Hi,

Still, regardless, I can imagine that it'd be easier to explore the screen. if 
you frequently visit a particular webpage, you might have the table containing 
news categories on the left-hand side, and when tapping it, contents might 
appear in the center or to the right making navigation very swift.

I've always loved the exploration part of a touchscreen, and I never swipe 
anymore. This is why it'd probably be a huge benefit for me to get one because 
of the size. Exploring, particularly with the iPhone on websites is not the 
same.

Regards,
Nic
Mobile Me: [email protected]
Skype: Kvalme
MSN Messenger: [email protected]
AIM: cincinster
yahoo Messenger: cin368
Facebook Profile
My Twitter

On May 5, 2010, at 9:58 PM, Bryan Smart wrote:

> Olivia, I like the concept of the four finger swipe for navigating between 
> sections, but it seems that only a few apps support this. It works on the 
> home screen. It works in the iWork apps. It works in Safari. However, lots of 
> iPad apps build their interfaces out of just large web browser views. In 
> these views, there is no concept of sections. You just have a huge scrolling 
> page with lots of links. Sometimes, they'll use headings, and I can use the 
> rotor and up/down swipe to navigate between sections. Quite often, though, 
> they don't, and, together with the problem of swiping not continuing from 
> where I last touched, there is a massive amount of swiping required to get 
> around the screen. Lots of swiping isn't a problem on the iPhone and Touch, 
> as those are smaller screens that hold less data at once, so there isn't much 
> on any single screen to swipe through. The iPad screens are very full, though.
> 
> Bryan
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] 
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of olivia norman
> Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 5:53 AM
> To: list voiceover
> Subject: Re: Returning my iPad
> 
> It's always interesting to get another prospective.  I do have a case for my 
> iPad, so don't have to hold it up at all which helps.  Personally, I love the 
> device, but as with anything, people have differing opinions and I actually 
> found Brian's experiences interesting and valuable to read.
> I find that the four finger flick gesture really helps while moving around 
> most iPad screens, especially in applications such as mail and safari, this 
> gesture helps avoid swiping with one finger constantly.  I also find that 
> applications such as iBooks and the iWork applications are wonderful 
> additions to this device, and afford the user functionality ad productivity 
> you just don't find on the iPhone.
> In my way of thinking, these are two different kinds of devices, which 
> perform different functions and I use and think of them for completely 
> different things in my life.
> There's also the issue with the iPhone's battery life.  I can't for instance, 
> watch a movie or stream a youtube video for any length of time with out 
> experiencing significant battery drain.  On my iPad, I am able to watch 
> videos for hours, no problem.
> The case is a great, and IMO, needed, extra with the iPad for both blid and 
> sighted users.  It allows for more comfortable use of the iPad and means that 
> you don't have to hold it or risk it falling.  You can purchase it from apple 
> for about $39.99.
> I am sorry to hear the iPad didn't work for you, Brian, and your experience 
> just shows that not every piece of technology works well for every user.  
> Thank you for posting this to the list!  Have a great day! :) Olivia On May 
> 5, 2010, at 4:52 AM, Nicolai Svendsen wrote:
> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> He was saying it was uncomfortable to move around on the larger screen. If 
>> he has the case and puts it on a table, I'd imagine this would be a lot 
>> easier. At least, it sure would for me and would give me a better overview 
>> than having it in my lap, for example. Or, the frequent complaint that is 
>> often heard is that holding it up is also uncomfortable, which makes sense 
>> too.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Nic
>> Mobile Me: [email protected]
>> Skype: Kvalme
>> MSN Messenger: [email protected]
>> AIM: cincinster
>> yahoo Messenger: cin368
>> Facebook Profile
>> My Twitter
>> 
>> On May 5, 2010, at 10:49 AM, Ben Mustill-Rose wrote:
>> 
>>> What would the case solve though?
>>> 
>>> I also have the vo freezing problem on my touch; I expected it to be
>>> at least partly fixed on the ipad.
>>> 
>>> On 05/05/2010, Nicolai Svendsen <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>> 
>>>> Just one question.
>>>> 
>>>> Why not get the iPad case and put it in there? That just seems like
>>>> a logical solution to your dilemma. If you haven't sold it yet, give it 
>>>> here.
