Hello Krister. I'm with you in that I would rather go for an
off-the-shelf, or mainstream product which can address my GPS needs. At
least, as long as the program can be used by me. Right now, the
combination is Navigon and Ariadne. Some will argue that using two apps
to accomplish one thing is not acceptable, but I would disagree. After
all, many of those same people already use two or more apps to do other
same things. For example, Dropbox and Droptext. Read to Go and in daisy.
Digit-Eyes and Red Laser. Prismo and Text Grabber. How many of us out
there already use two or more apps to do the same thing? Why does the
app store have so many apps which do the same thing or similar same
things? This is what using a device like the iPhone is all about. Some
apps might have enough features that another one isn't necessary. For
example, I personally don't care to have the next street announced as I
get there. Yet I see this as a frequent request and need when people
want GPS programs on the iPhone. When I worked for GW Micro and helped
to develop the SenseNav software which is the SEndero offering on the
Voice Sense and Braille Sense, I too was asked by users to make sure the
up-coming street feature worked well. I used to personally turn it off
when using it on my own. As for developing a blind-only app, let me
remind everyone that when SEndero came out with their Lookaround app,
many people got it because it came from a Blindness software company and
didn't care that they paid $5 for it, yet many people complained at the
level of what they got for their $5 because they felt they could get the
same, or more from other apps which cost less, or which are free.
Because we are a very small market, an app which can only be used by the
blind, or which mainly the blind will purchase, will be more expensive.
This is why program updates have cost Sendero GPS users around $150 per
year. The cost goes into development and for map licensing. I believe
that one of the reasons Navigon costs the way it does is because of the
maps that you are able to download. Yet if you look at apps which use
map data in the cloud, such as Mapquest or the default Maps app, they
don't cost anything. So my guess is that if you are able to store maps
off line, the cost will be more because of the licensing. Regarding the
$49 price tag for Navigon, just imagine how much more it would be if
only blind people purchased it? The reason it's as low as it is has to
do with the many hundreds of purchases. I'll be curious and excited to
see what Sendero has to offer when they come out with their iOS solution
which is supposed to meet all of the mostly requested needs. However I
wouldn't be surprised if it costs more than $50. If I am wrong, then
I'll give myself an "I told you so" lecture.
I hope this makes some sense. I'm not trying to say blind-only apps are
bad, and I'm not trying to say that companies like Sendero can't make a
better product. I'm just saying that what's out there now, isn't bad.
Also, as has been pointed out, map sources are very few and so the map
quality you get from different programs won't be that much different.
Usually what people like, dislike, pay for, or get free, is the user
interface and the features which can be had from that interface.
Cheers!
--
Raul A. Gallegos
My body isn't a temple, it's a maximum security prison for fat.
Home Page: http://raulgallegos.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rau47
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On 5/9/2012 5:39 AM, Krister Ekstrom wrote:
Hi,
I stand corrected regarding the map updates, but i heard that a while back you
actually had to pay a huge amount for an update with new maps etc, can be
wrong though. I think though that the only solution available here in Sweden is
Trekker Breeze and how that is regarding updates, and if they occur regularly
and worldwide i don't know. However, i hold to the view that i much rather
prefer an off-the-shelf solution than having to fork out loads of money on
reinventing the wheel, but that's stupid me.
/Krister
9 maj 2012 kl. 01:37 skrev Raul A. Gallegos:
Hi, Sendero GPS uses Tele Atlas maps which btw, are the same as what Google
Maps use. So updates happen when they are available. Maybe you are thinking of
program updates, which are slightly differently. FRom what I know, Sendero has
come out with an update at least once per year, sometimes even more.
Thanks.
--
Raul A. Gallegos
Never have more children than you have car windows. - Erma Bombeck
Home Page: http://raulgallegos.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rau47
Facebook: http://facebook.com/rgallegos74
On 5/8/2012 7:25 AM, Krister Ekstrom wrote:
Hi Mark and others.
I really don't understand one thing in this whole discussion of what gps system
to use. I don't like the blind specific solutions from Sendero and others. From
what i have heard, the maps very seldom if ever get updated, which means that
how ever good the gps is at various anouncements, the maps we follow will be
obsolete, so the pois wi want simply won't be there.
