Introducing Hooke Verse Wireless Headphones; Capture Binaural 3D Audio on your iOS device

In the comment just above your last one, there is an e-mail address. Send your questions there. Hopefully that will help you.

Yep I sent anthony some issues I'm having as well as left a comment on inclusive android as I didn't want to get in trouble here. Lol!

Take care all.

All I can say at this point is we're working on it.. I really cannot say any more than that, I will say this though, support are wonderful and they saw the problem I was having.

Hi there all.
I just wanted to make my voice known as head of accessibility at hooke audio.
I would like to address some of the direct touch gestures with voiceover on IOS.
This I'm sure, can take a few tries to get used to.
First, I would like to point out, at the moment, at times, VO can seem to loose speech on screen in the app.
This is most likely because a user can be touching the direct touch area on screen wich VO does not speak.
This area is roughly according to VO and my judgement, 3 quarters of the hooke capture screen.
The other area near the bottom portion of the screen is a focusable area by voiceover and contains the controls for start/stop recording, camera on/off, the settings button, and galary button for browsing recordings one has made on the app.
These controls may take a bit of exploration to find just by touch on screen, but I find that touching near the bottom and using the flick gesture can expose these controls as well.
I would also like to bring to your attention that while in the hooke app, on the capture screen, the button on the right side of the hooke verse unit can be used to start/stop recording.
This was a specific feature to make it very easy to record quickly when launching the hooke app.
Next:
I would like to talk about adjusting levels.

I usually check my level by touching one finger in the direct touch area to hear VO speak a volume level between 11/21; the higher the first number, the lower gain level.
To adjust level of the microphones, you take two fingers side by side, place them in the top middle area of the screen and slide them slowly up or down to decrease/increase the microphone gain levels.
You will hear adjustment feedback when wearing the hooke as you adjust levels
you also can use the physical volume buttons on the phone to increase/decrease the monitor level, e.g what your hearing in the verse speakers.
I hope this is of some help to the members of apple Vis, and I am available to address question/concerns to the best of my knowledge.
feel free to reach out on the form, or contact me on twitter.
My username is drummer0608
I thank you all for taking the time to express your interest in a product that changes the way we capture our daily lives (especially as blind people).
I love that I can put on a normal pair of headphones and record the world, as I see it.

Hi,
I am having an issue with the Hooke audio app, when I start recording audio, then lock my screen, sometimes the app will crash, but audio monitoring will stay active. It's hit or miss when this occurs, so I never know from one time to the next when I press record if the app will crash or not. But it seems to occur when I get a notification, whether or not do not disturb is on. I'm using an iPhone 7 with the latest software.
Thanks,
Moop

The hooke audio app which is currently available on the App Store, could really do with some much needed urgent accessibility attention. It's very unusual interface, and makes working with the hardware much harder than it needs to be.

Actually working with the hardware is very easy, all you need to do is to get used to direct touch. Iv'e ben using direct touch since I believe garage band in I want to say 2012. It actually makes sence if you read the hint.

Here is a link of what the mics sound like, for some reason they are a bit hissy, but this is not edited, nothingn is changed.
I did turn the wave into HEAAC though, but that's it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wxii9q2bcap89pc/getting%20mail%20and%20talking%20about%20weather.m4a?dl=1

Hello,

How does a blind VoiceOver user access the app's video capture feature?

I noticed the accessibility tip for accessing this feature is presented as though it were for a sighted user rather than a blind user.

I find it difficult to justify the 100 percent accessibility claim in the app store.

As an accessibility professional, I am deeply disappointed in the way Hooke Audio has implemented VoiceOver accessibility in the current version of its app, and I would be happy to help the company implement accessibility improvements.

Hello everybody,

Has anyone else experienced any difficulty turning on/off their new Hooke Verse?

Nothing happens most of the time when I press the button on the right earbud.

Sometimes, they do turn on, but it seems to be intermittent.

I have plugged them in and kept them charging all night, so I'm looking forward to testing them again this morning.

Does anyone know how long battery charging should take?

Hello,

Does anyone have an accessible copy of the printed instructions supplied in the box?

Thanks,

Darrell

It seems like the app has confused a lot of blind users, myself included as shown by my earlier posts in this thread, although I've figured out how it works now. I'd like to suggest that direct touch is unnecessary, and the app could be made easier to use without it. Going through the accessibility tips: two finger double-tap to start/stop recording: developers can control what that gesture does without resorting to direct touch. Tapping the icons for video: this would be a lot easier without direct touch, as VO users could then flick around the screen without worrying about avoiding the direct touch area. increase/decrease recording level with two finger hold and slide up/down: I don't see why we need a non-standard gesture for this, when it could be made into a standard slider. As long as it's easy to find, which it is at the moment, VO users don't need a non-standard gesture to be able to change levels quickly. Use physical volume buttons to adjust playback volume: doesn't matter whether direct touch is used or not. Hold two fingers for battery level: this could be displayed somewhere on screen so that a VO user could tap on or flick to it to have it reported.

