Apple Accessibility
Assistive Technology for Kansans EXPO
September 2013
Roger Frischenmeyer and Cindy Jones
Voice Book VO: is a Facebook app designed specifically for those
who use the Apple iOS Voice Over accessibility features. Basic
Facebook functionality is finally available for the blind, low-vision,
dyslexic, or other print-disabled people.
Cost: Free 30-day trial, then $1.99
Flexy:The biggest innovation to come to touch-typing.
Experience eyes-free typing and never look back! Tap once
lightly approximately where you think each letter is, then swipe
right for space. To change a word or punctuation, swipe down.
You can add punctuation by swiping right again after a space.
Cost: free to try $4.99 to purchase
Prizmo: A universal photo-based scanner app that lets you scan
and recognize text documents, business cards, and images, and
then export them as PDF/Text, vCard, or JPEG/PNG. Prizmo
relies on state-of-the-art technologies, like a highly accurate
OCR, real-time page detection, and image cleanup. Prizmo is
fully compatible with VoiceOver. It provides voice guidance to
help position your iPhone when taking document pictures, and
will find the text orientation automatically if it's turned left,
right or upside down. Prizmo's quick capture mode provides a
fast path from picture to speech synthesis for an improved
workflow, and it provides a high-quality voice reader
(individual voices available as in-app purchases).
Cost: $9.99
Text Grabber + Translator: Turns your mobile device into a
multifunctional mobile scanner with translation capability. It
can extract text from a variety of printed sources by using the
device’s camera. With TextGrabber’s quick text capturing and
translation features, you can digitize printed information and
translate it into your native language anywhere anytime. Just
take a picture of the text, and you can immediately edit, voice it
aloud or translate, share via e-mail and SMS, or post directly to
your Facebook, Twitter or Evernote account.
Cost: $5.99
1
Digit-Eyes: Audio scanner and reader reads barcode labels. Scan UPC /
EAN codes and hear the names of over 34 million products. Make your
own QR code labels on the Digit-Eyes website and print them on
inexpensive address labels. These barcoded labels may contain text
that VoiceOver reads aloud or they can be used to record audio on
your iPhone or iPad that is played back whenever the bar code is
scanned. Buy pre-printed washable labels. Sew them into your clothing
and record whatever you want to about the garment: color, fabric care
or what it should be worn with. Even when the labels have been
washed, bleached, sent through the dryer or dry-cleaned, you’ll still be
able to scan them with the Digit-Eyes app on your iPhone or iPad and
hear what you recorded about the garment. Use of the free Digit-Eyes
website comes with the product. The website contains extensive
tutorial material designed for users of the iPhone and iPad who are not
sighted. The product purchase also includes free online support and
tutoring.
Cost: $19.99
Tap Tap See: Designed to help the blind and visually impaired
identify objects they encounter in their daily lives. Double tap the
screen to take a photo of anything and hear the app speak the
identification back to you. (Note: Spoken identification requires
VoiceOver to be turned on)
Cost: Free
iRead: Magnification level adjusted via slider bar at bottom of
screen, can turn light on/off, auto focus smooth as slider bar is
adjusted. Info at top of screen takes up some screen space.
Cost: Free (no advertising)
MagniGlass: Full screen image, light on/off, use pinch & stretch
to adjust. Simple, no settings or controls to set.
Cost: $.99
Menu Reader: Provides magnification & light, nearly full screen
image, adjust via pinch/stretch, front and rear view camera
available, tip calculator. (Color contrast on tip calculator is
bright blue on black).
Cost: $.99
2
MagLightPro: Horizontal slider bar to adjust magnification (zero to
5X). Vertical slider bar to adjust light intensity. Front and rear camera
access. Can freeze image (hold “camera” symbol to open images).
Reverse video setting. Controls are translucent so there is minimal
interference with the full screen image. This app is the closest one to
having the features of a hand-held video magnifier.
Cost: $1.99
3