ATMac

For articles relating to the iPhone.

My husband got me an iPod Touch for Christmas last year. I have no arms but I can use the iPod touch with my foot. We had thought at first that one would be able to type on the screen using anything with a sharp tip. I noticed on the first day that this was not the case - it was happy with me using my nose, but not using the top of a pen!

iSign is a tutorial and reference program for American Sign Language (ASL) from iDev2. It was designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The program contains an animated phrase book of 800 signs.

Apple doesn’t often hold sales, but they seem to have gone out of their way to advertise a one-day sale internationally for this Friday - Black Friday in the USA. MacRumours is reporting that Apple retail stores will be able to match the prices of non-Apple retailers, which may mean big discounts for customers.

An Air Mouse is one you can hold in your hand and move around. This type of mouse moves the mouse cursor in response to the left/right and up/down movement of your hand holding the mouse. The Air Mouse application for the iPhone and iPod Touch turns your gadget into one of these types of mice.

Reading seems like a simple activity. One that is so simple that it’s probably taken for granted by most people. But if you’re somebody with severe physical limitations reading can become a chore. I’ve unexpectedly stumbled onto a device that I think is the best solution. Would you believe it’s the iPod touch?

Something as simple as tapping the screen of an iPhone or iPod Touch can be a big problem for people with physical disabilities. Here are some suggestions and alternative solutions that may help.

The iPhone and iPod touch come with very accurate accelerometers - the programs which are running can know when the device is being moved, and how much/how far/which direction it’s being moved. Game developers have taken advantage of this capability to develop some games which just rely on the device being moved or shaken!

pearPad is a two-part application that lets you use your iPhone or iPod Touch as a wireless trackpad or keyboard for your Mac. There is a program you run on the Mac - available for Tiger or Leopard - and a program from the iTunes App Store which is run on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Peter Abrams over at Bloor Research has written a good article about the accessibility - and lack thereof - of the iPhone to various groups of users. He also mentions some third-party products which might help, and his own ideas on how to make the iPhone more accessible.

Nate Sharpe is investigating possible assistive technology adaptions to improve iPod usability. Do you use assistive technology with the iPod, or would you use it if it were available?