[Fbl Blackberry Mep Reader
Rancul Ratha
In the May 2010 issue of AccessWorld, we evaluated Oratio, a mobile screen reader for BlackBerry smartphones made available through the cooperation of Code Factory, HumanWare, and Research in Motion (RIM). At that time, the product only supported the BlackBerry Curve 8520, and the screen reader was being sold for $449.99. RIM has recently released the successor to Oratio called BlackBerry Screen Reader, which is being offered for free on several BlackBerry Curve devices.
BlackBerry smartphones have long been a favorite of professionals and government agencies for their excellent security and networking capabilities. Previously, BlackBerry devices were mostly only feasible to those whose workplaces required their employees to use BlackBerry smartphones due to the cost of the software and the limited access that it granted compared to other popular options, such as the iPhone with VoiceOver. However, with the release of BlackBerry Screen Reader, BlackBerry devices may be a viable choice for people with vision loss who are looking for an accessible cell phone.
In order to determine if BlackBerry Screen Reader makes the BlackBerry smartphone a good choice for those with vision loss, this article will first evaluate the updated hardware that BlackBerry Screen Reader supports and the documentation for the device and screen reader. Next, it will explore the accessibility of basic cell phone functions, such as making calls and sending text messages. Thereafter, it will examine the accessibility of the features of the device that define it as a smartphone. Finally, it will evaluate the usability of the device from a low vision perspective and determine if there are any accessibility features designed with the low vision user in mind.
The BlackBerry Curve 9360 is a candy bar-style phone with a solid black exterior. The phone weighs a rather light 3.5 ounces and measures 4.3 by 2.4 by 0.4 inches. The top, bottom, left, and right panels are slightly curved instead of being perfectly flat. On the front panel, the top half houses the 1.5 by 2 inch display. Below the display, there is a small, square trackpad used for navigation in place of a four way D-pad, which also doubles as an "Enter" key. On the left of the trackpad are the "Send" and "Menu" keys with the "Menu" key closest to the trackpad. On the right are the "End" and "Back" keys with the "Back" key closest to the trackpad. These four keys are not discernible by touch at all and feel as if they are part of the screen above them.
Below this row of buttons lies the signature BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard. The keys are black with white markings for all of the buttons on the front panel. Although there is only a tactile nib on the "D" key, the keys starting in the "T" column are slanted to the left, and those starting in the "Y" column slant to the right, making it easy to orient yourself to the keyboard.
On the top panel, there is a standard 3.5 millimeter headphone jack on the left side with a "Lock" key slightly to the right of it. The "Lock" key is not discernible by touch and feels like it is part of the top panel. This key contains the image of a gray padlock that is very small, so even those with sight find it difficult to see. The left panel contains only a micro USB port. The right panel contains "Volume Up" and "Volume Down" keys as well as a key called the "Right Convenience Key." This key is used in conjunction with other keys to use various BlackBerry Screen Reader specific commands.
BlackBerry Screen Reader has been developed solely by RIM and is offered as a free download from its website. There are two ways in which you can download the software. You can use Internet Explorer to download the software and transfer it to the device using the included USB cable. Alternatively, you can download the software using the device's web browser. However, this method requires sighted assistance.
The product greatly resembles its predecessor Oratio, using very similar keystrokes and the same Text-to-Speech (TTS) voice, Samantha from Nuance. This TTS voice is the same that is used on many other devices, including Apple's iPhone and HumanWare's Victor Reader Stream. The screen reader has many settings and commands in common with Oratio and other mobile screen readers, such as the ability to adjust the volume, speed, and pitch of the voice as well as the verbosity level and keyboard echo. We discovered that setting the rate of the Text-to-Speech voice above Level 5 causes the screen reader to not read certain words. The higher the rate, the less will be read. Until this issue is resolved by RIM, you would have to set the rate at a max of 5 to accurately use the BlackBerry device without sighted assistance as the screen reader will not read many icons, menus, and bodies of text at higher speeds.
