iOS and iPadOS Apps

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The number of iOS games which are playable by VoiceOver users seems to grow daily, with developers either releasing new titles that are accessible out of the box (such as The Inquisitor Audiogame Adventure and Clever Clues) or joining the VoiceOver party by making existing games accessible.

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The Kindle app for iOS devices is not usable with VoiceOver. We believe that it is time for Amazon to stop excluding blind iOS users from their Kindle Book Store, so hope that you will support our Campaign for fair and equal access by lobbying them to make the app accessible. Not only would this be a good commercial decision for Amazon, but it is simply the 'right' thing for them to do and arguably something they have a legal requirement to do. As consumers, it would also provide us with some much-needed competition and choice when shopping for eBooks.

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Introduction

This post will offer you an account of my experience with conducting the job search on iOS. I will begin with a little information concerning the pre-requisites to beginning the job search, and the changing trends regarding how businesses advertise vacant positions.

The current post will then consider the 3 primary iOS applications which I used during my job search, and I will also inform you as to the services offered by recruitment agencies and the possibility of other iOS applications specific to your location.

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Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), and to mark this we are urging everybody to use it as an opportunity to reach out to iOS and OS X developers - to either encourage them to make their applications accessible and usable by the vision-impaired; or to show your appreciation for applications which already are.

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After much anticipation, the KNFBReader app for iOS finally landed in the iTunes App Store today.

Having been the subject of much speculation, blind users will now finally have the opportunity to see if is has been worth both the wait and its $99 asking price.

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Update, 7/15/2014, 12:22 PM CDT: Added a link to the official unveiling and demonstration of the KNFBReader app.

K-NFB Reading Technology has today announced a wealth of information about the upcoming KNFBReader iOS app.

The KNFBReader iPhone app, which is expected to be available to the public in late August for $99, was demonstrated at the 74th annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), a membership organization of blind people in the United States.

Some of the features of the KNFBReader iPhone app include:

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K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc. has today announced that the KNFBReader iPhone app will be launched concurrently with Apple’s iOS 8 in September.

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At the end of each month, members of the AppleVis Editorial Team take a look at all the apps that have been posted to the site during that month--either for the first time, or where there has been a significant update--and decide which of these they think is the most noteworthy.

The AppleVis Editorial Team app picks of the month for October 2014 are as follows:

1. KNFBReader

Updated to version 1.2 (version 1.3 released 11/2/2014); October, 2014.

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Bookshare have today posted the following information about their forthcoming iOS app:

"Our members talked, and we listened! Announcing the new Read2Go App, the DAISY reader for Bookshare on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Read2Go is an accessible e-book reader that was developed by Benetech (the parent nonprofit for Bookshare), in partnership with Shinano Kenshi Co. Ltd (best known for its PLEXTALK® brand of digital talking book players).

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I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new feature on the AppleVis site, our Campaign of the Month.

Each month we will select an app that currently has accessibility issues, and ask you all to contact its developers and encourage them to improve VoiceOver support.

To make this easy, we've created a handy little form that will do most of the work for you. The form even includes a draft message that you can either use as it is, or edit to your own liking.

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It was a Thursday morning, and I was teaching a seminar to first year undergraduate students. I divided the students into three groups, then sent each group into a separate room to spend fifteen minutes discussing the material. Ten minutes later, I was still in the main room. My usual practice was to visit each room in turn, to listen to the students' discussion, answer any questions, and prompt them if everyone was a little too quiet. On this occasion, however, I couldn't find the entrance to the rooms. I'd never had this problem before.

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It's been a few weeks since LookTel Recognizer was released, and in that time we've heard of some very positive, creative and downright bizarre ways that the app can be used.

In addition to making it easier to identify objects around the home, Recognizer has been put to good use in such places as shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, camp sites and people's work environments.

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The ChatGPT app has found a place in my iPhone's dock. I use it for many things, both serious and fun. Part of me is convinced that it's going to turn into Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. There it is, brain the size of a planet, and I'm constantly asking it to answer very simple or repetitive queries. Yet, it always remains eager to assist with any question.

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The app chosen this month for induction into our iOS App Hall of Fame is Light Detector.

Gaining double the number of votes of its nearest challenger, this would seem to be a very popular choice among the AppleVis community.

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A little background

It's not often that I find the privilege of blogging about an application which is not only feature-rich and revolutionary in its feature set, but takes accessibility to an entirely new level. Of course, if you ask David Goodwin, the awesome guy behind AppleVis, he'll tell you that my inspiration for blogging has subsided recently despite what creative app developers are doing... David, do you hear me?! :)

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Version 2.0 of LookTel Money Reader is now available in the iTunes App Store.

LookTel Money Reader instantly recognizes currency and speaks the denomination, enabling people with visual impairments or blindness to quickly and easily identify and count bills. Simply point your iPhone’s camera at a bill and the application will tell you the denomination in real-time.

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LookTel have just released a new app that promises fast and accurate recognition of everyday items, such as cans, packages, ID or credit cards and DVDs.

LookTel Recognizer enables you to store images of objects in a library or database. You then simply point your iPhone's camera at an object and the phone will instantly recognize and describe the item. A barcode scanner is also included to provide additional labeling help.

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The first contractions started around 2am, early that morning in late January. My wife gently nudged me into a semi-conscious state to share the news that our first child was actively on the way. In my stupor, I thoughtfully suggested that since the contractions would likely take a few hours to pick up steam, we could go back to sleep. I did just that. She did not.

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Syntellia have just released a new update to Fleksy, which includes a number of significant changes and new features.

We're particularly pleased to see that you can now try the app for free. Although you will need to pay to unlock the full functionality of the app, you can now at least experience what it is like typing with Fleksy before parting with any money.

Here is the press release from Syntellia:

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Introduction

Until 3 or 4 years ago, I did most of my financial dealings over the phone or using my bank’s website. Although more recently I have used the app for 99 percent of my dealings involving finances (in fact, I prefer the app more than the website), the app has some problems. Due to the world population going more mobile than ever before, financial institutions as well as other industries are forced to embrace the digital age or get left behind. But what is the result for blind iOS users, and how can things change for the better?