Seeing Eye GPS

Category
Navigation

Description of App

The Seeing Eye, the pioneer in guide dogs, and Sendero Group, the pioneers of accessible GPS, have teamed up to create The Seeing Eye GPS™. Almost 20 years of user feedback and feature requests are behind the design of all Sendero GPS products. The accessible features in The Seeing Eye GPS™ are only the beginning of what is yet to come as users help in evolving this first fully accessible GPS product for the iPhone. The Seeing Eye GPS™ is a fully accessible turn-by-turn GPS iPhone app with all the normal navigation features plus features unique to blind users. Unique to The Seeing Eye GPS™ 
  • Instead of multiple layers of menus, the three important navigation elements are on the lower portion of every screen: Route, POIs and Location.
  • At intersections, the cross street and its orientation are announced
  • Intersections are described (e.g. four-way) with the clock face orientation of the streets.
  • There are three choices for POI data (Navteq, Foursquare, and OSM).
  • Directions are configured appropriately for Pedestrian and Vehicle routes, including heads-up announcements for approaching turns, turn now, continue straight and upcoming turns. 
  • If one wanders off the route, it's automatically recalculated and updated turn information is announced.
  • Point your phone in a given direction to hear what is nearby with the LookAround Wand.
  • Nearby Points of interest and intersections are automatically announced.
Requires: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad Wi-Fi + 3G, iPad 2 WiFi + 3G, iPad Wi-Fi + 4G, iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular. iOS 5.0 or later.

Version

2.5

Free or Paid

Free

Apple Watch Support

No

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

10.2

Accessibility Comments

This app works great!!!

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads all page elements.

Button Labeling

All buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

The app is fully accessible with VoiceOver and is easy to navigate and use.

Other Comments

I am extremely happy with the app, and while the price is slightly high, it's much cheaper than stand alone GPS solutions for the blind, and I couldn't be happier!

App Store Link

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/seeing-eye-gps/id668624446

Developer's Website

http://www.senderogroup.com/products/shopseeingeyegps.htm

Developer's Twitter Username

@SenderoGPS

Recommendations

2 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Chris Harrington 7 years 11 months ago

Options

Comments

By alex wallis on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Hi, I believe its US initially because of comments I read in the past, but I think the comments said it would eventually be made available in the UK as well. I'm not sure why they have to roll it out to the US first, guess we in the UK have to be patient.

Sendero have previously stated that the initial release would be available only in North America and that they will then work to roll the app out to other countries (including the UK). I've not seen any potential timeframe, but my guess is that we are looking at many months.

By Krister Ekstrom on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Hey, Does anyone know if this fantastic app will be available to countries other than those in the "big" language areas i.e English, German, French, Spanish and so on? In other words will it be available in Scandinavia or will we as so often happens nowadays be left behind?

By Michael Hansen on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
The app is free to download. To subscribe for one year is $69.99, and three years is $129.99. For what it's worth, the three-year subscription breaks down to $43.33 per year...so if you think you would want it for more than a year, the three-year subscription would be cheaper.

By sockhopsinger on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

What is the point of having a free app to download? I mean it sounds to me like you can't do anything with it until you subscribe. And when it comes to subscribing, I would think they would offer a free trial period.

I couldn't agree more. When you install the app, the only thing you have access to is the screen allowing you to buy a subscription. I don't object to paying for the app if it's something I find beneficial to me, but I'd like to take it for a test run first since the subscriptions are pretty expensive. Even a 24- or 48-hour trial would be helpful.

By Michael Hansen on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
I think the app is "free" to download because it is a subscription-based service accessed by an in-app purchase. As to why Sendero doesn't offer a demo like they did for Mobile Geo...that I am not too sure of. Are there other apps in the app store which allow a limited-time free trial?

