Contributed by John J. Herzog
I am a Samsung epic user. My phone has the Touchwiz UI, and in my opinion, it's pretty accessible with Android 2.1, the only noticeable exception being the call log. This is not the case for the Epic running Android 2.2, which has a number of accessibility issues and which I discuss in another post. Here I describe how to work with the call log in Touchwiz devices running Android 2.1.
In the epic running 2.1, the initial screen of the call log does not speak with either Talkback or Spiel. As you navigate up and down the list of calls, you hear a click each time you move the arrow keys, but nothing is spoken. This is not a show stopper, though, because you can press enter on the keypad to get a list of details that you can navigate through accessibly.
So if I go into the call log and hit the down arrow a couple of times, I don't hear anything. But when I hit enter on a random spot, I find out that I called my dad. Talkback speaks his number, and the phone shows me a list of all the times I have previously called him.
At the top of this Details screen is a set of buttons, which the phone also reads correctly. They are Call, Add to Contacts, Delete, and so on, and I can use the left and right arrows to move from one button to the other.
Below the buttons is the first entry/call--the most recent. The line below that is the call I made several days ago, etc., all the way down the screen from newest at the top to oldest at the bottom.
To get back to the main screen of the Call Log, I press the back button. Once there, I can continue scrolling down the list to other calls, pressing enter every time I want to know whom I called or who called me. I know this is not the most convenient way of doing things, but every other screen on the Epic with 2.1 works better than this one.
You can use the Details screen to delete one or more calls from the same person. Deleting all but the most recent call makes navigating your call log easier. If you don't delete things, you may find yourself returning to the same list of calls over and over as you arrow through the main Call Log screen and press enter on another call to or from the same person. So to save yourself aggravation, review all the times you called a certain number, and delete all calls or any repetitions in one fell swoop.
To delete call entries, open the Details screen, where the calls for a specific person are listed. from here, press Menu. Right-arrow to the Delete button, and press enter. Focus moves to a list of check boxes. Select all the calls you want to delete by arrowing to each check box and pressing enter. At the bottom of the list is a delete button. Press enter on it to get rid of the entries you selected.
Note that, for some strange reason, the select all check box is spoken by Talkback, but it is not clickable. It would be great to just click that and arrow to delete, but that does not appear to be possible.
The information in this post covers working with the call log of the Samsung Epic, a phone running the Touchwiz UI with Android 2.1. This is the only aspect of the phone that is negatively affected by the UI; however, before considering a Touchwiz phone, please read my post on the Epic with Android 2.2.
dimanche 20 février 2011
How do I add and edit contacts in Motoblur on my Motorola phone?
Contributed by Chris Gilland
cgilland1@carolina.rr.com
If you are a Motoblur user, one of the things you notice is that the Contacts manager isn't as accessible for you as it is for vanilla android users. Where accessibility is especially broken is in the new contact screen. This post gives you information about how to add or edit a contact in Motoblur as well as how to do some basic contact management.
I don't know how much variation there is in Motoblur, so I don't know how much your mileage will vary. But we tested this information on two Moto blur phones, one running Android 2.1 and another running 2.2, and we found that Both brought up the same screens and responded in the same way. The only differences were minor changes of terminology (e.g., the "add new contact" option in 2.1 is simply called "new" in 2.2, and the given/family name fields of 2.1 are the first/last name fields of 2.2).
Getting Familiar with the Contacts Manager in Motoblur
When you open the contacts manager on a phone running Moto Blur, you land in a list of all your contacts. Here, you can hit the selector to filter your contacts by Groups, Favorites, or All Contacts. By default, you're set to All Contacts.
If you down-arrow you highlight each contact individually as you go, so think of this screen as a vertical list like Settings or any other group of options.
Managing Contacts in Motoblur
To find someone, You don't have to just down-arrow contact by contact. If you start typing part of the first or last name, the phone finds the contact, if no results are found, you get an option that says, "New contact using," followed by whatever you typed. So this makes it really easy to jump to a contact quickly.
To read a contact's details, Arrow to or search for the person and press the selector. That opens up the details for that contact. This is information like Home Phone, Mobile Phone, Work Phone, Other Phone, Email, Street Address, and IM Address. So if you've added a home number and want to find it, down-arrow here to read items like, "Home: 555-1212.
To contact the person, you can move to an item in the Details screen and press the selector. For example, Short-pressing the selector on the phone number calls the person, or long-pressing on the phone number brings up options you can arrow through like Call Contact and Send Text Message.
To make changes in Contacts, start by viewing a contact's details as described in the previous paragraphs; then press the Menu key on the bottom left of the screen to bring up things like Edit and Delete. Edit let's you make changes to a contact's details and works like the screen for a new contact. Delete removes the contact.
To completely delete a contact, you don't have to go into the contact detail's page. There's a shorter way. Out on the main contacts screen, highlight the contact, and long-press The selector. That gets you a somewhat lengthy context menu. Down-arrowing through that list of options gets you to Delete.
Whatever way you delete a contact, you get to exactly the same confirmation screen. You're asked to confirm your decision. At this point you have two buttons. Yes is on the left, and no is on the right. Arrow left or right to the button of your choice, just like you would for any other screen, then hit the selector. Whichever you do, you are then taken back to your contact list.
Adding a Contact in Motoblur: Explained
Some of the instructions in this section seem counterintuitive, but they work, so put on your seatbelt: it's going to be a rough ride.
As I said before, when you open the contacts manager, you land in a list of all your contacts. You can down-arrow through the list of contacts or press the Menu button to access other options.
A word of warning, If you down-arrow to a contact after opening the app, your menu on the bottom left of the screen gets disabled, So don't down-arrow after opening the app. Just go straight to the menu. If it's too late and you already started arrowing, then hit the Back key or touch the bottom right of the screen like you'd do normally to return to a previous screen. In this context, pressing the Back button unselects everything.
So when you're on the main contacts page, before you highlight anything, touch the menu button at the bottom left of the screen. The first option on the top row of your menu here is new contact. Press the selector there.
When you do that, the first thing that happens is that you land in a text box where you can now write the contact's given name. Type the contact's first name, for example, John.
Now, hit your down-arrow one time. That puts you in an edit box. Visually, this is located directly below the given name box. This is for the family name. Type Doe, and by the way, if you need to put Sr. or JR. here, that's fine, do it.
Here is where the road starts getting rocky. So follow along carefully.
After you type the last letter of the last name, down-arrow one time. Now, be aware, Talkback doesn't say anything, Nada, Absolutely nothing. That's okay. What just happened is that you've landed on a green plus sign, which is an Add icon. It's not labeled. That's why Talkback isn't saying anything.
But go ahead and hit the selector. When you do, a box that wasn't on the screen suddenly appears. That's where you can type the phone number. You're not in the box itself yet. you're on a drop down button that says, "Home, dropdown button."
Push the selector on this button, and a context menu comes up. here, you can simply up and down-arrow through labels like Home, Mobile, and Work.
Arrow up or down to go to the label you need, and hit the selector. If you don't like any of the labels in the list, you can make up your own.
To make up your own label, down-arrow to Custom, which is an edit box. Type Skype. Down-arrow to OK, and hit the selector. Boom, we made a custom Skype label.
