Decoding Mobile Technologies:

1. Decoding Mobile Technologies: Review of accessibility features of Android, iOS, and other mobile operating systems

2. Today’s Agenda • Introduction • What you’ll learn • Review of accessibility features available in today’s most popular mobile operating systems • Summary • Q&A

3. Introduction Korey Singleton, Assistive Technology Initiative Manager • Mission of ATI:…provide individuals with disabilities an accessible university environment by supporting access to all technological, architectural, and educational resources available at George Mason University through the incorporation of assistive technologies... • More information about us at http://ati.gmu.edu

4. Learning Objectives • Learn about the built-in tools/features that enable access to mobile technologies for individuals with disabilities. • Discuss the differences and similarities, in terms of accessibility, between the different mobile operating systems. • Understand and identify which mobile operating systems provide the greatest level of access to users of a specific disability type (e.g., vision loss).

5. Content Questions • In what version of the Android operating system did accessibility start to be incorporated? • Oratio for Blackberry is available for most Blackberry smartphone? • Which smartphone manufacturer markets the Symbian OS? • Which mobile OS’ are supported by Google and Apple, respectively? • iOS supports wireless (Bluetooth) refreshable braille displays?

6. Let’s Get Started Understanding the market for mobile technologies

7. Market Penetration (Business) • Smartphones now represent more than half of all handheld wireless devices used by corporate wireless users…up 22% from 2010[6]

8. Types of Devices – Business users[6] • RIM’s blackberry remains the leading smartphone OS. iPhone is the fastest growing. • Blackberry has about 69% market penetration, increasing to 81% among businesses with 1000 or more employees. • Inverse is true among smaller companies, there is increased usage of iOS and other mobile operating systems.

9. Market Penetration (Personal Use) • TNS Global reports[1]: • Evolution of mobile technology has fueled rapid consumer adoption • Smartphone penetration among individual wireless households up from 1 in 4 US households in late 2009 to 1 in 3 US households just a year later • Most notable uses in US…personal email and text messaging[3]

10. Types of Devices – Personal users[6] • RIM’s blackberry remains the leading smartphone OS among personal users as well with about 36% market share. iOS and Android are close behind with about 25% and 24% , respectively. • Android is the fastest growing mobile OS in the US among individuals 13 years and older.

11. Future Trends • Workplace considerations - According to the IDC, smartphones outsold PCs for the first time in Q4 2010. [4] • Higher Educationconsiderations • Barnes & Noble campus bookstores recorded a 3000% increase in eTextbook sales in 2010…industry projections forecast 60% of textbook titles available digitally by 2014. [2] • Students report lower costs and lighter carrying load as primary reasons for adoption of digital textbooks. [5] • General Use - Worldwide tablet sales have exploded in the past year. One of the reasons for that growth is believed to be the adoption of iPads as teaching tools in k-12.[9]

12. Mobile OS Review Android OS, iOS, and others

13. Android Accessibility

14. Important Facts about the Android OS • Fastest growing mobile OS in the US[1] • All Android versions starting with v1.6 or later have built-in support for speech output and accessibility • There are 50+ different types of phones worldwide that are running some version of the Android OS • Major problem in terms of accessibility: Android versions are not standardized across all manufacturers, platforms, etc. Depending on model of phone, one user could have v1.6, while another has v2.2 (latest release).

15. Android OS • Why is this a problem? • User experiences may differ – Carriers and device manufacturers will sometimes create customized versions of the Android OS. For example, HTC ships phones that include a custom user interface called HTC Sense. Samsung, LG, and Motorola could also change the user interfaces if they choose. • There is no guarantee that devices with customized Android operating systems include accessibility support.

