updated, when a

>>> message dialog appears, and more. And, when Voiceover is

>>> talking, the volume of background

>>> sounds and music are automatically lowered, "ducking" under the

>>> voice, so you can clearly hear what VoiceOver is telling you.

>>>

>>> It speaks your language

>>>

>>> VoiceOver includes built-in voices that speak 21 languages

>>> including Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan),

>>> Dutch, English (US), English

>>> (UK), Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), German, Italian,

>>> Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil),

>>> Portuguese (Portugal), Russian,

>>> Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Spain), and Swedish.

>>>

>>> Getting started

>>>

>>> VoiceOver is built right into the iPhone 3G S. There's nothing

>>> extra to purchase or install. All you need is the iPhone 3G S,

>>> iTunes 8.2 or later, and a

>>> Mac or PC. You can activate your iPhone and enable VoiceOver

>>> without sighted assistance using iTunes with a compatible screen

>>> reader like VoiceOver included

>>> in Mac OS X and GW-Micro Window-Eyes(r) for Windows XP and

>>> Windows Vista (sold separately). When you activate iPhone using

>>> iTunes, you can enable VoiceOver

>>> on the iPhone to start using it right away. Sighted users can

>>> also enable VoiceOver for you directly on iPhone using the

>>> Accessibility menu in the Settings

>>> application.

>>>

>>> How it works

>>>

>>> With VoiceOver enabled, you'll use a different, but simple set of

>>> gestures to control the iPhone. For example, instead of tapping

>>> to click a button or select

>>> an item, you tap to hear a description of the item you touch and

>>> double-tap to click or select it.

>>>

>>> When an item on the screen is selected, a black rectangle called

>>> the VoiceOver cursor appears around it. The VoiceOver cursor is

>>> displayed for the benefit

>>> of sighted users with whom you may be sharing your phone. When

>>> you prefer privacy, VoiceOver includes a screen curtain that

>>> turns off the display so no

>>> one can read it without your knowledge.

>>>

>>> In addition to touching and dragging around the screen, you can

>>> also flick left and right to move the VoiceOver cursor precisely

>>> to the next or previous

>>> item on the screen-no matter how big or small it is. By

>>> flicking, you have precise control of what you hear even when it

>>> might otherwise be difficult to

>>> place your finger on it.

>>>

>>> Entering Text

>>>

>>> When you're typing text, such as an email message or a note,

>>> VoiceOver echoes each character on the keyboard as you touch it,

>>> and again to confirm when

>>> you enter it. You can also have VoiceOver speak each completed

>>> word instead of and in addition to individual characters as you

>>> type them. A flick up or

>>> down while typing moves the insertion point cursor left and right

>>> within the text so you can edit a word just as easily and

>>> precisely as typing a new word.

>>>

>>> To help you type more quickly and accurately, iPhone features

>>> word prediction and suggests the correct spelling when you type a

>>> word incorrectly. With Speak

>>> Auto-text enabled, you'll hear a sound effect and the suggested

>>> word spoken automatically. You can just keep typing to ignore

>>> it, or press the space key

>>> to have iPhone type it for you.

>>>

>>> The Rotor

>>> Two fingers touching a Multi-Touch trackpad and a

>>> counter-clockwise arrow indicating how to enter a rotate gesture.

>>>

>>> VoiceOver features an innovate new virtual control called a

>>> "rotor." Turning the rotor- by rotating two fingers on the screen

>>> as if you were turning an

>>> actual dial - changes the way VoiceOver moves through a document

>>> based on a setting you choose. For example, a flick up or down

>>> might move through text

>>> word by word. But when you choose the "character" setting, each

>>> time you flick up or down VoiceOver will move through the text

>>> character by character -

>>> perfect when you're proofreading or editing text.

>>>

>>> You can also use the rotor to navigate web pages. When you're on

>>> a web page, the rotor contains the names of common items, such as

>>> headers, links, tables,

>>> images, and more. You select a setting, then flick up and down

>>> to move to the previous or next occurrence of that item on the

>>> page, skipping over items

>>> in between.

>>>

>>> Applications

>>>

>>> VoiceOver works with all of the built-in applications that come

>>> with iPhone 3G S, such as Phone, iPod, iTunes, Mail, Safari, and

>>> Maps. So, you can place

>>> and receive calls, surf the web, text and email your friends,

>>> check your stocks and the weather, and much, much more. Apple is

>>> also working with iPhone

>>> software developers so they can make their applications VoiceOver

>>> compatible.

>>>

>>> Voice Control

>>>

>>> In addition to gestures, you can use your voice to play music and

>>> make a phone call. Just press and hold the home button, listen

>>> for the audio prompt, and

>>> speak the name of the artist, album, or playlist you want to

>>> hear. You can pause, play, change tracks, even shuffle your

>>> music.

>>>

>>> When you want to make a call, speak the name or telephone number

>>> of the person you want to call. iPhone 3G S understands 21

>>> different languages.

>>> Zoom

>>> Two iPhones. The iPhone in the background is displaying the

>>> weather application. The iPhone in the foreground shows the

>>> weather application zoomed 200%

>>>

>>>

>>> While many iPhone applications let you zoom in and out specific

>>> elements such as images in Mail, or webpage columns in Safari,

>>> Zoom lets you magnify the

>>> entire screen of any application you're using to help you see

>>> what's on the display. Zoom can be enabled on iPhone 3G S using

>>> iTunes when you're setting

>>> up the iPhone, for yourself or someone else, or later, using the

>>> Accessibility menu in the Settings application on the iPhone.

>>>

>>> Zoom works everywhere, including the Home, Unlock, and Spotlight

>>> screens-even with applications you purchase from the App store.

Good grief..

Brian>

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email: bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[John Doe]

For what it's worth, as far as I know, there are no physical marks on
the screen input pad. Probably nothing even raised either, since the
whole screen is used for various sized input areas. I just ordered one,
so I will keep in mind accessibility and maybe post a very short
comment later.