Now, whether you picked a label or made one up, you're back again at the Label dropdown button, Only instead of Home, you hear whatever label you picked for that number.
the box for the phone number is next to this Label button. Right-arrow one time to get into it; then type the phone number associated with that label for your contact. Type 5555555555 for the area code and phone number, no hyphens needed. You also don't need to press the alt twice before typing. The phone knows it's a number edit field and expects to type numbers.
When you finish adding contact details, press alt+down-arrow to get to the bottom of the screen, where you find two buttons. On the left is Save, and on the right is Discard. arrow to Save and press the selector.
Adding Another Phone Number/Email for a Contact in Motoblur: Explained
Now, if you want to create a contact with two or more phone numbers, the ride gets all-terrain in a big way. You have to follow me exactly for this to work.
Do what I discussed in the previous section only don't save the contact yet, so you're on the New Contact screen, and you have a first and last name and a phone number for this person.
It helps if I explain what the screen looks like at this point. If you were to down-arrow, you'd get another icon which Talkback doesn't read. This is to add a field for an email address. It works on the same principle. You press the selector to open a dropdown box for your email label; then after finding the one you want and selecting it, you right-arrow to get to where you type the actual email address.
However, we're not going to do that quite yet. You just typed the last digit of the first phone number, and you want to add a second phone number. To the right of this phone number field, you have two buttons: The first is a green plus sign for adding another number, and the second is a red minus sign for clearing the phone number edit field. It works this way on all the other fields on this screen, so keep that in mind as you read this post.
Because accessibility is broken, you can't just arrow once to the right to get to that green plus sign, after you type the last digit of the first phone number. You're going to have to do something different. It's tricky but not that tricky. The important thing is to ignore Talkback as you do the next part to keep from getting thrown.
after typing the last digit of the phone number 5555555555, up-arrow one time. this lands you to the right of the letter e in Doe. In other words, you're right after the last character in the family name/last name field.
Then right-arrow once. This puts you on a button where if you hit the selector, you get more fields like middle name, phonetic name, etc. don't hit enter on that.
Instead, down-arrow once. I know, you're thinking that'll land you in the phone number box. No, it won't. It puts you on an unlabeled image button.
Hit the selector. Boom! You did it! Now you're on the dropdown label for your next phone number. Set it, move to your right, and type the next number.
Need a 3rd number? okay, cool. up-arrow to the family name box, then right-arrow, then down-arrow, then hit the selector.
It's important to understand that the first phone number you enter is at the bottom. In other words, every field you add, regardless of the detail type, gets pushed down and the new one goes on top. So if the first number I added is a home number and the second is a mobile, the mobile number shows up above the home phone.
When you finish adding phone numbers, down-arrow to move to another icon that Talkback doesn't read. This is to add a field for an email address. It works on the same principle: press the selector to open a dropdown box for your email label; after finding the one you want and selecting it, right-arrow to get to where you type the actual email address; finally, if you want to type additional addresses, up-arrow, right-arrow, and down-arrow, pressing the selector on the unlabeled image button with the green plus sign to bring up a new Label option, and so on.
In other words, to get to the plus symbol that adds another of the same contact detail for any given item, like phone, email, etc. you have to up-arrow to the previous field, then right-arrow once from the previous field, then down-arrow. Last, you hit the selector to open the Label dropdown list.
I know it's totally cock-eyed, but That method works.
Finally, when you finish adding contact details, press alt+down-arrow to get to the bottom of the screen, where you find Save (on the left) and Discard (on the right). arrow to Save and press the selector.
Adding a Contact in Motoblur: Step by Step
Let's repeat what we did to add a new contact only this time I'm giving you a step-by-step description of the process.
1. Open contacts, and press menu at bottom left of screen.
2. Arrow to and press the selector on new contact.
3. In the given name field, type John, and down-arrow once.
4. In Family name, type Doe, and down-arrow once.
5. There is absolutely no spoken feedback where you land. Press the selector anyway to get to the Label button, and press it again to open the dropdown list of labels.
6. Down-arrow to the label you want and hit the selector to choose it.
7. Right-arrow once to an edit box, and type the number with area code, 5555555555 (no hyphens).
8. Down-arrow once from the phone number to add an email address.
9. There is absolutely no spoken feedback where you land. Press the selector anyway to get to the Label button, and press it again to open the dropdown list of labels.
10. Down-arrow to the label you want and hit the selector to choose it.
11. Right-arrow once to an edit box, and type the email address, john.doe@gmail.com.
12. Save your changes by pressing alt+down-arrow to get to the bottom of the screen. Arrow to Save and press the selector.
Adding Another Phone Number/Email for a Contact in Motoblur: Step-by-Step
Let's repeat what we did to add a second or third contact only this time I'm giving you a step-by-step description of the process. We'll add some hone numbers first, then some email addresses.
1. Follow steps 1-7 of the previous section to start a new contact and to type in his or her name and phone number.
2. After the last digit of the number, add another phone number by up-arrowing to the family/last name, right-arrowing once, then immediately down-arrowing once, and pressing the selector, not enter, on an unlabeled image button.
3. You're now on the Label button. Press the selector to go in, arrow to the phone label for the next number, and hit the selector again to pick it.
4. Right-arrow to the Phone edit box, and type the number.
5. Repeat Steps 2-4 for each additional phone number.
6. After finishing Step 4, add the first email address by down-arrowing once to a silent item, hitting the selector twice to bring up and open the Label dropdown list for email, navigating to the label you want, choosing it with the selector, right-arrowing to the Email edit field, and typing the first address (Steps 8-11 of the previous section).
7. Add a second email address by doing the following:
a. Up-arrow once to the edit field of the last phone number you find. If it's not the last one you typed, don't panic. Remember that, when you're adding fields to a contact detail, the new field is going to pop up above, not below, the last one.
b. Right-arrow, then down-arrow, once. This is just like adding more phone numbers.
c. Hit the selector, NOT Enter, on an unlabeled image button, and boom, now you're on the Label dropdown for the 2nd email address. Arrow to your label, and press the selector on it.
d. Right-arrow once, and type the second email address.
8. Save your changes by pressing alt+down-arrow to get to the bottom of the screen. Arrow to Save and press the selector.
Mission accomplished. The process isn't as convoluted as it sounds.
cgilland1@carolina.rr.com
If you are a Motoblur user, one of the things you notice is that the Contacts manager isn't as accessible for you as it is for vanilla android users. Where accessibility is especially broken is in the new contact screen. This post gives you information about how to add or edit a contact in Motoblur as well as how to do some basic contact management.
I don't know how much variation there is in Motoblur, so I don't know how much your mileage will vary. But we tested this information on two Moto blur phones, one running Android 2.1 and another running 2.2, and we found that Both brought up the same screens and responded in the same way. The only differences were minor changes of terminology (e.g., the "add new contact" option in 2.1 is simply called "new" in 2.2, and the given/family name fields of 2.1 are the first/last name fields of 2.2).
Getting Familiar with the Contacts Manager in Motoblur
When you open the contacts manager on a phone running Moto Blur, you land in a list of all your contacts. Here, you can hit the selector to filter your contacts by Groups, Favorites, or All Contacts. By default, you're set to All Contacts.If you down-arrow you highlight each contact individually as you go, so think of this screen as a vertical list like Settings or any other group of options.