By Edward Alonzo on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Okay this is nuts. First of all, this app is miss leading Not even a trial period to try this app I'm just supposed to drop either $69.99 or $129.99 for 3 years. After that I'm sure I'm going to forget all about paying for it, then I guess I'll be walking down the street, when boom, my subscription runs out and in order for me to continue using this after either 1year or 3 years, I am going to have to repay either the one year or three year amounts to continue using it. I think we should at least be able to test this app out before making a commitment to a payment we are going to have to make over and over.

I don't object to paying for an app with as many neat features as this one claims it has. But that's just it ... claims. Quite frankly, if this app is better than Navigon, I'd be glad to get rid of that app as it has yet to lead me correctly to an address. But I most certainly am not going to shell out this kind of money without some sort of test drive. And also, if we look back at Sendero's Lookaround app which, by the way, I also bought, are we going to see this one updated with more frequency than that one was? I applaud the developers of this app and think the ideas are fantastic. But to expect people will willingly shell out this kind of money with no chance to experience the app first is not well thought out at all. Just my thoughts.

By Gus Pacleb on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

I agree. We need to at least have a free trial to test it out. What if we pay $70 and we don't like it?

By David Goodwin on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Another option that Sendero could consider is offering a monthly subscription, maybe for $7. This would allow people a relatively low cost and low commitment way to test the app. It would also help those who cannot afford to pay $70/130 in one payment or those who perhaps only need this type of app at certain times during the year. For example, you might want to use it just when you are on vacation or on business trips away from home.

By Tim Schwartz on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

I agree with David and many others here. I don't mind paying an ongoing fee as long as I know that what I'm getting is as good or better than my other inexpensive or free options out there. My concerns would include the following: 1. Not having a trial version. Yes, a podcast of it's features will be nice if/when Thomas, or David or myself or anyone else does one. However, if it's not me, how will I know that it will work ok where I live. Maybe it won't work the same in all cities. 2. The price point. No, I don't have a problem with the amount they are charging for that time period. As a matter of fact, it's a great deal compared to Navigon or Tom Tom and others. The fact that it starts free and then they charge that low of a fee is even better than those other apps who charge for the download on top of the fee. Anyways, the problem I have with price point is lack of flexibility. Like David said, there should maybe be a monthly fee or maybe even a quarterly fee. Something for those of us who can't spend so much at once. 3. I already gave them money for Look Around. This app seems to make Look Around obsilete. So am I expected to pay for the new app and just delete the old? Although maybe that is why the new one is free to download. Because of the fact they know many of us already paid for that. Either way, I feel that existing users of Look Around should get something. Which brings me to number 4. 4. If they can't offer a full trial of the app, at least give us part of it for free and/or with the prior purchase of the Look Around app. Maybe open up the look around wand functionality for free since it is similar in function to the look around app.. Then, if we want the other features - we can buy into them. If the app does what it claims, it will be a wonderful addition to my arsenal of apps that make my life easier and better. But I really need to know that giving them more of my money will be better for me than just using the combo of free or inexpensive apps I already am using. Just my few pennies worth.

By Santiago on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

I'd either like a free trial, or a podcast, just to see how the app is like, before buying a subscription for it. I'd like to see whether the price is worth it, over lets say, apple maps/google maps/other GPS apps for iOS. And the free trial would be nice, because there are some features I'd like to try for myself, which can't be shown as well with a podcast or demonstration.

By Travis Roth on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Hi, I have not used FourSquare so I am hoping someone who has can perhaps answer this. Would it be possible to use FourSquare to create point of interest in any random but yet useful point of your choice? And then find it by selecting FourSquare as the source of POI within the Seeing Eye GPS app? It wouldn't be as convenient as having a define your own POI in the app but perhaps it would be a workaround? To answer someone else's question: yes I have seen apps that are subscription based that have a free trial. The way it is done is you "purchase" a free trial subscription for $0 that lasts however long the trial length is, e.g., a week. I would suggest that Sendero consider this and enabling map features that are free to use for them, I assume FourSquare is, and this would satisfy the need. But keep in mind, there could be a good reason this has not been done already.