The screen reader can be set to launch when the device is activated. The Keyboard Echo setting allows the user to set the level of feedback given when typing on the keyboard, and it is possible to set if passwords entered on the phone are displayed as blank space, as the asterisk symbol, or as the characters of the password. It is also possible to set BlackBerry Screen Reader to be muted both during calls and while the phone is locked.
BlackBerry Screen Reader has various hot keys for changing settings and reading content. These commands all involve the "Right Convenience Key" plus another key on the device. Pressing the "Right Convenience Key" twice quickly turns on Keyboard Help, so you can learn all of the device's keys. If there is a command associated with a certain key, this will be announced as well. With the hot keys, it is possible to adjust the pitch, rate, and volume of the TTS voice as well as adjust the amount of punctuation read, the verbosity settings, and the keyboard echo. With a quick keystroke, it is possible to check the battery level and signal strength, time and date, missed calls, and e-mail messages. It is also possible to read the body of an e-mail or webpage, a word under the cursor, and the current screen with a key command.
The user guide for both the BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Screen Reader are available as linked HTML pages on the BlackBerry website. RIM has created an accessible user guide for the BlackBerry Curve using simple HTML pages that only contain the information in the user guide. The regular HTML pages are also accessible with a screen reader, but they contain superfluous links that you have to navigate past before you find the content of the user guide. RIM's accessible user guide is well designed for screen readers. Even when images are used, they are labeled so that a user with vision loss knows what is being discussed.
The BlackBerry Screen Reader's user guide is organized in the same low clutter HTML format as the BlackBerry Curve user guide. Although the Screen Reader user guide is easily accessed and allows the user to start using the screen reader quickly, we found some minor issues with it.
The user guide provides various tips to make the BlackBerry easier to use for a person with vision loss. For example, RIM recommends that the user reduces the trackpad sensitivity to the lowest setting while getting used to the smartphone. However, the steps for achieving this are not given. Therefore, the user knows what they need to do, but they do not know how to affect the change. Several tips are described in this manner. In these situations, I recommend that RIM place instructions for finding the option, so the user can easily make the needed changes without fruitless searching through option dialogues.
Also, I discovered the user guide reports a reversed function for a few hot keys. The speed increase and decrease as well as the pitch increase and decrease hot keys are reported as the opposite of their actual function. For example, the guide states that you press the "5" key to decrease the speed when, in fact, "5" increases the speed. Other than these minor issues, the user guides for both the BlackBerry Screen Reader and the BlackBerry device are excellent.
BlackBerry Screen Reader works well with the operating system interface. I was able to navigate the home screen mostly without issue. However, as I mentioned previously, with the rate of the TTS voice set above Level 5, many icons and menu options are not read by the screen reader. On the home screen, there is a button labeled "Notifications" above the grid of app icons. You can view received text messages and missed phone calls in this area, but the labels "Text Messages" and "Phone" that denote these sections are not read even at lower speeds.
Users are able to make calls easily with the phone. Pressing the "Send" button brings up the Phone app. However, this can also be accomplished by activating the Phone icon in the app grid on the home screen. When dialing a phone number, each number plays a tone followed by the name of the number. This is useful so that the dial tones do not override the announcement of the number entered. It is also possible to read the number that you enter before placing the call to be sure it is correct.
While on a call, you are able to use the trackpad to navigate the Speaker Phone and Mute options, and these are read by the screen reader. When receiving a call, you must press the "Right Convenience Key" to read the caller ID. This is useful especially when the phone is set to vibrate or silent settings. If the caller is automatically announced, it could possibly cause interruption during a meeting or class when you need the phone to remain silent. When you miss a call, a message box appears to alert you to that fact. You can then launch a Missed Calls screen. This process was completely accessible. When checking missed calls with the BlackBerry Screen Reader's Missed Calls keystroke, the phone reports the number of missed calls that are listed in the notification screen. You will have to go to each missed call and select it to keep BlackBerry from reporting them as missed every time you check your missed calls.
795a8134c1