Managing Contacts in Motoblur
To find someone, You don't have to just down-arrow contact by contact. If you start typing part of the first or last name, the phone finds the contact, if no results are found, you get an option that says, "New contact using," followed by whatever you typed. So this makes it really easy to jump to a contact quickly.To read a contact's details, Arrow to or search for the person and press the selector. That opens up the details for that contact. This is information like Home Phone, Mobile Phone, Work Phone, Other Phone, Email, Street Address, and IM Address. So if you've added a home number and want to find it, down-arrow here to read items like, "Home: 555-1212.
To contact the person, you can move to an item in the Details screen and press the selector. For example, Short-pressing the selector on the phone number calls the person, or long-pressing on the phone number brings up options you can arrow through like Call Contact and Send Text Message.
To make changes in Contacts, start by viewing a contact's details as described in the previous paragraphs; then press the Menu key on the bottom left of the screen to bring up things like Edit and Delete. Edit let's you make changes to a contact's details and works like the screen for a new contact. Delete removes the contact.
To completely delete a contact, you don't have to go into the contact detail's page. There's a shorter way. Out on the main contacts screen, highlight the contact, and long-press The selector. That gets you a somewhat lengthy context menu. Down-arrowing through that list of options gets you to Delete.
Whatever way you delete a contact, you get to exactly the same confirmation screen. You're asked to confirm your decision. At this point you have two buttons. Yes is on the left, and no is on the right. Arrow left or right to the button of your choice, just like you would for any other screen, then hit the selector. Whichever you do, you are then taken back to your contact list.
Adding a Contact in Motoblur: Explained
Some of the instructions in this section seem counterintuitive, but they work, so put on your seatbelt: it's going to be a rough ride.As I said before, when you open the contacts manager, you land in a list of all your contacts. You can down-arrow through the list of contacts or press the Menu button to access other options.
A word of warning, If you down-arrow to a contact after opening the app, your menu on the bottom left of the screen gets disabled, So don't down-arrow after opening the app. Just go straight to the menu. If it's too late and you already started arrowing, then hit the Back key or touch the bottom right of the screen like you'd do normally to return to a previous screen. In this context, pressing the Back button unselects everything.
So when you're on the main contacts page, before you highlight anything, touch the menu button at the bottom left of the screen. The first option on the top row of your menu here is new contact. Press the selector there.
When you do that, the first thing that happens is that you land in a text box where you can now write the contact's given name. Type the contact's first name, for example, John.
Now, hit your down-arrow one time. That puts you in an edit box. Visually, this is located directly below the given name box. This is for the family name. Type Doe, and by the way, if you need to put Sr. or JR. here, that's fine, do it.
Here is where the road starts getting rocky. So follow along carefully.
After you type the last letter of the last name, down-arrow one time. Now, be aware, Talkback doesn't say anything, Nada, Absolutely nothing. That's okay. What just happened is that you've landed on a green plus sign, which is an Add icon. It's not labeled. That's why Talkback isn't saying anything.
But go ahead and hit the selector. When you do, a box that wasn't on the screen suddenly appears. That's where you can type the phone number. You're not in the box itself yet. you're on a drop down button that says, "Home, dropdown button."
Push the selector on this button, and a context menu comes up. here, you can simply up and down-arrow through labels like Home, Mobile, and Work.
Arrow up or down to go to the label you need, and hit the selector. If you don't like any of the labels in the list, you can make up your own.
To make up your own label, down-arrow to Custom, which is an edit box. Type Skype. Down-arrow to OK, and hit the selector. Boom, we made a custom Skype label.
Now, whether you picked a label or made one up, you're back again at the Label dropdown button, Only instead of Home, you hear whatever label you picked for that number.
the box for the phone number is next to this Label button. Right-arrow one time to get into it; then type the phone number associated with that label for your contact. Type 5555555555 for the area code and phone number, no hyphens needed. You also don't need to press the alt twice before typing. The phone knows it's a number edit field and expects to type numbers.
When you finish adding contact details, press alt+down-arrow to get to the bottom of the screen, where you find two buttons. On the left is Save, and on the right is Discard. arrow to Save and press the selector.
Adding Another Phone Number/Email for a Contact in Motoblur: Explained
Now, if you want to create a contact with two or more phone numbers, the ride gets all-terrain in a big way. You have to follow me exactly for this to work. Do what I discussed in the previous section only don't save the contact yet, so you're on the New Contact screen, and you have a first and last name and a phone number for this person.
It helps if I explain what the screen looks like at this point. If you were to down-arrow, you'd get another icon which Talkback doesn't read. This is to add a field for an email address. It works on the same principle. You press the selector to open a dropdown box for your email label; then after finding the one you want and selecting it, you right-arrow to get to where you type the actual email address.
However, we're not going to do that quite yet. You just typed the last digit of the first phone number, and you want to add a second phone number. To the right of this phone number field, you have two buttons: The first is a green plus sign for adding another number, and the second is a red minus sign for clearing the phone number edit field. It works this way on all the other fields on this screen, so keep that in mind as you read this post.
Because accessibility is broken, you can't just arrow once to the right to get to that green plus sign, after you type the last digit of the first phone number. You're going to have to do something different. It's tricky but not that tricky. The important thing is to ignore Talkback as you do the next part to keep from getting thrown.
after typing the last digit of the phone number 5555555555, up-arrow one time. this lands you to the right of the letter e in Doe. In other words, you're right after the last character in the family name/last name field.
Then right-arrow once. This puts you on a button where if you hit the selector, you get more fields like middle name, phonetic name, etc. don't hit enter on that.
Instead, down-arrow once. I know, you're thinking that'll land you in the phone number box. No, it won't. It puts you on an unlabeled image button.
Hit the selector. Boom! You did it! Now you're on the dropdown label for your next phone number. Set it, move to your right, and type the next number.
Need a 3rd number? okay, cool. up-arrow to the family name box, then right-arrow, then down-arrow, then hit the selector.
It's important to understand that the first phone number you enter is at the bottom. In other words, every field you add, regardless of the detail type, gets pushed down and the new one goes on top. So if the first number I added is a home number and the second is a mobile, the mobile number shows up above the home phone.
When you finish adding phone numbers, down-arrow to move to another icon that Talkback doesn't read. This is to add a field for an email address. It works on the same principle: press the selector to open a dropdown box for your email label; after finding the one you want and selecting it, right-arrow to get to where you type the actual email address; finally, if you want to type additional addresses, up-arrow, right-arrow, and down-arrow, pressing the selector on the unlabeled image button with the green plus sign to bring up a new Label option, and so on.
In other words, to get to the plus symbol that adds another of the same contact detail for any given item, like phone, email, etc. you have to up-arrow to the previous field, then right-arrow once from the previous field, then down-arrow. Last, you hit the selector to open the Label dropdown list.
I know it's totally cock-eyed, but That method works.
Finally, when you finish adding contact details, press alt+down-arrow to get to the bottom of the screen, where you find Save (on the left) and Discard (on the right). arrow to Save and press the selector.
Adding a Contact in Motoblur: Step by Step
Let's repeat what we did to add a new contact only this time I'm giving you a step-by-step description of the process.1. Open contacts, and press menu at bottom left of screen.