If I'm right, the free trial on the Sendero GPS for note takers such as the Apex usually last about two weeks, so my guess is that they might have a two week long trial for this app as well.

Michael asked whether there are other apps in the App Store that allow a limited time free trial. For subscription-based apps, there is always the option of offering a service that works for a fixed period, but which you extend through in-app purchase. For example, with MotionX GPS Drive, the $0.99 app price gives you access to 1 month of voice assisted navigation from the time you start to use the app. You can extend the subscription through in-app purchase at any time - either by choosing the $2.99 monthly rate, or the $9.99 yearly rate. There were also other examples, such as a music app for "Top 100s by Year by Bing" (and other variants like "Classical 100 by Bing" , "Pop 100 by Bing", etc.) that would let you stream music selections for 60 days, and then decide to pay for continued listening from the server for either $0.99 or $1.99, depending on the specific app you got. I can think of other examples, but the MotionX GPS Drive model is probably most a propos for this instance. Note that the active trial period doesn't have to be as long as a month. The Sendero Group could let people purchase the app for a trial period of 2 weeks, and charge for that -- maybe $5.99 or so, which would not be out of line with the yearly subscription price. Even if they choose not to offer a monthly in-app subscription rate, this would still probably get them some users who would not otherwise be prepared to pay $70 for 1 year.

Esther

By brandon armstrong on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

hi all, I want to weigh in on this topic now. I went ahead and bit the bullet for one year, and paid for one years subscription. I have tested it out with a walking route back home from a place i live near, and to me, for a 1.0 release it does what it says it will do in the user guide. it got me with in a few feet of my house and the directions were very well done and spoken. I like many of you do not like this pay in as you go plan, and he should have said something before release of this app. I would like to see a way to get in touch with the team who makes this app from with in the app its self, I have a few features that I think need to be in like many of you. 1. user POI's. 2. the ability to add bread crumbs and add locations as favorites. 3. the ability to turn off things like location, nearest street, etc in the main screen so not so much information is not read on start up. let me know what you guys think.

I was looking forward to the release of this app. I'd have paid 30 or 40 bucks for it, but a 70 dollar per year subscription services is ridiculous. I guess I'll be sticking to my navigon ariadne combo. I find that with navigon and Ariadne together, I can do just about all I need to do. I wasn't too impressed with the sender look around app, so based on the quality of that one, guess I'll be missiong out on this one. That said, I would like to hear a podcast on it to see if it's any good.

I also bit the bullet and subscribed to this app. I was able to test this out, and did enjoy the detailed description of intersection layout. However, now I am receiving warning that I cannot connect to the server, and timeouts when I try to reenter my subscription login and password. This was a reasonably well done first effort. I'd like some additional filtering options. The POI information does not seem as robust as I get from BlindSquare, even when I select the same data source, but I've always found that to be a weak point for the LookAround app, too. This is a more impressive effort than the Sendero LookAround app, even given the difference in inteneded scooe and cost of the the two apps. By the way, I tried to fire up the LookAround app, and couldn't get a response from the servers. I'd worry about this less if I could restart the Seeing Eye app now (even after deleting and reinstalling.) In the meantime, I 've gone back to using BlindSquare, which is a very impressive app at this stage, but more mature. I agree with AnonyMouse's comments in the recent AppleVis Extra podcast that the features of BlindSquare are under appreciated or recognized. Here's hoping the Seeing Eye GPS app reaches similar maturity, because I do like the added features of intersection announcement and description, and the accuracy of the app. I just wish it would work for me right now.

Has anyone tried this out on an iPad with 3G?  The extra battery life might be an asset here.

By jay on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Hello. It would be great if the app could be free, at least free to try. Why would you get a free download, but in order to use the thing you have to pay for it? Sounds pretty fishy to me, and it sounds like they are in a run for your money. Its rediculous that you have to pay that much for an app, especially if you don't know how your going to like it. I would suggest that they at least give you some what of a free tryal or something, before you go off and spend the money on something that might not be worth your time investing in. Just my thoughts, not trying to make people mad or anything.

