Apple’s revolutionary iPhones help blind navigate a sightless world

“When visually impaired people gush over iPhones, they swear they aren’t just following the sighted onto the Apple bandwagon. The device isn’t simply the trendy choice for them. It’s pretty much the only choice,” Ben Wolford reports for The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Out of the package, there’s nothing you need to see and no setup necessary. Just turn it on. There are GPS apps to help navigate, count currency and detect color. Meanwhile, the iPhone is competing with Braille, and nonprofit workers in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere are offering classes on how to use it.”

“‘I’m not an Apple fanboy,’ said Eric Barrette, the technology specialist at the Lighthouse of Broward. Barrette, who is legally blind, teaches clients how to navigate all manner of technology,” Wolford reports. “Fanboy or not, Barrette is clear: ‘The iPhone is accessible pretty much out of the box, whereas the Android’ — the other big player in smartphone products — ‘requires a lot of setup from a person who can see,’ he said.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Same as with Macs vs. the Mac wannabes. Apple’s products have always been more accessible. It’s because Apple cares about more than just profits.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]

Related articles:
Forbes hack blows it, wrongly says blind people ignored by Apple [UPDATE: Forbes retracts] – July 8, 2010
Totally blind person reviews Apple iPad: 100% accessible straight out of the box; thanks, Apple! – April 15, 2010
PCWorld reviews Apple’s Numbers for iPad: Quite capable, greatly enhances iPad’s business potential – April 14, 2010
T3 reviews iPad: Apple has just redefined computing, making it accessible for everyone – April 13, 2010
FOX News reviews Apple iPad: Last week I didn’t pick up my laptop once – and I didn’t miss it – April 10, 2010
Ars Technica reviews Apple iPad: It isn’t a big iPod touch, an iPod touch is a miniature iPad – April 08, 2010
Houston Chronicle’s LeVitus reviews iPad: An entirely new category of mobile device – April 01, 2010
TheRoot.com’s Wasow reviews iPad: Steve Jobs is right again; it is the computer for the rest of us – April 01, 2010
PC Magazine reviews Apple iPad: Gorgeous, slim, a winner; Editors’ Choice – April 01, 2010
Boing Boing reviews Apple iPad: A touch of genius – April 01, 2010
Ihnatko reviews Apple iPad: Pure innovation; one of best computers ever – April 01, 2010
Baig reviews Apple iPad: Fun, stunning and blazingly fast, it’s a winner – April 01, 2010
Pogue reviews iPad: Designed & built by perfectionists; If you like the concept, you’ll love iPad – April 01, 2010
Mossberg reviews Apple iPad: Has the potential to profoundly change portable computing – April 01, 2010

4 Comments

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.