2. Arrow to and press the selector on new contact.
3. In the given name field, type John, and down-arrow once.
4. In Family name, type Doe, and down-arrow once.
5. There is absolutely no spoken feedback where you land. Press the selector anyway to get to the Label button, and press it again to open the dropdown list of labels.
6. Down-arrow to the label you want and hit the selector to choose it.
7. Right-arrow once to an edit box, and type the number with area code, 5555555555 (no hyphens).
8. Down-arrow once from the phone number to add an email address.
9. There is absolutely no spoken feedback where you land. Press the selector anyway to get to the Label button, and press it again to open the dropdown list of labels.
10. Down-arrow to the label you want and hit the selector to choose it.
11. Right-arrow once to an edit box, and type the email address, john.doe@gmail.com.
12. Save your changes by pressing alt+down-arrow to get to the bottom of the screen. Arrow to Save and press the selector.
Adding Another Phone Number/Email for a Contact in Motoblur: Step-by-Step
Let's repeat what we did to add a second or third contact only this time I'm giving you a step-by-step description of the process. We'll add some hone numbers first, then some email addresses.1. Follow steps 1-7 of the previous section to start a new contact and to type in his or her name and phone number.
2. After the last digit of the number, add another phone number by up-arrowing to the family/last name, right-arrowing once, then immediately down-arrowing once, and pressing the selector, not enter, on an unlabeled image button.
3. You're now on the Label button. Press the selector to go in, arrow to the phone label for the next number, and hit the selector again to pick it.
4. Right-arrow to the Phone edit box, and type the number.
5. Repeat Steps 2-4 for each additional phone number.
6. After finishing Step 4, add the first email address by down-arrowing once to a silent item, hitting the selector twice to bring up and open the Label dropdown list for email, navigating to the label you want, choosing it with the selector, right-arrowing to the Email edit field, and typing the first address (Steps 8-11 of the previous section).
7. Add a second email address by doing the following:
a. Up-arrow once to the edit field of the last phone number you find. If it's not the last one you typed, don't panic. Remember that, when you're adding fields to a contact detail, the new field is going to pop up above, not below, the last one.
b. Right-arrow, then down-arrow, once. This is just like adding more phone numbers.
c. Hit the selector, NOT Enter, on an unlabeled image button, and boom, now you're on the Label dropdown for the 2nd email address. Arrow to your label, and press the selector on it.
d. Right-arrow once, and type the second email address.
8. Save your changes by pressing alt+down-arrow to get to the bottom of the screen. Arrow to Save and press the selector.
Mission accomplished. The process isn't as convoluted as it sounds.
How do I move contacts from my Nokia to my Android Phone?
Contributed by J.J. Meddaugh
http://www.ATGuys.com
Many of you, like me, were using Nokia phones previous to experimenting with Android. One of the tasks I wished to accomplish early was to import my contacts, as I certainly did not want to reenter these. If you're in this situation, here is some information on how I accomplished this.
Exporting Contacts from the Nokia
First, I exported my contacts from my Nokia phone. On my N82, I did the following:
1. Opened my list of contacts on the phone.
2. Pressed button 1 for the Options menu, arrowed down to Mark/Unmark, and pressed OK.
3. Selected Mark All and pressed OK.
4. Returned to my list of contacts, pressed button 1, selected Copy, and pressed OK.
5. Selected To Memory Card and pressed OK. The contacts are copied to the memory card on the phone. Note that if your phone has internal memory, you may need to adjust this step slightly.
Copying contacts to the Computer and Preparing them for Android
Next, I connected my phone to my computer. On the memory card or mass storage is a folder called Other. under the Other folder is a subfolder called Contacts. The Contacts subfolder contains a VCard or .vcf file for each individual contact. These files are in plain text, so you can open one with Notepad to make sure it's fine or to find out how these types of files are formatted.
In order to import my contacts, I needed to combine all of these separate .vcf files into one Large file. Here's how I accomplished this:
1. On the computer, opened the command-line shell by pressing Windows-R, then typing "cmd" and pressing enter.
2. Switched to the directory where my contacts were located. For instance, if your contacts are on a memory card on drive E, you might type the following line followed by enter:
cd e:\other\contacts
3. Used the copy command to combine the separate files into a single.vcf file with all of the contacts by typing the following command and pressing enter:
copy *.vcf all.vcf
Now the directory should contain a new file called All.vcf. You can again open this file with Notepad or another text editor to verify it is right. When you do, you should find an entry for each of your contacts.
4. Typed exit and pressed enter to close the command-line shell.
Uploading Contacts to the Google Cloud
Finally, I needed to import these contact files to a Google account that is linked to my Android phone. You can use a Gmail account or another Email account connected to Google Apps. Here's what I did:
The following steps involve going to the Gmail page. If you are using the Basic HTML view, you will need to switch to the standard view to accomplish these steps. The link to do this is near the bottom of the page. If your screen reader does not support standard view, you may need to download NVDA or another alternative to complete these steps. Note: I had better luck with NVDA in Firefox than in Internet Explorer.
1. Logged in to my Gmail or Google Apps Email account.
2. From my Inbox screen, Selected the Contacts link. You may need to refresh your webpage buffer to find the contacts in your account.
3. Selected the Import Contacts link.
4. Pressed the Browse button, and selected the All.vcf file I created earlier.
5. Selected import to upload my contacts.
Be aware that if other contacts were already on your Gmail page, these will also be synced to your Android. You can delete them ahead of time or just decide to copy all of them.
Importing Contacts to Android
If your Google account is linked to your phone, which it probably is, your contacts sync within a couple of minutes. If you need to link an account, you can do that from the phone. On your Android device, open contacts, press the menu button, arrow to accounts, and follow the prompts to add a new Google account. You can also choose if you want to sync your contacts between your computer and phone.
http://www.ATGuys.com
Many of you, like me, were using Nokia phones previous to experimenting with Android. One of the tasks I wished to accomplish early was to import my contacts, as I certainly did not want to reenter these. If you're in this situation, here is some information on how I accomplished this.
Exporting Contacts from the Nokia
First, I exported my contacts from my Nokia phone. On my N82, I did the following:1. Opened my list of contacts on the phone.
2. Pressed button 1 for the Options menu, arrowed down to Mark/Unmark, and pressed OK.
3. Selected Mark All and pressed OK.
4. Returned to my list of contacts, pressed button 1, selected Copy, and pressed OK.
5. Selected To Memory Card and pressed OK. The contacts are copied to the memory card on the phone. Note that if your phone has internal memory, you may need to adjust this step slightly.
Copying contacts to the Computer and Preparing them for Android
Next, I connected my phone to my computer. On the memory card or mass storage is a folder called Other. under the Other folder is a subfolder called Contacts. The Contacts subfolder contains a VCard or .vcf file for each individual contact. These files are in plain text, so you can open one with Notepad to make sure it's fine or to find out how these types of files are formatted.In order to import my contacts, I needed to combine all of these separate .vcf files into one Large file. Here's how I accomplished this:
1. On the computer, opened the command-line shell by pressing Windows-R, then typing "cmd" and pressing enter.
2. Switched to the directory where my contacts were located. For instance, if your contacts are on a memory card on drive E, you might type the following line followed by enter:
cd e:\other\contacts
3. Used the copy command to combine the separate files into a single.vcf file with all of the contacts by typing the following command and pressing enter:
copy *.vcf all.vcf
Now the directory should contain a new file called All.vcf. You can again open this file with Notepad or another text editor to verify it is right. When you do, you should find an entry for each of your contacts.