>>>> lol
>>>> 
>>>> Really, I've always thought the iPhone was mainly for a consumer.
>>>> You can write long documents on it, but it is far from comfortable
>>>> and very efficient. Well, you can write really quickly on that
>>>> device, but really, it might get tiresome after a while. We will
>>>> have Bluetooth keyboard support, though, so that is very exciting.
>>>> 
>>>> I imagine the screen to be exactly the opposite of what you are saying.
>>>> Sorry to disagree. I think the larger screen would aid me a great
>>>> deal, and the split-screen is just a nifty feature to me. I won't
>>>> get an iPad, though, and I have a lot of reasons for that. I'll try
>>>> out an iPad at the end of May when they ship internationally, but I'm not 
>>>> going to be that excited.
>>>> 
>>>> First, what can the iPad do that my iPhone cannot? iWork? Perhaps.
>>>> But right now, I don't see myself using an iPad. Technically, the
>>>> space I would take up if I hook up a bluetooth keyboard to the iPad
>>>> is probably just as much as my Macbook, if a little bit less. The
>>>> Macbook is faster, and I need the superior speed. I need to be able
>>>> to type blazingly fast, and though I could do that with the iPad
>>>> keyboard dock or bluetooth keyboards, I still don't want to carry
>>>> those accessories around with me. Of course, that doesn't mean I can't 
>>>> become very efficient with the on-screen keyboard on the device.
>>>> 
>>>> Secondly, yes, the glare from the iPad's LCD is hard on the eyes for
>>>> a few hours. Having to read on the iPad or iPhone for long periods
>>>> of time is a pain, and that is really only because it is bright. IF
>>>> it was like the Kindle where you still need a lamp to read, great.
>>>> 
>>>> Third, I just don't think the iPad is right for me. I want something
>>>> small like my iPhone that can do all these things already, and I
>>>> just can't justify buying an iPad right now. Yeah, there are
>>>> probably things the iPhone will be unable to do, but that hasn't hampered 
>>>> my productivity any.
>>>> 
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Nic
>>>> Mobile Me: [email protected]
>>>> Skype: Kvalme
>>>> MSN Messenger: [email protected]
>>>> AIM: cincinster
>>>> yahoo Messenger: cin368
>>>> Facebook Profile
>>>> My Twitter
>>>> 
>>>> On May 5, 2010, at 7:23 AM, Bryan Smart wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> OK. So, I've had my iPad Wi-Fi+3G for less than a week, and I've
>>>>> already decided not to keep it. There is so much of a euphoric glow
>>>>> on some of the lists about the wonderfulness of this device. I'm
>>>>> the type of person that is always eager to investigate new
>>>>> technologies and ways of working, and so expected that I'd agree with the 
>>>>> generally positive reception. I don't.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I have experience with the iPhone, and, other than the fact that it
>>>>> is slower to operate than a device with buttons, and that the
>>>>> battery life is terrible when compared to most mobile phones, I
>>>>> thought that it was an impressive piece of tech with an advanced approach 
>>>>> to user interaction.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I was excited about the iPad, and expected it to bring everything
>>>>> from an iPhone, only improved. First, the iPad would have a larger
>>>>> screen, so it should be possible to more easily move my finger
>>>>> directly to the position of known controls in order to speed up the
>>>>> operation. Also, the iPad would have a significantly larger battery
>>>>> than the iPhone, so I could spend hours using apps, even wireless
>>>>> apps, without having to worry about draining the power away.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The only universally great thing that I can say about the iPad is
>>>>> that the battery is spectacular. With the screen brightness set to
>>>>> low, it runs for a very long time. I've spent hours streaming
>>>>> movies via Netflix over 3G, and the battery just keeps on going.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Unfortunately, that's where it all ends. It isn't that I think that
>>>>> the tech behind the iPad is necessarily bad. If you want this
>>>>> experience, though, as a blind person, you're better off with an iPhone.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Why? Well, let's compare the iPad to the iPhone 3GS.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The iPad has a larger screen. If you're sighted, this is great for
