Hi Alex,
I don’t want my personal opinion to taint your interest in
purchasing the app. I do feel like the skunk at the picnic for being
the only person who has found the app disappointing, but after
another round of putting the app through its paces, I don’t get the
wow factor. WhereTo lets you choose from a wider selection of
business categories and gives you the same distance monitoring that
BlindSquare provides. Ariadne performs the same function you mention
regarding the bus travel example. I’m not saying the app can’t be
great for some people, but for me the excitement just isn’t there
for the money you pay compared to other orientation apps. I knew not
to expect turn-by-turn directions. I knew it was not a fully
functional navigation app like the Seeing Eye app, but I was
expecting better accuracy, better stability and, frankly, better
coverage than what BlindSquare is providing. The app is not
providing nearly the amount of information it ought to be providing
for an area I am very familiar with. Anyway, I’ll stop slamming the
thing. I know people are loyal to it, but at $24 I thought it worth
sharing my candid thoughts on the thing. Besides, if Apple refuses
my refund request, I’ll have no choice but to start liking the
blasted thing.--Joe
*From:*[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
[mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Alex Hall
*Sent:* Sunday, October 27, 2013 12:48 PM
*To:* [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: BlindSquare, A Disappointment
First, I do not have this app, but I have done a lot of research
into it and am thinking of buying it at some point.
That said, it all depends on what you want from a navigation app.
Blindsquare can’t do turn-by-turn directions, so that’s where other
mapping apps come in and it is why Blindsquare can run in the
background. What you can do, though, is monitor a POI, with the app
telling you where it is in relation to you as you move. This way, if
you know the general layout of your area but not where a specific
point is, you can find it easily enough. You can also set up
triggers to have the app alert you when you pass within a distance
you pick of a point you pick. For example, if you need to have the
bus stop at First and Main, just set a 200 meter trigger for that
spot. You can then use the app to see your current street, and when
you are on Main or First and the app alerts you that you are within
your notification distance, you can have the bus stop or remind the
driver where you need to get off.
On Oct 27, 2013, at 11:41 AM, Richard Turner
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Also, to add to Sieghard’s comments, usingBlind Squaretogether with
Google Maps gives the best combination for knowing what is around
you, what street is coming up and turn-by-turn directions for one
third of what you would pay for one year of the Seeing eye app.
Blind Square has been updated numerous times since it came out and
the next release will likely simplify the main screen and may get
closer to what you were expecting in the first place.
Very few app developers have been as responsive to user feedback. I
would strongly recommend that you contact the developer directly
with your concerns and I think you may find, with some patients,
that you will become much more fond of using it.
If not, then by all means, go for that refund.
Good luck with either choice,
Richard
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:*[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>[mailto:
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>]*On Behalf Of*Joe
*Sent:*Sunday, October 27, 2013 7:50 AM
*To:*[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:*RE: BlindSquare, A Disappointment
Hi Sieghard,
The BlindSquare app is very accessible. I don’t want to give anyone
the impression that it is not, and as far as I know, Apple gives
other reasons for why you can request a refund. It’s a long shot,
hence my pointing out my, hope, for a refund. In that regard,
Android gets a small nod from me for allowing a try before you buy
scenario, but that’s beside the point and not an attempt to stir up
a debate.
I listened to a few podcasts about the app. That’s ultimately what
motivated me to take the plunge, but I may not have heard the one
you’re specifically referring to. If you can think of the episode
title or date, I’d be much appreciative. At $24, I’d be glad to find
ways to like it, though I did spend time reading through all the
documentation.
Anyway, just my two dollar’s worth. I’m open to being convinced
otherwise, but so far the alternatives are winning out.
Joe
*From:*[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>[mailto:
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>]*On Behalf Of*Sieghard Weitzel
*Sent:*Sunday, October 27, 2013 10:36 AM
*To:*[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:*RE: BlindSquare, A Disappointment
Hi Joe,
First of all, I doubt you will be able to get a refund. Apple has
been giving refunds for inaccessible apps, but you can definitely
not argue that Blindsquare is inaccessible since it was made for
blind users.
I think Blindsquare is awesome when it comes to finding out what’s
around you. First of all it is by far the best of these apps (I am
not including the Seeing-Eye app when I say “these apps”) when it
comes to announcing upcoming intersections without having to
interact with the device. I know Ariadne has a Monitoring function
which is supposed to do this, but I somehow never found it was all
that reliable. I admit, however, that after I bought Blindsquare I
deleted Ariadne from my phone and I haven’t used it probably in at
least a year.
I also like the fact that it’s very easy to put in my own points of
interest in Blindsquare. Later I can, for example, sit in my house
and I can check out where these points are in relationship to my
house, e.g. “Start of Trail, 550 metres at 11 o’clock”. You can, of
course, do the same with other points of interest, e.g. stores,
restaurants etc.
From what you said I assume you haven’t listened to any Podcasts
about Blindsquare because then maybe you might have had a better
idea about what to expect. But I think it’s a good idea to go
towww.applevis.com <http://www.applevis.com/>, search for
Blindsquare and listen to especially the one Podcast, can’t remember
the name of the person who does it. Maybe you will find some
information or hear about uses you hadn’t thought of before.
Regards,
Sieghard
*From:*[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>[mailto:[email protected]]*On Behalf
Of*Joe
*Sent:*Sunday, October 27, 2013 7:25 AM
*To:*[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:*BlindSquare, A Disappointment
I purchased the BlindSquare app on account of I did not want to
spend a lot more for the Seeing Eye GPS app. To be fair, I’m not
entirely sure what I was expecting, except I was hoping for a little
more familiarity with my environment. As it stands, the only real
advantage is that BlindSquare can tell me, maybe what intersection
is in front of me, and that with some turning this way and that to
make sure the app is not capturing intersections further away than
what you’re looking for. Actually, it seems a little illogical that
you would need to tap into two screens to turn on a mode that ought
to be readily accessible from the main screen. By all means buy it
if you’re on the fence, but my personal recommendation is that it’s
more than a little overblown. If you use Ariadne GPS with a
combination of WhereTo or Around Me, and pair these up with Google
MAPS or Apple’s own Maps app, you’ll be more than good to go without
spending more than twenty bucks. I would venture to suggest that
even Sendero’s Look Around app could help. Me, I’m hoping I’ll be
able to get a refund. Thumbs down.--Joe
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Have a great day,
Alex (msg sent from Mac Mini)
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
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