4. Typed exit and pressed enter to close the command-line shell.
Uploading Contacts to the Google Cloud
Finally, I needed to import these contact files to a Google account that is linked to my Android phone. You can use a Gmail account or another Email account connected to Google Apps. Here's what I did:The following steps involve going to the Gmail page. If you are using the Basic HTML view, you will need to switch to the standard view to accomplish these steps. The link to do this is near the bottom of the page. If your screen reader does not support standard view, you may need to download NVDA or another alternative to complete these steps. Note: I had better luck with NVDA in Firefox than in Internet Explorer.
1. Logged in to my Gmail or Google Apps Email account.
2. From my Inbox screen, Selected the Contacts link. You may need to refresh your webpage buffer to find the contacts in your account.
3. Selected the Import Contacts link.
4. Pressed the Browse button, and selected the All.vcf file I created earlier.
5. Selected import to upload my contacts.
Be aware that if other contacts were already on your Gmail page, these will also be synced to your Android. You can delete them ahead of time or just decide to copy all of them.
Importing Contacts to Android
If your Google account is linked to your phone, which it probably is, your contacts sync within a couple of minutes. If you need to link an account, you can do that from the phone. On your Android device, open contacts, press the menu button, arrow to accounts, and follow the prompts to add a new Google account. You can also choose if you want to sync your contacts between your computer and phone.
How do I import vCards and groups of contacts?
As users begin to feel comfortable with their phones, one of their first major tasks is to add contacts, a list of names, phone numbers, and email addresses to their devices. Contacts can be added from electronic business cards via email attachments, brought in from VCF files stored on the phone's SD card, or imported from the computer via the Google cloud, which refers to the online address book associated with a Gmail account. At this time, adding the sender of an email to contacts is not accessible in K-9 Mail.
The information in this post covers working with electronic business cards (VCards), using VCF files stored on the phone's SD card, and importing contacts from the Google cloud.
For information on adding individual contacts from the Call Log, the text messenger, and the contacts app or on managing and using contacts in general, refer to the previous post.
Users coming to Android from Nokia may be interested in J.J. Meddaugh's post on transferring contacts from Nokia to Android.
Users working with the Motorola Motoblur UI may find more helpful information about adding and managing individual contacts in Motoblur in the post by Chris Gilland.
Users working with the Samsung Touchwiz UI may find more helpful information about navigating the Touchwiz Call Log in the post by John J. Herzog.
Adding Contacts from an Email Attachment in K-9 Mail
Users who receive electronic business cards can quickly and easily copy the information from the vCard to Contacts, using K-9 Mail. The steps are as follows:
1. In K-9 Mail, open the message with the vCard attachment.
2. In the open message, navigate to and press the selector on the Open button on screen. The button can also be accessed by pressing the Menu button on the device.
3. If the Android system screen opens, navigate to and press the selector on Contacts, or navigate to and press the selector first on Use by Default for this Action, then on Contacts.
The Contacts app opens, and focus moves to the View Details screen for the newly imported contact. Users can edit or simply close with the Back key.
Adding Contacts from the SD Card
Contacts can be added from VCF files stored on the SD card. VCF is the file format used for electronic business cards or vCards, and it is also commonly used for sharing contact information among applications. Files of this type may contain single contacts or groups of VCF files. To import information from VCF files to the phone, do the following:
1. Open Contacts.
2. Press the Menu button.
3. Navigate to and press the selector on Import/Export.
4. Navigate to and press the selector on Import from SD card.
5. Wait a few seconds for the phone to search the SD card and import the files.
Focus returns to the main Contacts screen, so users may search for the new contact to make sure it has been properly added to the list.
Adding contacts from the Computer
Moving Contacts from the computer to the Android phone is a 3-step process. First, Contacts are collected into a file from the email reader on the computer. Second, the Contacts file is uploaded to Google. Third, the Contacts are downloaded from Google to the phone. In some cases, there's a fourth step, which is to ensure that new contacts added to the phone are uploaded to Google. While the process may seem complicated, it’s actually just a matter of following these steps:
1. Turn the Contacts on your computer into a CSV or VCF File. CSV and VCF files are simple text files that contain address book information. The acronyms stand for comma separated values and vCard files. For specific instructions on how to make these types of files, run an internet search by typing the name of your email reader and the term “CSV file” for Windows or the name of the app and "VCF" for Mac. Most likely, the procedure for individual contacts will include going into Files, then Save As, and for groups of files, it will probably involve going into Files, then Export.
2. Upload the CSV or VCF file to Google.
a. Go to your Gmail page on the computer.
b. Make sure you are in Standard View by using your screen reader or browser to locate the word "standard." You should find a line of text that says, "Gmail view: standard." If what you find is a Standard View link, pres enter on it and check the screen again.
c. Find the Contacts link, and press enter to open a new page.
d. Find the More Actions button, and press enter to access additional options.
e. Find the Import Contacts link, and Press enter to reach the upload screen.
f. Find a combo box that asks where you want your contacts imported. Open it with alt+down-arrow and select the My Contacts option. Tab once to get out of that combo box.
g. Find the Browse button, press it, and navigate through your hard drive to the CSV file you made in Step 1, pressing open/choose when you locate it. Your computer takes a moment to upload the file.
h. Tab to the Import button and press enter to move the contacts into Google.
i. After a few seconds, find the word "CSV" or "VCF." If the upload process is successful, a notification that X number of contacts has been imported from the CSV/VCF file appears on the screen.
3. Most likely, your contacts sync to the phone automatically. If they do not appear on the phone within a few minutes, adjust the sync settings on the device by going into Settings, then Accounts and Sync and doing the following:
a. Navigate to Background Data and check it.
b. Navigate to Autosync and check it.
c. Navigate to the item with your Gmail account and press the selector; then check Sync contacts.
4. Make sure the new contacts you add to the phone are synced to the Google Cloud. In most cases, contacts added to the phone are also uploaded to the cloud, but if they are not, try the following procedure, which you should only have to do once:
a. Go to your Gmail page on the computer.
b. Make sure you are in Standard View by using your screen reader or browser to locate the word "standard." You should find a message that says, "Gmail view: standard." If what you find is a Standard View link, pres enter on it and check the screen again.
c. Find the Contacts link, and press enter to open a new page.
d. Find the More Actions button, and press enter to access additional options.
e. Find the Import Contacts link, and Press enter to reach the upload screen.
f. Find a combo box that asks where you want your contacts imported. Open it with alt+down-arrow and select the Start with Android option. Tab once to get out of that combo box.
g. Tab to the Import button and press enter.
The information in this post covers working with electronic business cards (VCards), using VCF files stored on the phone's SD card, and importing contacts from the Google cloud.
For information on adding individual contacts from the Call Log, the text messenger, and the contacts app or on managing and using contacts in general, refer to the previous post.
Users coming to Android from Nokia may be interested in J.J. Meddaugh's post on transferring contacts from Nokia to Android.
Users working with the Motorola Motoblur UI may find more helpful information about adding and managing individual contacts in Motoblur in the post by Chris Gilland.