By Paul Martin on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

First: They make it free on the store not to be misleading, but to allow those who subscribed and got new devices to not pay to use the thing on said machine. Also, it would be a good idea to have a demo period. They'd likely get more sales and all that way, as users can find out if it's right for them. This is an individual question that even a podcast has a hard time answering.

I'd not say it was that bad. Let's do the math here: I seen AT&T Navigator in the store, with a subscription price of $10 for a month. The price of this subscription was $69.99 for a year. Let's divide that by 12 for every month, and notice that it's $5.80 for a month, which is actually a bit less than the mainstream guys. Doesn't seem that bad to me! Let's take it further, and divide $129.99 by 35 months. That's an even better deal, with a result of $3.60 a month. Would I like to see a demo period or week/month long subscription? Sure! Give them the benefit of the doubt, and remember it's a 1.0. I'd have bought the 3 year subscription, but I'm just not traveling enough to justify it at this time. I'll eventually get this I'm sure.

Hi Jay, I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the reason the app is "free" to download is because of the ongoing subscription and Apple's handling of in-app purchases. So, I don't think it was done out of any desire to be misleading on Sendero's part. With all that said, I do agree with many of the other comments that they should have more subscription options--especially for those who want to try the app before they buy it.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Hello, Honestly, $70 is a lot to ask, especially if its only for one year. The truth is that many people probably put effort into creating this app and they should be paid for their efforts. But $70.00? and That Annually? I feel like if its something done by the Seeing Eye, they should at least provide either a discounted price for their seeing eye dog users or provide it for free. Moreover, Sighted people don't have to pay for directions to a place. True, there is navagan which has charged, but only one time. Google maps is free to all users and sighted individuals can utilize it. Apple Maps is free to all users and though its had its issues, its gotten much better and much more usable. I for one am not interested in paying a large sum annually just to know what stores and organizations are to my left and right. I am also not interested in paying for something annually to tell me how to possibly get home or to a place I would be able to get to through other apps. I realize this is built for the blind. But not all of us have $700.00 or $130.00+ to give.

I am not sure if it is me, or just GPS in general, but if someone has both the new Seeing Eye app and Blind Square, I would love to hear a comparison. My only gripe with Blind Square has always been that the distances and exact directions of stores are off, and I know the developer of Blind Square has worked tirelessly to improve it, so I am not sure if it is just GPS performance in general. Also having bought the Sendero Look Around App years ago, I found it to be very poor, as most of the time I spent more time trying to get a GPS signal with it, than it was worth, so I am curious if this app is any better. Honestly, the price tag isn't bad, as if you listened to any of the news on this app, I would have thought it was going to be $99. I guess like many of you I am just going to take a wait and see with this app until we start hearing some podcasts about this app.

hi all, i have been doing some reading and i do agree with what some have said. while I am not a big fan of the price, for what it does, I think sense we have no other choices for iOS like this, the directions out weigh the price.

Hello again... I think that Sendero was not trying to be misleading about the app, since it says in the app description what the prices will be. As far as I know, the free trial limitation is an Apple restriction, though they could charge $6 or so for the app, and then have it tied to your Apple ID like Motion X does. I think it may be a bit, if Sendero does indeed decide to offer a subscription at a smaller timeframe/ price. My guess is that they want to get all the people they can who are impulse buyers locked in first. That's a guess, and I could be totally off on that. It would seem logical from a business perspective though. As for recording a podcast, I was holding off on doing this until the official release, since I was a beta tester, but they cut off access to the app the minute it went live. And I can't justify paying $70 for the amount of time I'd use it and to record a podcast. Someone else perhaps?

By alex wallis on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

wow can't believe they don't give free copies to testers or at least a reduced price. Shows how much they value help from testers if they make you pay like everyone else with nothing to say thanks for your hard work.

