Thanks, Raul. Can you expand a bit on how you use the 2 GPS in combination? Do you use both on one route, or sometimes one and sometimes another? I'd be curious how you use both simultaneously, or even how you decide when to use one or the other.
Also, Waze is new to me; haven't heard that one before. Can you describe it a bit? It sounds like it's a substitute for Navigon at times. Thanks in advance. Keith -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Raul A. Gallegos Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 5:24 AM To: [email protected] Subject: My feelings about a total GPS solution for the blind - Was Re: Navigon on sale today only Hello Grant, and anyone else interested, my apologies for not responding sooner. The message slipped through the cracks and I just now found it again. The short answer to your question is yes. Meaning that for me, what I have works superbly and I don't feel like I'm lacking in what I have. Now, the long answer. I think it highly depends on what the user is expecting from an accessible GPS solution. I know the Sendero products well, and in fact, helped to develop the initial Sendero GPS user interface for the Braille Sense from HIMS when they started using Sendero. For me personally, using a combination of Navigon and Ariadne, or Waze and Ariadne, is enough. In the case of Ariadne, I get to know what street I'm on, the addresses I'm walking or driving by, the zip code, the direction I'm moving in, and the intersection when I get to it. Of course with an app like Navigon I have my turn by turn direction list. I can also of course use any other app of choice for this if I want. Mapquest, MotionX Drive, ETC. Even when I was working with Sendero to get the Braille Sense user interface and featureset working right, I didn't use all the features available unless I was testing them to make sure they work. For example, I don't need to always know if the intersection I'm coming up to is a t intersection, or if it dead ends. I don't need constant announcement of how close I am getting to the upcoming intersection. I don't always need the street name announced as I'm crossing it. All these are good features to have, but as I said at the beginning of this post, it depends on what the user wants. I feel that if the user wants the exact level of access and features found in the sendero products, and if the user wants this all available from one app so they don't have to switch, then they will be unsatisfied with what the iPhone currently offers. However if the user doesn't need all the extra features, and is ok with using at least 2 apps to get this level, then the current solutions I think are very nice. In fact, they are far more than what we used to have. Let's also consider the history. How long has Sendero been making GPS products, compared to how long have the blind had access to the iPhone. I personally feel that when Sendero comes out with their iPhone app, it will be a very nice thing and should offer people who need those extra features and maybe even more than what I've mentioned, to have a solution which will work for them. plus they will have the bonus of it all from one app, so there should be no switching. In the mean time, I can do what I need to do with what I have and I don't feel it is lacking for me. The other thing I want to mention, and I hate to, but I have to, is that there are some people who depend on GPS technology too much. I'm not knocking what's out there, because I think it's a great thing. However, let's all remember that when using any sort of GPS, always depend on your own orientation and mobility skills first. This is why I don't need to know if the intersection goes through or dead ends. However this might open up a debate and a can of GPS worms, and so I'll leave it at that. Hope this helped to answer your question. -- Raul A. Gallegos Too much of a good thing can be wonderful. - Mae West Home Page: http://raulgallegos.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/rau47 Facebook: http://facebook.com/rau47 On 11/23/2012 11:47 PM, Grant Hardy wrote: > Hi Raul, I want to thank you for this objective comparison; it was > very much appreciated. > > Would you say that between Navigon and Ariadne GPS, you could get > functionality roughly equivalent to that offered on blindness-specific > products such as the Breeze or Sendero GPS for the BrailleNote? I've > always felt that the iPhone could rival any other GPS products if only > I had the right app. But I wouldn't say that Ariadne on its own, in > combination with either the old or the new Apple maps, really does it > for me. > > Grant -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en.