Users working with the Samsung Touchwiz UI may find more helpful information about navigating the Touchwiz Call Log in the post by John J. Herzog.
Adding Contacts from an Email Attachment in K-9 Mail
Users who receive electronic business cards can quickly and easily copy the information from the vCard to Contacts, using K-9 Mail. The steps are as follows:1. In K-9 Mail, open the message with the vCard attachment.
2. In the open message, navigate to and press the selector on the Open button on screen. The button can also be accessed by pressing the Menu button on the device.
3. If the Android system screen opens, navigate to and press the selector on Contacts, or navigate to and press the selector first on Use by Default for this Action, then on Contacts.
The Contacts app opens, and focus moves to the View Details screen for the newly imported contact. Users can edit or simply close with the Back key.
Adding Contacts from the SD Card
Contacts can be added from VCF files stored on the SD card. VCF is the file format used for electronic business cards or vCards, and it is also commonly used for sharing contact information among applications. Files of this type may contain single contacts or groups of VCF files. To import information from VCF files to the phone, do the following:1. Open Contacts.
2. Press the Menu button.
3. Navigate to and press the selector on Import/Export.
4. Navigate to and press the selector on Import from SD card.
5. Wait a few seconds for the phone to search the SD card and import the files.
Focus returns to the main Contacts screen, so users may search for the new contact to make sure it has been properly added to the list.
Adding contacts from the Computer
Moving Contacts from the computer to the Android phone is a 3-step process. First, Contacts are collected into a file from the email reader on the computer. Second, the Contacts file is uploaded to Google. Third, the Contacts are downloaded from Google to the phone. In some cases, there's a fourth step, which is to ensure that new contacts added to the phone are uploaded to Google. While the process may seem complicated, it’s actually just a matter of following these steps:1. Turn the Contacts on your computer into a CSV or VCF File. CSV and VCF files are simple text files that contain address book information. The acronyms stand for comma separated values and vCard files. For specific instructions on how to make these types of files, run an internet search by typing the name of your email reader and the term “CSV file” for Windows or the name of the app and "VCF" for Mac. Most likely, the procedure for individual contacts will include going into Files, then Save As, and for groups of files, it will probably involve going into Files, then Export.
2. Upload the CSV or VCF file to Google.
a. Go to your Gmail page on the computer.
b. Make sure you are in Standard View by using your screen reader or browser to locate the word "standard." You should find a line of text that says, "Gmail view: standard." If what you find is a Standard View link, pres enter on it and check the screen again.
c. Find the Contacts link, and press enter to open a new page.
d. Find the More Actions button, and press enter to access additional options.
e. Find the Import Contacts link, and Press enter to reach the upload screen.
f. Find a combo box that asks where you want your contacts imported. Open it with alt+down-arrow and select the My Contacts option. Tab once to get out of that combo box.
g. Find the Browse button, press it, and navigate through your hard drive to the CSV file you made in Step 1, pressing open/choose when you locate it. Your computer takes a moment to upload the file.
h. Tab to the Import button and press enter to move the contacts into Google.
i. After a few seconds, find the word "CSV" or "VCF." If the upload process is successful, a notification that X number of contacts has been imported from the CSV/VCF file appears on the screen.
3. Most likely, your contacts sync to the phone automatically. If they do not appear on the phone within a few minutes, adjust the sync settings on the device by going into Settings, then Accounts and Sync and doing the following:
a. Navigate to Background Data and check it.
b. Navigate to Autosync and check it.
c. Navigate to the item with your Gmail account and press the selector; then check Sync contacts.
4. Make sure the new contacts you add to the phone are synced to the Google Cloud. In most cases, contacts added to the phone are also uploaded to the cloud, but if they are not, try the following procedure, which you should only have to do once:
a. Go to your Gmail page on the computer.
b. Make sure you are in Standard View by using your screen reader or browser to locate the word "standard." You should find a message that says, "Gmail view: standard." If what you find is a Standard View link, pres enter on it and check the screen again.
c. Find the Contacts link, and press enter to open a new page.
d. Find the More Actions button, and press enter to access additional options.
e. Find the Import Contacts link, and Press enter to reach the upload screen.
f. Find a combo box that asks where you want your contacts imported. Open it with alt+down-arrow and select the Start with Android option. Tab once to get out of that combo box.
g. Tab to the Import button and press enter.
How do I add individual contacts?
As users begin to feel comfortable with their phones, one of their first major tasks is to add contacts, a list of names, phone numbers, and email addresses to their devices. Contacts can be added from the Call Log, the text messenger, or the contacts app. At this time, adding the sender of an email to contacts is not accessible in K-9 Mail.
The information in this post covers adding individual contacts from the Call Log, the text messenger, and the contacts app; it also covers a few basic management tasks.
For information on working with electronic business cards (VCards), on using VCF files stored on the phone's SD card, or on importing contacts from the Google cloud, refer to the next post.
Users coming to Android from Nokia may be interested in J.J. Meddaugh's post on transferring contacts from Nokia to Android.
Users working with the Motorola Motoblur UI may find more helpful information about adding and managing individual contacts in Motoblur in the post by Chris Gilland.
Users working with the Samsung Touchwiz UI may find more helpful information about navigating the Touchwiz Call Log in the post by John J. Herzog.
Adding Contacts from the Call Log
The simplest way to add a contact is by using the Call Log. This is a list of recent incoming and outgoing calls. It opens automatically after each call, including calls to voicemail, and it can be accessed from the Contacts and phone apps.
1. Access the Call Log using one of the following methods:
a. Make or receive a call; then hang up.
b. Go to contacts from the Home screen and open the app; then left/-right arrow to Call Log. You must be at the very top of the screen for this to work.
c. Go to the Phone app from the Home screen and open it. Up-arrow from the number edit field to Phone; then left/right-arrow to the Call Log.
2. Arrow up and down through the list of calls, stopping at the one you wish to add to Contacts; then press the selector.
3. Navigate to and press the selector on Add to Contacts. Available options vary, depending on how the Call Log is entered, but they include Call/return call, Edit number before call, Send Text Message, Add to Contacts, and Remove from Call Log.
4. Create or edit the Contact.
a. If the contact is not in your address book, press the selector on Create New Contact.
b. If the contact is in your address book, but you do not have a phone number for him or her, arrow to the name and press the selector.
5. Fill out the contact details, typing in as many or as few of the following fields as desired. Notice that the phone number has been added automatically.
a. Contact photo image—press the selector to take a picture of the contact or select an image from a gallery.
b. First name—type in the provided edit field.
c. Last name—Type in the provided edit field.
d. Phone (include area code with or without hyphens)—The phone actually announces, "Home," which is the label of the first available edit field for a telephone number. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Mobile, Work, Work Fax, Home Fax, Pager, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type a number. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Phone icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, Mobile being second from the top, Work being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of a phone number, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Phone edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new number, arrow once to the right from the Phone edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
e. Email—The phone actually announces, "Home," again, which is the label of the first available edit field for an email address. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Work, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type an email address. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Email icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, work being second from the top, Other being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of an email address, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Email edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new email, arrow once to the right from the Email edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
f. Postal Address—press the selector to enter details.
g. Organization —press the selector to enter details.
h. More—press the selector to provide additional information: IM, notes, nickname, and website, . If an edit field isn't available for an item, press the selector on the icon to bring one up.