I don't know that there was a way they could have reduced the price, since the subscription through the App Store just is what it is. You cannot sell the subscriptions at a reduced rate. I didn't do the testing in hopes of getting any sort of deal on the app, I did it to try and help improve the quality of the product for the end user. I'm sure many other testers were the same way. SO, I'm not disappointed or anything. It is what it is.

By alex wallis on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

I guess they could have done it by getting you to pay then refund you the cost for the first year say. also, perhaps they could have given you a promo code, the sort of thing developers use to give copies of there apps for free, But of course I don't know if they work on in app purchases. The alternative I guess is that they could have issued you with gift card codes that you could redeem then use the balance from those to pay for the subscription.

Alex, You're missing Scott's point: " I didn't do the testing in hopes of getting any sort of deal on the app, I did it to try and help improve the quality of the product for the end user. I'm sure many other testers were the same way. SO, I'm not disappointed or anything. It is what it is." I did beta-testing for another costly app specifically for the blind community and later bought it in the App Store. Why? Because I liked the product and felt the developers should get their money for developing it.

Wow, the fact that you aren't running out to buy the app tells me a lot Scott. Pretty ridiculous on Sendero's part not to reward the beta testers with a copy. While I do appreciate Sendero Groups efforts to get this app out there, they might want to invest in a social media manager and marketing, as everything I have heard about the company isn't great.

I think we should post the part about the subscriptions on the applevis forum. It seems to be a big hit on people. What do you guys think? Yeah they should give the testers a free copy.

By Michael Hansen on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
The current talk on Twitter suggests that the yearly subscription is because Sendero is being charged annually by the mapping company--something not having been done in the past.

My point as to why I did beta testing for this app is still the same. I didn't do it because I wanted a break on getting it. It would have been nice, but I don't expect that from them or anyone else. I was actually trying to help the blindness community here, not myself. As for my personal choice not to buy this app at the moment, it stems from 2 major things. The first is that as someone who is primarily a braille user who cannot listen to my phone and safely walk, this app is missing some features that would really make that task more usable. The other reason is simply that I don't have $70 laying around at the moment to drop on an app. If I were a speech only user and had the hearing that would allow me to use the full functionality of this app, it would be a much stronger consideration to me. But if, and when, Sendero decides to put vibrating alerts in to the app, and perhaps offers the option to have critical waypoints in a route sent via push notification or simply alerting me that I need to look at my display, it's probably not something I'll invest in. But that doesn't mean it's not right for someone else. The same way some of you would probably never beta test a product simply to try to help out both the community and the developer, many of you don't have the requirements for an app that I would have. And that's also fine.

By alex wallis on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Hi all. Just out of interest, I emailed sendero, I asked them if they had any idea when the app would be available in the UK, I also asked if they were monitoring this page on applevis and gave them the url. Lastly I asked them if they monitored there twitter account as I had asked several questions via twitter. I sent this email last night UK time, and so far as of this writing no reply. I will post if I get a reply from them, but I must say it shows great customer service not to have had a reply today, that is of course sarcastic, I emailed them at there orders email address which you would hope would be monitored frequently.

Hey Alex, in Sendero's defense, today is a holiday for most companies in the U.S., so they are most likely out of the office. Still you would think with the recent release of the app that Sendero would be more responsive to their Twitter account and make themselves available to people purchasing the app with questions. Who knows.

Hi Alex, Not every developer has the time or inclination to monitor AppleVis. And that is perfectly okay. Would it be nice to have Sendero engage here? Of course. But it is certainly not a requirement, as many committed app developers produce great products but are unknown to the AppleVis community.

Alex. I suspect the biggest reasons you didn't get a reply is that, like was already pointed out, yesterday was a holiday in the US. Sendero is a US based company, and so it would stand to reason they had the day off like most of the rest of the country did. Also, they're most likely dealing with people at the blindness conventions which are this week and next. The NFB convention is this week, and the ACB one is next week. I suspect you'll get a reply to your question Monday, but I'm not a rep of the company, so can't say for sure. Regarding the development of the app in the UK, I know it was stated at the CSUN conference I attended in San Diego that they would be roling out the app in the UK and other countries as well. At this time, however, it's only available in North America. Again, it's a US based company, so this shouldn't be much of a surprise.