Another thing is that a mainstream off-the-shelf gps app could easily be
modified so that it speaks whatever you desire it to speak. I say easily,
thereby taking a risk since i don't know anything about programming, but
remember that the blind specific gps-es sends their info to the speech
synth/screen reader rather than talks via a recorded voice, am i right? If so
there are means for an app such as Navigon to send the things we want it to
send, such as street names and such to the screen reader, in this case
VoiceOver. We have seen this done before, in games like Kings corner, chat apps
like IM plus and gps apps like Ariadne, so Navigon, Tomtom and others should be
able to do this, if someone with much, much better programming knowledge than
me could describe the solution to the developers of said apps. If they then
will listen, that's a totally different story but it could be done. Am i
totally wrong in this?
/Krister
8 maj 2012 kl. 12:40 skrev Les Kriegler:
Hi Mark,
I really enjoyed reading your most informative post. I also purchased the
Trekker Breeze at the end of last year. I did so because I wanted an more
comprehensive way of accessing walking routes. I do like street names
announced, and I have not been able to get that reliably from the commercially
available apps. If a company like Sendero comes out with an app comparable to
Mobile Geo, I'll probably obtain it, but for now, the Breeze is a really good
option and I've made good use of it. Also, even though we have GPS in our
vehicle, my wife actually prefers all of the information the Breeze provides
when we are on route.
Les
On May 7, 2012, at 7:30 PM, M. Taylor wrote:
Hello Everyone,
In 2005 I purchased my first GPS solution; it was the Trekker/Maestro Del 51
PDA from HumanWare. If memory serves, among other difficulties, the PDA did
not have an Off button. When not in use, it had to be plugged into a
charger to prevent power loss. Be that as it may, it was the most amazing
piece of technology I had experienced.
Back in those days, I was using a Motorola TimePort which was an upgrade to
the Star Trek Motorola phone. Of course, these phones had virtually no
accessibility but, still they were usable.
Sometime in 2007/2008 I switched to my first Windows Mobile phone. That was
to be the beginning of a lot of changes in my life not the least of which
was my subsequent association with Code Factory.
Enter Mobile Geo; this onboard GPS software solution put the power of true
independent GPS navigation for the blind and low vision on a cell phone.
So, I put away my then outdated Trekker/Maestro PDA.
Then, of course, came yet another game changer; the iPhone.
For whatever reason I thought that either Code Factory's Mobile Geo or
Humanware's Trekker would find its way to iOS. This, obviously, did not
happen.
As a result, since iPhone 3GS, I have purchased virtually every iOS GPS
navigation software app in hopes of bringing the power of Geo or Trekker to
a single mobile device. I shutter to think of all the money I have spent on
this endeavor (smile).
As far as off-the-shelf iOS GPS navigation solutions are concerned, I hold
that A T& T Wireless Navigator is the most accurate and easy-to-use app on
the market. Recently, they added the ability to download the maps to your
phone so you can now travel without benefit of a active satellite
connection. I believe that the monthly cost for Navigator is $9.95.
As wonderful as Navigator is, it falls short of meeting the one criteria I
demand in order to recommend it, or any GPS app for that matter, as a
solution for true independent navigation by the blind and low vision; said
criteria being the ability to have streets, cross-streets, etc automatically
announced without engaging any kind of route function or without having to
touch, shake, or otherwise interact with the hardware device, itself.
Until this past Thursday, my solution, when traveling independently, was to
fire up my old beloved Samsung Epix, running Windows 6.1, and launching Geo.
I could go on and on about how much of a pain this was given that I can
hardly remember any of the Mobile Speak commands as I just don't use my
beloved Samsung Epix anymore but I will spare you the gory details. Add to
this the fact that I also had to fire up my GPS receiver and connect a
special headset adaptor as the Epix does not have a standard headset jack,
as many of the models in that era did not.
ON Friday, I received my new Trekker Breeze from Humanware; thus, I have
come full-circle, as the saying goes.
Suffice me to say that the Breeze is every bit as marvelous as the original
Trekker and Geo were with the advantage that one does not have to become a
software geek in order to be up and running in a matter of minute. It works
right out of the box.
The Breeze is roughly the same size as the iPhone 4 S but just a little
thicker.
What an iOS world we live in; even before I powered on my Breeze for the
first time, I turned the audio CD files that are included in the package
into an audio book complete with cover art and placed it on both my 4 S and
Nanno. Then, I converted the user guide and quick start guide into iBooks
and placed them on my 4 S. This took only a few minutes. Only after
performing these iOS-centric tasks did I power on the Breeze and begin yet
another chapter in my GPS navigation life.
Mark
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