Darrell, to access the video capture features, essentially you get to those icons the same way you found the settings button. First tap the bottom of the screen and VO should report one of the buttons. You can then flick, keeping your finger at the bottom of the screen so as to avoid the direct touch area. You should find an icon which is called "video off" by default, but changes to "disable camera" if you turn it on and "enable camera" if you turn it off again. You can also find the gallery button in the same way. Hope that helps.

Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions when using voiceover in the Hooke App.
I'm 100% sure that the team is monitoring this form and are aware of VO issues.
Please keep in mind the app has direct touch areas that can be new to some voiceover users.
This, even for me, took some time to get used too.
Again, as I posted earlier, the app is usable if not a bit quirky at times with voiceover.
Remember, the developer did not even have to consider accessibility at all but I thank him for it kindly so.

@ke7zum, did you ever figure out your issue with the Hookeverse earbuds staying in your ear, and the Cable that goes over your neck staying on your neck? I know you were saying it had fallen out of your ear in your podcast, and were afraid the Cable that goes around your neck would fall off. I can't wait till 1 June… LOL. That way I can order my Hookverse.

I will try and describe attaching the windscreens
from the stand point of wearing the verse when the screens are properly secured, the closed side of them will be facing down when wearing the unit correctly
the windscreens are put on the unit similar to placing on a sock.
the difference is is that there is a tiny whole in one side half way down the small windscreen.
This whole is wear the earbud nub goes through to firmly secure the screen to the unit.
Note please remove your earbud tips before pushing the earbud nub through the small whole.
then, replace the tips onto the earbud nub as before
the windscreens will b securely in place this way.
HTH

You can record wiht the button on the right side of the hooke? I thought that was only for powering on the unit. Cool

Hello,

I orderd my Hooke 2-years ago and I'm waiting to get this in my hands. But I have some questions for the people who are already playing with this gadget:
- How do you export the recordings? Does it work with the standard export menu of iOS where you can choose an app to export: mail, messages, whatsapp, dropbox.... I hope so.
- Do you have to run the app while recording? Or can you run it on the background and open other apps?
- Does voiceover keeps working while recording.... and does it talk from the phone's speaker?

Thanks

-

If it works the same on ios as it does on my droid, voiceover will come through the speaker, you can share recordings, yes, or at least that's how it should work.

Hello,

So folks here have received their units but no one seems to be posting about it. Will current owners please provide feedback? Is it what you expected? Would you recommend it to a friend? Is the playback or sound quality going to the ear pieces good quality that I don’t have to bring along extra head set to listen to music? I’m on the fence with this one. Air pods or hook audio. Is the hardware itself good quality? What don’t you like about it?

Be honest as your answers may help the folks at hook audio improve their product.

Thanks.

I really love mine now that I know how to use it, the fit is tight, although there has to be a way to convert them into lapel mics for when and if I go on any rides. I don't want these things falling off. I can't say enough good things about my unit, I really cannot.

Hello all,

Even though I do not own this headset, I wanted to make some opinions that I had on what has been said so far known to you all.

1.

Yes, I did find a binaural in ear headset on Amazon, that was rated five out of five stars by one reviewer.

2.

Although this headset that I found on Amazon was rated five out of five stars by one reviewer, I do not think that justifies purchasing it, as I'd like to see more reviews than just one. However, this is up to all of you, who have not purchased the Hookverse.

3.

Thanks to those of you, who have provided feedback on The Hookeverse, Thus far. To those of you who are like me, and are debating on whether it is worth getting it, only you can make the true decision. Yes, opinions are good, but only the person making the decision can decide whether a product is worth it, Especially when it's something like this, that is one of a kind, and is different from your standard normal headset/earbuds.

Not only that, but it seems like it is definitely different from your standard binaural headsets/earbuds, as well… Especially since they seem to care so much about accessibility, and blind users as well, not just those that are cited.

Anyways, this is just my 2 cents worth. Hopefully the comments that you've read Thus far, will help in aiding you in deciding whether The Hookeverse Is worth it for you to purchase. I was definitely on the fence about getting it, but now, since I've seen all the horrible ratings on most of the binaural headphones/headsets on Amazon, I am definitely thinking of getting this wonderful headset. Especially since they care so much about accessibility, and are trying to figure out how to get that Gym Head constructible by feel for blind users.

Anyway, have a nice evening. And oh! Good job to Hookeaudio. You definitely have one extremely impressed potential customer!