6. Press Menu, then Done, or simply press Back when finished.
Adding contacts from Messaging
Contacts can also be added from the stock text messenger.
1. Go to Messaging from the Home screen and open the app.
a. From the Eyes-Free Shell, down-stroke to Applications, type the letter M, arrow down to Messaging, and press enter.
b. From the stock Home screen, arrow to and press the selector on Applications, then on Messaging.
2. When the app opens, focus moves to “New message: Compose New Message.” Arrow down to a message that comes from someone whose phone number is not in your address book. Do not open the message.
3. Long press (2 to 3 seconds) the selector on the message; then arrow to Add to Contacts or View Contact if the former is not available. Options may be View Thread, Add to Contact, View Contact, and Delete Thread.
4. Create or edit the Contact.
a. If the contact is not in your address book, press the selector on Create New Contact.
b. If the contact is in your address book, but you do not have a phone number for him or her, navigate to the person's name and press the selector.
5. Fill out the contact details, typing in as many or as few of the following fields as desired. Notice that the phone number has been added automatically.
a. Contact photo image—press the selector to take a picture of the contact or select an image from a gallery.
b. First name—type in the provided edit field.
c. Last name—Type in the provided edit field.
d. Phone (include area code with or without hyphens)—The phone actually announces, "Home," which is the label of the first available edit field for a telephone number. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Mobile, Work, Work Fax, Home Fax, Pager, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type a number. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Phone icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, Mobile being second from the top, Work being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of a phone number, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Phone edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new number, arrow once to the right from the Phone edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
e. Email—The phone actually announces, "Home," again, which is the label of the first available edit field for an email address. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Work, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type an email address. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Email icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, work being second from the top, Other being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of an email address, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Email edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new email, arrow once to the right from the Email edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
f. Postal Address—press the selector to enter details.
g. Organization —press the selector to enter details.
h. More—press the selector to provide additional information: IM, notes, nickname, website, . If edit fields aren’t available for an item, press the selector on it to bring one up.
6. Press Menu, then Done, or simply press Back when finished.
Adding Contacts from the Contacts App
The most obvious way to add contacts to an Android phone is by going into the Contacts app and typing the new contact’s details manually. The steps are as follows:
1. From the Home screen, go to Contacts and open the app.
a. From the Eyes-Free Shell, down-stroke to Applications, type the letter C, arrow down to Contacts, and press enter.
b. From the stock Home screen, arrow to and press the selector on Contacts.
2. Press Menu.
3. Arrow to and press the selector on New Contact.
4. Fill out the contact details, typing in as many or as few fields as desired.
a. Contact photo image—press the selector to take a picture of the contact or select an image from a gallery.
b. First name—type in the provided edit field.
c. Last name—Type in the provided edit field.
d. Phone (include area code with or without hyphens)—The phone actually announces, "Home," which is the label of the first available edit field for a telephone number. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Mobile, Work, Work Fax, Home Fax, Pager, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type a number. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Phone icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, Mobile being second from the top, Work being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of a phone number, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Phone edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new number, arrow once to the right from the Phone edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
e. Email—The phone actually announces, "Home," again, which is the label of the first available edit field for an email address. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Work, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type an email address. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Email icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, work being second from the top, Other being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of an email address, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Email edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new email, arrow once to the right from the Email edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
f. Postal Address—press the selector to enter details.
g. Organization —press the selector to enter details.
h. More—press the selector to provide additional information: IM, notes, nickname, website, . If edit fields aren’t available for an item, press the selector on it to bring one up.
5. Press Menu, then Done, or simply press Back when finished.
Doing More with contacts: Contacting, Viewing, Editing, and Deleting
Once contact details are on the phone, they can be used to communicate with someone, and the contacts themselves may be reviewed, modified, added to a list of frequently used contacts, or removed altogether.
1. To call or email a contact while in the Contacts app, do one of the following:
a. Find the contact's name.
b. Short press (1 second) the selector on the contact name.
c. On the new screen that opens, which has options like Call Home, Call Mobile, or Email, arrow to and press the selector on the desired item.
1. If you short-press on either of the calling options, the call is sent.
2. If you short-press on email, an email message opens up. Focus is in the To field, which is already filled in. Down-arrow to move to the Subject field, and continue with your message.
2. To text a contact from the Contacts app or Call Log, do one of the following:
a. While in the Contacts app, arrow to and short-press the selector on the person's name. A new set of options appears, which includes Call Mobile if a cell number is listed with the name. Arrow to and long-press (2to 3 seconds) the selector on Call Mobile. The new screen lists options for calling the contact, texting him or her, and making the number the default. Arrow to and press the selector on Text Contact. . A text message opens, and focus is in the message body. Continue with your message.
b. While in the Call Log, arrow to and press the selector on the name of the person you wish to text. A new set of options appears: Call Contact, Send Text Message, and View Contact. Arrow to and press the selector on Send Text Message. A text message opens, and focus is in the message body. Continue with your message.
3. To view the contact details, do one of the following:
a. While in the Contacts app, long press (2 to 3 seconds) the selector on the contact name. A new list of options appears: View, Add to Favorites, Edit, and Delete. Arrow to and press the selector on View. Then arrow through the details for that contact. Press Back when finished.
b. While in the Call Log, arrow to the person's name and short- or long-press the selector. A new set of options appears. For a short-press, they are Call, Send Text Message, and View Contact. For a long-press, they are Call, View contact, Edit Number before Call, Send Text Message, Remove from call Log. Arrow to and press the selector on View. Then arrow through the details for that contact. Press Back when finished.
c. While in Messaging, arrow to the text from the person whose details you're interested in. Then do one of the following:
1. Short-press (1 second) the selector to open the message, and press Menu for additional options. They are View Contact, Add Subject, Attach, Insert Smiley, Delete Thread, and All Threads. Arrow to and press the selector on View. Then arrow through the details for that contact. Press Back when finished.
2. Long-press (2-3 seconds) the selector on the closed thread for additional options. They are View Thread, View contact, and Delete Thread. Arrow to and press the selector on View. Then arrow through the details for that contact. Press Back when finished.
4. To make changes or add information to the contact details, do one of the following:
a. While in the Contacts app, arrow to the person's name and
1. Either short-press (1 second) the selector on the contact name, press Menu, then press the selector on Edit, arrowing through the following fields to provide new or revised details as described in previous sections of this post: the contact's photo, first name, last name, phone numbers, email, postal address, organization , IM, notes, nickname, and website. To clear an edit field that already contains text, right-arrow from the edit box to a minus image button and press the selector.