16. Vision • Enabling Basic Accessibility • By default, accessibility is turned off. Users with little to no vision will likely require sighted assistance to turn on this feature. Once enabled, however, it will remember the setting. • Can be enabled through Menu/Settings/Accessibility • Voice Input/output allows for customization of speech settings

17. Vision cont.… Important Note: Certain Android phones may not have Talkback installed. When turning on Accessibility, OS will prompt user to go to Android Market, download and install the application. Check box to turn on Accessibility, then turn on the following: Talkback – enables speech output Kickback – enables vibration (haptic feedback) along with speech Soundback – enables additional sound notifications when activating a control

18. Another Option for Setting Up Accessibility • Installer guides from IDEAL Apps4Android • Installs several accessibility apps: • Eyes Free Suite (Talkback, Kickback, Soundback, Eyes Free Shell, Talking Dialer, Walky Talky, Intersection Explorer) • In addition to the Eyes Free Suite, several 3rd party apps like K9 Mail, IDEAL Magnifier, IDEAL Item ID, and IDEAL Web Reader are installed.

19. Another Option for Setting Up Accessibility cont.… • Eyes Free Shell – User interface designed to to make it easier for individuals with low vision and blindness to navigate the Android OS • Talking Dialer – accessible dialing interface • Walky Talky (walking) and Intersection Explorer (auto) – accessible GPS applications • 3rd party apps • K9 Mail – accessible email application • IDEAL Magnifier – basic magnifier using phone’s camera • IDEAL Item ID – bar code scanner • IDEAL Web Reader – accessible web browser • Important Note: User experience depends on the phone model. Individuals with vision loss will likely require sighted assistance in setting up some of the apps.

20. Hearing • Basic Features: • Notifications Panel – Alerts the user to battery status, incoming emails, SMS messages, voicemail messages, etc. • Audible, Visible, and vibrating alerts for all notifications • Hearing Aid Compatibility Mode (HAC) • Allows user to amplify in-call volume

21. Hearing cont.… Notable Features: Visual Voicemail Allows you to view all of your voicemails at once, read in order of preference Control playback Check with carrier for costs:Sprint Voicemail-to-Text transcription costs $1.99/month

22. Hearing cont.… • Notable Features: • Video Chat and/or Video messages using ‘Qik’ • Users have the ability to chat in real-time using front (certain models) or rear-facing cameras • Or, send video messages – Can be created on phone and saved to user account at www.qik.com

23. Physical & Motor • Basic Features: • Tactile Buttons (Power, volume keys, call button, other keys depends on model) • Hands-free speakerphone • Downloadable, Assignable ringtones • Auto-sync (contacts, calendar events, mail) • 3rd party apps required to sync podcasts, music, movies, etc.)

24. Physical & Motor • Notable Features: • Speech-to-text capabilities – Available as a separate app like Voice Search or Voice Dialer, also imbedded in default onscreen keyboard (i.e., Evo 4G)

25. Physical & Motor • Notable Features: • Swype Keyboard (example shown is Evo 4G) – Alternative keyboard input method where using literally drags finger across keyboard to choose characters

26. Physical & Motor • Notable Features: • Talkback, Kickback, Soundback – While these features were designed with low vision/blind users in mind, they could be especially useful for individuals with physical/motor difficulties. • For example, Talkback can read notifications, emails and messages (with 3rd party support), thus enabling a user to receive certain information without having to pick up the phone.

27. Physical & Motor • Notable Features: • Long Press – You can use a long press to open menus that are specific to the active item - think of it like opening a context menu on a PC. • Examples – • Performing a long press on a song in the Music player application in Android 2.2 will open a menu that allows you to add or remove it from a playlist. • Long press of the Home key opens the most recently used applications • Long press of the Search key opens the Voice Search app

28. Accessible Android Phones[12] • T-Mobile G2 (v2.2) • LG Ally (v2.1) • Samsung Epic 4G (v2.1) • Motorola Droid (v2.2) • HTC Dream (v1.6) • Not so accessible Android Phone – HTC Evo 4G • Demo – Android OS Accessibility features previously discussed • Demo – HTC Evo 4G vs. Samsung Epic 4G (specific focus on navigation using speech)

29. Review Questions • In what version of the Android operating system did accessibility start to be incorporated? • Which mobile OS’ are supported by Google and Apple, respectively?

