Introducing Simplicity Center, a Simple Email and Web Browsing App for Blind or Low Vision iPad Users

Oh, dear me. ... Words do fail sometimes.
Friendly piece of advice for the developer: Rethink the marketing on this one... Right away.

I couldn't agree more. The first thought I had, was how condescending can this app developer be. Sorry guys, $5.90, or even $.90, is not happening with this app. Not with this sort of advertising

I think this has to be some kind of joke and for the price? I can do better with the apple mail client. Come on guys money talks, do not support this! The apple client is much better then this piece of kit.

Hello,

Come on folks, let’s step back and check what this app is really used for.

I see this app for parents who have young kids that are visually impaired. The parents would like the child to be able to do these things but in a restricted environment.

It could also be used by visually impaired parents to restrict their kid’s access.

The price might seem high but parents know kids restricting software isn’t cheap.

HTH and good luck to the developers.

While the functions of this app may be suited for parents introducing visually impaired children to the online world, or VI parents monitoring their children’s activities, there are absolutely no mentions of this in the app description.

The app says nothing whatsoever about parents or children. It specifically mentions, several times, “Care-givers.” I’m giving the developers the benefit of the doubt by believing this was just a horrendous choice of phrasing, rather than an outright attempt to alienate the target audience. Nonetheless, their approach needs work. Getting me, as a VI person to give you money won’t happen by employing marginalizing language I hear all-too-often from well-intentioned, misguided non-PWDs.

Mr. Kuefler,

Thank you very much for addressing these concerns. Now that the context is clear, I fully understand the logic behind the word choice. For my part, I went off of the description I read on this page. If the context is explained anywhere else, I admittedly did not come across it.

I am a mid-20s VI person, and I have experienced folks talking to/treating me as if I need a caregiver based solely on my sight-status. Not to speak for all of BlindKind™, but I am far from the only one who has these experiences. So, my reaction was a tad visceral, and I apologize. As it reads now, there are mentions of blind/low-vision people, and caregivers/family members, which sent the following messages to me as a potential consumer:

A: “Blind/low-vision = you need a caregiver.” (which we already know you didn’t mean, so no biggie),
B: “It’s accessible with voiceover, but you might need a family member, (sighted person), to perform the initial setup.” (While this is likely untrue, I have dealt with PC and Voiceover issues that actually made this a reality, and it was a frustration).

As for rephrasing suggestions, I would specify the target demographic a bit more clearly. If I read you right, the primary mission of developing this app was to aide blind/VI senior citizens with online activities. That’s amazing, but the current description makes no references to seniors and/or populations dealing with secondary disabilities. Put that in there somewhere, and you should be right as rain. 

Again, thanks for taking the time to explain things. Sorry for the novel-length response, but I hope it helps at least somewhat.

Guys, calm down. The dev made this app for people who may:
1. Be elderly and less technically-able.
2. Have a cognative disability which makes tech-concepts hard or impossible to grasp.
3. Have either numbers 1 or 2 plus a visual impairment.

Instead of immediately jumping to the conclusion that the dev is an idiot who's just trying to rip us off, why don't we step back and take another look at what he said? Granted, what he said could have been worded a little more clearly, but I did understand it.

Thanks,
Shersey

@John,

Your initial concept makes sense, and I am grateful for your concern of loved ones, especially those who do not have the ability to care for themselves. You might want to consider how to deny access to the native Apple apps. For example, if you give someone in your target audience an IPad with your app installed on it, how will you prevent the user from using Safari or Mail? This not to say your app is useless, because I can see potential for it. However, it is something to consider since you are not putting the target audience into a black box.

I know you can restrict access to Safari within iOS itself. I'm not sure about male, though. I'd have to look that one up.

Thanks,
Shersey

Hi,

First of all: Great app idea. I'm sure that blind people struggling with technology might find this useful.

Second: The "critical" replies to this topic really rub me the wrong way.
I'd hope that people would be les inclined to throw out snap accusations. Just because an app might not be for you doesn't mean that it won't be useful in an other context (a conclusion you'd probably have reached if you bothered reading the entire app description). At least criticise constructively instead of being a jerk about it.

John: Imo, your wording is fine. Kudos for making your app accessible.

Best,
Malthe.

@Jhon,

This makes sense and closes the problem of app restrictions. For rewording the description of the app, I would qualify your target audience a little more. Consider taking the life story that inspired you to create the app and rework it to target a general audience. This way, you can target people with these problems. Otherwise, good idea. Have you considered marketing to senior citizen communities such as senior centers?

@Malthe,

It makes sense why most people discounted the developer and his app. The wording is not as clear as it could have. Fortunately, @Jhon stepped in and cleared up the confusion. At this point, he has defused the negative response. Chill and cool down.