>>>>> watching video. Watching movies on a tiny phone screen has got to
>>>>> be an eye strain. Blind people don't watch movies, and we can
>>>>> listen to them just fine on an iPad or iPhone speaker.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I thought that the larger screen would help with VoiceOver, but,
>>>>> actually, it makes things worse. When you work an iPhone, placing
>>>>> your finger at different positions on the screen only requires
>>>>> wrist movement. The iPad screen is huge when compared to the
>>>>> iPhone, and you must move your entire arm in order to navigate the
>>>>> screen. This can become tiring after hours of computing, because
>>>>> your arm can rarely rest on anything. If you don't hold your arm
>>>>> up, with your fingers angled down, you're likely to bump the screen
>>>>> with part of your wrist or forearm, causing VoiceOver's focus to
>>>>> jump to some random position on the screen. This is particularly
>>>>> frustrating because there is so much content on an iPad screen. If
>>>>> you navigate through controls by swiping, you'll be swiping and
>>>>> swiping and swiping and swiping to get to where you'd like. Of
>>>>> course, you can directly explore with your finger, but I've noticed
>>>>> that, in several places (like the App Store and Safari), tapping
>>>>> somewhere doesn't necessarily mean that swiping will continue from
>>>>> that point. In many places, I'll tap at a point on the screen, but,
>>>>> when I start swiping, VoiceOver will always start from the top of
>>>>> the screen. So, in those situations, if you accidentally touch the
>>>>> screen with some other skin while swiping, or if VoiceOver mistakenly 
>>>>> interprets a swipe as a tap, then you'll lose your place, and need to 
>>>>> start from the top of the screen.
>>>>> In the App Store in particular, I've swiped myself to frustration.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The size of the screen is also not convenient for holding the iPad
>>>>> like you would the iPhone. It must rest on your lap or a table.
>>>>> And, with me pushing and tapping on it with both hands, I've had
>>>>> some situations where it has nearly slid off of my lap. With the
>>>>> screen being made of glass, that is not a great thought to ponder.
>>>>> So, I think that the screen size is not only wasted on blind users, but 
>>>>> is also a drawback.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The on-screen keyboard is a bit nicer to use on a large screen.
>>>>> However, the touch-typing mode makes even one-handed typing on a
>>>>> small screen a breeze. Besides that, the larger screen meant that a
>>>>> lot more arm motion was required to type on an iPad. I tried the
>>>>> two-handed typing approach in landscape mode, but find that, no
>>>>> matter how well you place your hands, typing is very mistake prone.
>>>>> For anyone that finds it hard to type for extended periods of time
>>>>> on the iPhone, you can use the iPad keyboard dock with it when the next 
>>>>> iPhone OS comes out.
>>>>> 
>>>>> VoiceOver is worse on the iPad. I'll just put my flame retardant
>>>>> suit on right now for the hordes of people that will respond and
>>>>> tell me how I'm wrong, how wonderful it is, and how it must be me.
>>>>> Well, I've used an iPhone extensively, and I've used the touch
>>>>> gestures on my MacBook Pro a lot, so I think that I'm pretty
>>>>> familiar with how everything is supposed to work. On the iPad, for
>>>>> gestures to work, I must over-act them. On my MacBook or iPhone, a
>>>>> little flick of my finger is enough to indicate that I'd like to
>>>>> move to the next item. On the iPad, I must make a huge swipe,
>>>>> extending a few inches. Small flicks will work, sometimes, but
>>>>> VoiceOver is very likely to just interpret the flick as a tap, and
>>>>> jump my focus. As I've said before, given how huge the screen is, and how 
>>>>> the control order is broken in several important places, this is 
>>>>> extremely frustrating.
>>>>> Having to make huge swipes means that my whole arm is involved, and
>>>>> swiping and swiping and swiping with your whole arm will really
>>>>> make your forearm sore after a few hours. Sometimes, the screen
>>>>> won't even register that I touched or swiped. The iPhone screen seems 
>>>>> much more sensitive.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The speech glitches at high speed. At 90% or above, Samantha can't
>>>>> say "search", and other words, without chopping off the ends.