30. Any questions about the Android OS?

31. iOS Accessibility (i.e., iPod, iPhone, iPad)

32. Important Facts about the iOS • Arguably, the most exciting mobile OS in the world!! • Versions are same across all platforms (i.e., iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad). • What does this mean? • More uniformity in terms of accessibility • No learning curve - If you know how to use one device, it is easy to use another • User experiences are the same! • Apps that come with OS (i.e. mail, messaging, calendar, contacts, notes, calculator, internet, app store, maps) are accessible

33. Vision • VoiceOver – Same gesture-based screen reader that is available on Mac OS • Available on the iPad, iPhone 3GS/4G, and iPod Touch • Support for up to 21 different languages • Very important feature: Can be enabled without sighted assistance using a compatible screen reader and latest version of iTunes

34. Vision cont.… • VoiceOverreadingfeatures: • Voice rate adjustment • Rotor adjustment – Text navigation by character/word • Speak auto-text • Full support for all built-in applications (i.e., Phone, Mail, iTunes, Safari, Maps)

35. Vision cont.… • Zoom/Contrast Settings: • Very important feature: Can be enabled without sighted assistance using a compatible screen reader and latest version of iTunes • Allows full-screen magnification • Double tap with 3 fingers instantly zooms in and out 200%. Double tap and drag 3 fingers to adjust magnification between 100% and 500% • Reverse video can be used with both Zoom and VoiceOver

36. Vision cont.… • Other notablefeatures: • Tactile buttons • Audible, visible, and vibrating alerts • Support for Bluetooth compatible refreshable braille displays. Braille displays with input keys can be used to control iOS

37. Hearing • Support for playback of captions (open, closed, subtitles) • Instant messaging/chat • Apps available in App Store (e.g., AIM, Yahoo. MSN, Google Talk) • Multimedia Message Service (MMS) – supports text messages with multimedia attachments • TTY Support – requires iPhone TTY adapter

38. Hearing cont.… • Audible, Visible, and vibrating alerts • Visual Voicemail • Allows you to view all of your voicemails at once, read in order of preference • Control playback • Mono Audio – route both audio channels into each earbud so that you can hear both channels in each ear (very useful for individuals with hearing loss in one ear)

39. Hearing cont.… • Notable Features: • Video Chat using Facetime • Users have the ability to chat in real-time using front-facing cameras on the Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch • Free for iPhone and iPod touch users, $0.99 in Mac App Store for Mac users

40. Physical & Motor • Stereo headset – control music playback, answer/end calls • On-screen keyboard with predictive text entry – learns as you type, allow user to increase text input speed over time

41. Physical & Motor cont.… • Voice Control • Supports 21 different languages • Allows user to play music and make phone calls

42. Physical & Motor cont.… • Tactile Buttons • Hands-free speakerphone • Downloadable, Assignable ringtones • Auto-sync (music, movies, podcasts, contacts, calendar events, etc.)

43. Physical & Motor cont.… • Demo – iPod Touch and iPad 16GB WiFi

44. Review Questions • Which mobile OS’ are supported by Google and Apple, respectively? • iOS supports wireless (Bluetooth) refreshable braille displays?

45. Any questions about iOS?

46. Other Mobile Operating Systems, Resources, Etc.

47. GARI Project • Stands for ‘Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative’ • http://www.mobileaccessibility.info • GARI Project is a way for manufacturers of mobile devices to provide consumers with disabilities and other limitations with a universal accessibility features database that can be used when learning about what a particular mobile device offers in terms of accessibility.

48. Nokia/Symbian OS Symbian is the mobile OS for all Nokia handsets. As Nokia is the leader in smartphone market share (~36%) worldwide[8] and it is popular everywhere…except in the US.

49. Nokia/Symbian OS cont.… • Nokia emphasizes accessibility! • http://www.nokiaaccessibility.com • Member of the Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative (GARI) Project – http://www.mobileaccessibility.info

50. Nokia/Symbian OS cont.… Vision • 3rd party Text-to-speech available using Nuance Talks & Zooms or Mobile Speak ($89) • Mobile Speak demo