By AppleVis on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
Can we ask that discussion here be kept to the app's features and performance, as we're fast moving onto areas that are more appropriate for the forum. So, please now move discussion about such things as the pricing and marketing of this app over to the forum. Thank you.

Alright after griping about this apps pricing, I decided to also bite the bullet and purchase the 3-year subscription. i have a few things that I would like to say about this app. First of all I don't like the fact that the look around wand button is in every screen you open even the settings screen. Secondly, I use an app called "where to" to find a lot of my addresses it works very nicely with voiceover, and you can then choose the rooting application you wish to use to navigate to that destination. I can't find the seeing eye gps app in my list of rooting applications so can't use this app to get addresses into the seeing eye gps app. Thirdly, the only address you are able to add from your contacts, is your own home address. I don't see any way app-on creating a root to use a name or place of business from your contacts. Fourthly, no way to save roots you use often other than the history. I'm still not sure how I feel about this app but I've taken the plunge and now it can only get better from here I hope. These are just my opinions Pleasetake them how you wish.

By brandon armstrong on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

hello, I totally agree with what edward had to say about this. I would also like to see the ability to add and create routes from your contacts and save routes as favorites. Like I said in a previous comment I made, I also would like to see the ability to add breadcrumbs in a route so we can have custom routes such as on a college campus. this would help teach a blind student how to navigate the campus they are attending. I also would like to see a way to say do a custom route, and upload it via the app to the sendero database so that say you have a campus of a college mapped out for blind students, then he or she could go to the college, and pull up a route to any of the places on campus that are in the database and navigate to them with ease and comfort in knowing that they can navigate a college campus with a degree of freedom like the students who can see. what do you all think?

By alex wallis on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Hi, can someone who has bought the subscription tell me if the app works at all on gprs, or if a 3g or 4g connection is needed for it to work? the reason I ask is that 3g coverage is very patchy in my area and mostly we only have 2g also called gprs which I know is certainly slow on webpages. Also, just a thought for staff, I think comment 52 from marko should either be edited or deleted. He seems to have gone and pasted the entire contact page from the sendero website into the comment including text that was originally links and other things that are not relevant.

By Scott Davert on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
I suspect that the answer to your GPRS question depends on how slow the connection is and how long you remain on that connection. The app constantly is downloading data to get POI information, so if GPRS can't keep up with it, you'll lose access to having an updated location. I hope that Sendero will some day offer maps that can be downloaded for such situations, since other apps like Navigon and Motion X allow for this.

By Nancy on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

Hi: I downloaded the Sendero Seeing Eye GPS and I payed for a one year subscription. After using it for a while I have decided that I don't want to keep the app. I am happy with the GPS apps I already have. Does anyone know if I can get a refund? If so, how do I go about it? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks. Nancy

By charles on Sunday, July 21, 2013 - 21:35

I agree that there should be some sort of trial period. So far, this is still an app still under development. I would like to see the ability to increase the "history" from just the last two locations so that we could store favorite or oftenly visited locations. I find data entry much easier than with, for example, Navigon, and response time is faster. This is a very feature packed and blind friendly app. The "map" feature is not for the totally blind, but everything else is. I find the "look around wand" feature to be interesting if, say, you want to find out what is off to your right, left, straight ahead, or behind you, but not all at once. Although Navigon is less expensive, I like this app better. Let's all send our recommendations to Sendero in order for them to possibly be implemented in future versions into what is already a great app.

I, Scott Davert, and AnonyMouse had the pleasure of interviewing Mike May from Sendero on AppleVis Extra #14. In the podcast, Mike answers a lot of the questions posed here--including why the app is priced the way it is and why there is no trial currently available. He also invited users to vote for the top two features they would like to see in a future release of Seeing Eye GPS, and you can do that here. Michael Hansen AppleVis Editorial Team