>>>>> 
>>>>> And, my largest complaint about VoiceOver on the iPad. It doesn't
>>>>> recognize, in most cases, when the screen updates. This seems to be
>>>>> most noticeable on screens that use HTML/web content. Say that you
>>>>> are in the App Store, or Safari, and you tap a link. You know that
>>>>> a new page/screen must have loaded. Sometimes you'll hear the audio
>>>>> cue indicating that the load completed, sometimes not. However,
>>>>> most always, if you start swiping, you'll realize that you're
>>>>> reviewing material from the old page. You must tap somewhere on the
>>>>> screen for VoiceOver to realize that, in fact, the screen has
>>>>> changed. This is annoying for purposes of situation and orientation.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Here is how it should work. You double-tap a control. You wait. You
>>>>> hear the completed audio cue, and VoiceOver speaks the first item
>>>>> on the screen (which now has focus). Now, you can either start
>>>>> swiping through controls, explore the screen with your finger, or
>>>>> two-finger-swipe down to start reading the screen.
>>>>> 
>>>>> This is how it works, though. You double-tap a control. You wait,
>>>>> and wait and wait. You don't get any feedback about what is
>>>>> happening, so you start exploring the screen with your finger. If
>>>>> the screen hasn't finished loading yet, then VoiceOver will either
>>>>> repeatedly click at you, or else you'll hear absolutely nothing
>>>>> (because VoiceOver is frozen up). Once the screen finishes loading,
>>>>> all of that tapping and touching that you did while VoiceOver was
>>>>> frozen will be suddenly processed, and VoiceOver will start going
>>>>> crazy with clicking and speaking fragments. Now, you aren't sure
>>>>> where you are, so you must four-finger-swipe up to get to the beginning 
>>>>> of the screen, then start exploring.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Another way that this can work out is that you double-tap a
>>>>> control, and VoiceOver will say something (supposedly the first
>>>>> control on the new screen "cancel button selected", or similar).
>>>>> When you start swiping, though, you'll hear the contents from the
>>>>> last screen. So, you first tap somewhere on the screen to force
>>>>> VoiceOver to realize that the contents have changed, then
>>>>> four-finger-swipe up to go to the beginning of the screen, then, finally, 
>>>>> start exploring.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Honestly, this is ridiculous. It is hard to believe that Apple
>>>>> couldn't catch such a problem. I guess that web support had minimal
>>>>> testing. Lots of apps use imbedded web content, though, so this
>>>>> happens in all sorts of apps from Wonder Radio to Net Flix.
>>>>> 
>>>>> As a final VoiceOver thought, I've noticed that the iPad is
>>>>> experiencing a problem that the iPhone had early on in its life.
>>>>> For those of you with an iPad, lock the screen. Now, put your ear
>>>>> up next to the speaker. Hear that hiss. Now, put your iPad down for
>>>>> 5 minutes and come back. Still hear that hiss? That is the sound of
>>>>> your iPad's audio hardware constantly running and draining your
>>>>> battery. So, while the iPad's battery life is impressive in a
>>>>> continuous run (like watching movies back to back), it sucks in a
>>>>> similar way to the iPhone where you'll go to sleep with a full
>>>>> battery, and wake up with 70% or less. There is no reason for that
>>>>> on an iPad, since the iPad isn't doing sync for Visual Voicemail
>>>>> and all of the other AT&T phone to tower chatter. That open speaker, 
>>>>> though, is probably the cause of most of the drain.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I'm further discouraged to hear that the iPad won't be receiving an
>>>>> OS update until the Fall. So, I suppose that these VoiceOver issues
>>>>> will stand for at least 4 or 5 months. There will be a new iPhone,
>>>>> and a new version of the OS for everyone else, in about a month. A
>>>>> major OS update almost certainly means an update of VoiceOver.
>>>>> 
>>>>> So, in the final analysis, the larger screen makes the iPad harder
>>>>> to work for me, and VoiceOver has more problems than on an iPhone.
>>>>> The larger battery is nice, but that isn't enough. In my mind, the
>>>>> iPhone is all the iPad that a blind user needs.
>>>>> 
>>>>> If you are thinking of returning yours, better decide fast. You
>>>>> only have
>>>>> 14 days after receiving your iPad to return it, and, even then, you
>>>>> must pay a 10% restocking fee.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The iPad is an interesting device, but I'd just rather use an
>>>>> iPhone, I think.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Bryan
>>>>> 
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