Steve Sawczyn

  • Android, giving Pie a try

    Those of you who have followed me for quite some time know that every so often, I decide to give Android a try, to see if I can use it as my primary mobile operating system.  I confess, the geek in me loves the openness of Android, the idea that I can customize just about everything on the platform and make it my own.  Alas, my particular use case is such that I depend on my mobile device quite heavily in a professional setting and so efficiency for me matters a great deal.  In the past, my experience with Android has been that while I could accomplish most of the tasks I need to accomplish,I was unable to do so with enough efficiency to make a switch possible.  Still, I keep being drawn back to Android for many reasons, one of the main being the multitude of device and price options available.

     

    I want to stop right here for a moment and realize that everyone’s use case is different.  It’s important to recognize that there are many folks who have been using Android, with little to no complaint, for years and can’t imagine using anything else.  When it comes to Android versus iOS, I think the “better” operating system is the one that works best for each individual.  Sure, one could compare the number of accessible apps, the level of standards-based accessibility support, or any one of a number of factors, but the real measure, in my opinion, is: does it do for me what I need it to do?

     

    For this time around, I chose to go with the Essential phone because it runs the latest version of Android, Pie, doesn’t contain a bunch of apps and other stuff I don’t care about, is available at a decent price point for the specs, and probably most important, was available on Amazon PrimeNow which meant I could have the device in-hand in under an hour; yeah, I’m not the most patient person, especially when it comes to tech.  I decided that I wouldn’t immediately blog about my experience as I wanted to see first if this really would be a viable option for me.  After over a month in, I’m able to report that I’m extremely impressed with the accessibility changes that have come to Android and its apps.

     

    Initial struggles and frustrations

     

    I think it’s fair to say that whenever switching to a new operating system or hardware device, there are bound to be some initial user frustrations.  In this case, I switched both things and found that I needed to remind myself of this quite a bit especially during the first week.

     

    Initial setup wizard accessibility

    Right out of the box, I encountered some initial accessibility challenges with the Android getting started wizard whereby TalkBack, the Android screen reader, wouldn't let me activate certain options.  These issues have since been fixed, however, my phone did not come with the latest updates installed.  I needed to explore by touch until I found the correct options, disable TalkBack, touch where I thought I had found the option on the screen, re-enable TalkBack, and hope that I had done everything correctly.  Eventually, I was able to successfully get through initial setup and was then able to install the latest updates ensuring that this problem will go away if I should ever need to reset my phone in the future.

     

    Speech options

    Personal preference alert here, but I am not a huge fan of Google's text to speech which is the only option available during initial setup.  Additional voices can later be purchased from the Google Play store, Google's marketplace for apps, music, books and other things, but new users might not be aware of this.  There are actually quite a number of voices available including Eloquence and eSpeak which are likely familiar to Windows screen reader users.  Purchasing additional voices via the Play store makes perfect sense, but because this is very different than what I've gotten used to with iOS, it was an initial frustration for me.

     

    No native braille screen input,

    Lack of native braille screen input is definitely my largest frustration to date.  When this feature was first introduced to iOS, I wasn't sure if I would ever get used to it, however in time, the ability to use my screen to enter braille characters enabled me to type with incredible efficiency.  This functionality is missing from Android and I dearly miss it.  Third party options are available, but i have yet to find one that works as fluidly as the solution on iOS.  For one thing, TalkBack must be disabled in order to use any of the third party solutions and while the solutions are mainly self-voicing, this is definitely a frustrating step.  I've found one Android-based braille screen input solution that works extremely well, Soft Braille Keyboard.  Unfortunately, while Soft Braille Keyboard can still be installed, it cannot be obtained from the Google Play store.  I also have no idea if updates for Soft Braille are forthcoming which is a real shame.  Braille screen input has the potential to make a real difference in how a blind person enters text on a mobile device and I sincerely hope we see additional innovation in this area on Android.

     

    Same apps are not necessarily the same.

    One of the first things I did on Android was to search for and install the apps I've been using on iOS.  I was pleased to find that in most cases so far, the android counterparts to my iOS apps have been very accessible.  That said, the design and layout of these apps is often very different leading to some initial confusion for me.  On iOS for example, my banking app has tabs across the bottom that allow for quick navigation between sections of the app.  On Android, however, that same banking app has a hamburger-style menu that contains similar options, similar, but just different enough to make for some initial confusion, at least for me.  It's These differences are certainly to be expected, but if you're switching from iOS, they may be a source of initial frustration.

     

    Helpful resources and the awesome community

    As I've tried to get up-to-speed, there are a few resources that have proven invaluable.  First, the really awesome Eyes-Free community is full of people who have been very patient with me, and with others new to Android.  I've gotten tons of fantastic resources through this mailing list-based community and am extremely grateful to all those who have been willing to share their knowledge and tolerate my frequent questions.  Inclusive Android is another fantastic community resource with a wealth of information.  In time, I would like to create a page dedicated to Android resources that would be helpful to new users, or to developers wishing to build more accessible applications.  If you know of a resource that should be included, let me know.

     

    Conclusion

    I haven't actually sold my iOS device yet, but I'm very impressed with just how far Android has come.  While it's certainly not free of frustrations, but what operating system is?  Android has gone from an operating system that was challenging for me to use in my daily life to one that I can use almost as effectively as iOS.  And I say "almost as effectively" in part because I'm still getting up-to-speed and the natural learning curve of any new operating system is bound to cause a temporary drag on productivity.  I'm really excited with what I've seen thus far though and hope you will continue to join me as I blog about this new adventure.

     

  • The new Twitter app and VoiceOver, It's a Bit Confusing..

    I don’t use the official Twitter app as I find it extremely confusing and unintuitive, however, I generally try to give it a quick look after every update as I know it may be the first Twitter app people are likely to encounter. The latest version comes with a number of changes, not all good in terms of accessibility. To be fair, I’m still exploring the new app, but I thought I’d jot down my observations thus far in the hopes they help others get started.

    The new welcome screen.

    When you launch the new Twitter app, you are now presented with this very strange welcome overlay. I say that it's strange because if you use VoiceOver, you'll still be able to read one or two tweets behind this overlay (this likely matches what's visually happening on the screen). What you won't be able to do is activate any of the application tabs along the bottom of the app, nor will you be able to scroll through the tweets. All is not lost, however, as it's possible to dismiss this overlay; here's how I managed to get it working:
    1. Touch until you find the what's new text.
    2. Double tap then swipe either right or left.
    3. Find the new block of "what's new" text.
    4. Again double tap and swipe.
    5. Eventually, after doing this about five times, a button will appear. The button says "start Twitter,." Double tap this button.
    6. Get a drink, eat some cake, or celebrate in whatever manner you choose; you made it!
    Note: I am told that a three finger swipe left while focused on the "what's new" text will advance to the next block, however, this didn't work for me. Might be worth a try though as that'd certainly be easier than the process just described.

    Life after the welcome screen.

    Twitter is just as unintuitive as it's been for a while, however, here's what I've discovered with the new design. First, there is now a row of tabs across the bottom of the application: "Timelines," "Notifications," "Messages," and "Me." At the top of the application is a button that says "people" then a title which changes depending on which tab you're in (the title text does not match the name of the tab of course) "search" and "new tweet." Just a quick note: I still don't really understand what the "people" button does, but fortunately, if you're as confused by it as me, there's a back button that will actually, well, take you back. Below this top row is your timeline/messages/"me" info, again depending on which tab you're in.

    Notifications

    The "notifications" tab seems to show Twitter Mentions and I suspect it probably shows something else as otherwise, why not just call it the "mentions" tab? I should note that this tab also has a "people" button as described above and just as described above, I still don't really understand it.

    Messages

    The "messages" tab shows you any direct messages you've received. Double tapping on any message will show expand the thread showing any on-going discussion you might be having with that particular Twitter user. on the definitely very cool side, there's an edit box within the conversation view making it super easy to reply.

    Me

    The "Me" tab shows your own profile and activity. One thing worth noting is that if you want to change any of the application's settings, the settings option is found within this tab.

    Hey! Stop pushing me!

    I don't know if this is a product of the upgrade or if I've just not used Twitter for a while, however, the client decided that I should start receiving push notifications for every mention and direct message received. It took me forever to figure out how to shut this off, but approximately 45 obnoxious push notifications later, I eventually did. If you find yourself in this situation, here's how to fix it:
    1. Go to the "me" tab.
    2. Double tap settings.
    3. Double tap your @username, yes, this is actionable even though VoiceOver doesn't identify it as such.
    4. Double tap notifications.
    5. Uncheck the boxes for whatever notifications you don't want pushed, i.e. mentions, direct messages, etc... Note, some options appear to have two check boxes. IF you're unable to uncheck one of them, try the other.

    It ain't all bad.

    I realize I'm being pretty hard on the new Twitter here, however, there are some neat aspects I want to call out. First, if you double tap and hold on a tweet in timelines, you get a context menu, "Mail Tweet, Copy Link to Tweet, Report Tweet, and Cancel." If you triple tap a tweet in timelines, you get a similar context menu containing, "Reply, Retweet, Favorite, and Cancel." The VoiceOver hint advises that you can "triple tap for quick tweet actions," which is a very nice touch. I really do like this triple tap menu as it provides fast access to the features I use most.

    Final thoughts.

    There's still a lot about the new Twitter Client I have yet to figure out. On the plus side, there does seem to be some additional accessibility support in the form of the triple tap context menus and VoiceOver help tags. If you decide to try it, however, just be prepared to deal with the initial welcome process and an interface that to me, seems less than intuitive. Are you using the upgraded client and if so, what are your thoughts? Please comment below.

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