2. Or long press (2 to 3 seconds) the selector on the contact name. A new set of options appears: View, Add to Favorites, Edit, and Delete. Arrow to and press the selector on Edit. Then arrow through the following fields to provide new or revised details as described in previous sections of this post: the contact's photo, first name, last name, phone numbers, email, postal address, organization , IM, notes, nickname, and website. To clear an edit field that already contains text, right-arrow from the edit box to a minus image button and press the selector. Press Back when finished.
b. While in the Call Log, arrow to the person's name. Then either short- (1 second) or long-press (2 to 3 seconds) the selector. A new set of options appears. For short-press, they are Call, Send Text Message, and View Contact. For Long-press, they are Call, View contact, Edit Number before Call, Send Text Message, Remove from call Log. Arrow to and press the selector on View Contact, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Then press the Menu button, arrow to and press the selector on Edit, and down-arrow to provide new or revised details for the following fields as described in previous sections of this post: the contact's photo, first name, last name, phone numbers, email, postal address, organization , IM, notes, nickname, and website. To clear an edit field that already contains text, right-arrow from the edit box to a minus image button and press the selector. Press Back when finished.
c. While in Messaging, arrow to the thread from the contact. Then either press Menu on the open message or long-press on the closed thread, navigating to and pressing the selector on View, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Then press the Menu button, arrow to and press the selector on Edit, and down-arrow to provide new or revised details for the following fields as described in previous sections of this post: the contact's photo, first name, last name, phone numbers, email, postal address, organization , IM, notes, nickname, and website. To clear an edit field that already contains text, right-arrow from the edit box to a minus image button and press the selector. Press Back when finished.
5. To delete a contact, do one of the following:
a. Go into the Call Log. Arrow to and press the selector first on the person's name, then on View Contact. Press the Menu button, and arrow to and press the selector on Delete. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
b. Open the contacts app, arrow to the person's name, then do one of the following:
1. Press the backspace button on the physical keyboard. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
2. Short-press as if to call or email the contact. Then press Menu and arrow to and press the selector on Delete. Options are Edit Contact, Share, Options, and Delete Contact. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
3. Long-press (2 to 3 seconds); then arrow to and press the selector on Delete. Options are View Contact, Add to Favorites, Edit, and Delete. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
c. Open Messaging, and arrow to the thread from the contact. Then either press Menu on the open message or long-press on the closed thread, navigating to and pressing the selector on View, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Then press the Menu button. Options are Edit Contact, Share, Options, and Delete Contact. Arrow to and press the selector on Delete Contact. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
Working with Favorites: Finding Favorites, Adding to Favorites, and Removing from Favorites
Since contact lists can get very long very fast, users find it convenient to separate frequently used contacts into a shorter list they can scroll through quickly. This list behaves exactly like contacts, and the items found in it remain in Contacts, even after they are removed from favorites.
To find Favorites, do the following:
1. Open the contacts app, navigate to the top of the list, and up-arrow one more time. This moves focus to a set of four tabs--Call Log, Contacts, Favorites, and Phone—though the order varies from handset to handset.
2. Navigate to Favorites; then down-arrow or press the selector.
Note: Some handsets do not allow users to reach these tabs with the navigational control. If this is the case, touch the top of the screen to move focus to any one of the tabs; then arrow left or right.
To include a contact in Favorites, do the following:
1. While in the Contacts app, arrow to the person's name. Then either short- (1 second) or long-press (2-3 seconds) the selector. A new list of options appears. For short-pres, they are Favorite and options to call or email if those details are part of the contact. For long-press, they are View Contact, Add to Favorites, Edit Contact, and Delete Contact. Arrow to and press the selector on Favorite or Add to Favorites to check the item. Press Back when finished.
2. While in the Call Log, arrow to and press the selector on the person's name, then on View Contact, and finally on Add to Favorites to find and check that item. Press Back when finished.
3. While in Messaging, arrow to the thread from the person whose details you're interested in. Then either press Menu on the open message or long-press on the closed thread, navigating to and pressing the selector on View, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Arrow up and down through the list of information for the contact. At the top of the list is a Favorites checkbox. Arrow to and press the selector on it to check the item.
To Remove someone from Favorites, but not from the general Contacts list, do either of the following:
1. While in the Call log, arrow to and press the selector on the person's name, on View contact, then on Favorite. Press the selector to clear the Favorite checkbox. Press Back when finished.
2. While in the Contacts app, go into Favorites. Use the arrow keys to find the person you want to remove from the Favorites list, short- or long-press the selector to open additional options, and uncheck the Favorites item by navigating to it and pressing the selector. Press Back when finished.
3. While in Messaging, arrow to the thread from the contact. Then either press Menu on the open message or long-press on the closed thread, navigating to and pressing the selector on View, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Arrow up and down through the list of information for the contact. At the top of the list is a Favorites checkbox. Arrow to and press the selector on it to uncheck the item.
The information in this post covers adding individual contacts from the Call Log, the text messenger, and the contacts app; it also covers a few basic management tasks.
For information on working with electronic business cards (VCards), on using VCF files stored on the phone's SD card, or on importing contacts from the Google cloud, refer to the next post.
Users coming to Android from Nokia may be interested in J.J. Meddaugh's post on transferring contacts from Nokia to Android.
Users working with the Motorola Motoblur UI may find more helpful information about adding and managing individual contacts in Motoblur in the post by Chris Gilland.
Users working with the Samsung Touchwiz UI may find more helpful information about navigating the Touchwiz Call Log in the post by John J. Herzog.
Adding Contacts from the Call Log
The simplest way to add a contact is by using the Call Log. This is a list of recent incoming and outgoing calls. It opens automatically after each call, including calls to voicemail, and it can be accessed from the Contacts and phone apps.1. Access the Call Log using one of the following methods:
a. Make or receive a call; then hang up.
b. Go to contacts from the Home screen and open the app; then left/-right arrow to Call Log. You must be at the very top of the screen for this to work.
c. Go to the Phone app from the Home screen and open it. Up-arrow from the number edit field to Phone; then left/right-arrow to the Call Log.
2. Arrow up and down through the list of calls, stopping at the one you wish to add to Contacts; then press the selector.
3. Navigate to and press the selector on Add to Contacts. Available options vary, depending on how the Call Log is entered, but they include Call/return call, Edit number before call, Send Text Message, Add to Contacts, and Remove from Call Log.
4. Create or edit the Contact.
a. If the contact is not in your address book, press the selector on Create New Contact.
b. If the contact is in your address book, but you do not have a phone number for him or her, arrow to the name and press the selector.
5. Fill out the contact details, typing in as many or as few of the following fields as desired. Notice that the phone number has been added automatically.
a. Contact photo image—press the selector to take a picture of the contact or select an image from a gallery.
b. First name—type in the provided edit field.
c. Last name—Type in the provided edit field.
d. Phone (include area code with or without hyphens)—The phone actually announces, "Home," which is the label of the first available edit field for a telephone number. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Mobile, Work, Work Fax, Home Fax, Pager, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type a number. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Phone icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, Mobile being second from the top, Work being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of a phone number, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Phone edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new number, arrow once to the right from the Phone edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
e. Email—The phone actually announces, "Home," again, which is the label of the first available edit field for an email address. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Work, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type an email address. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Email icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, work being second from the top, Other being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of an email address, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Email edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new email, arrow once to the right from the Email edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
f. Postal Address—press the selector to enter details.
g. Organization —press the selector to enter details.
h. More—press the selector to provide additional information: IM, notes, nickname, and website, . If an edit field isn't available for an item, press the selector on the icon to bring one up.
6. Press Menu, then Done, or simply press Back when finished.
Adding contacts from Messaging
Contacts can also be added from the stock text messenger.1. Go to Messaging from the Home screen and open the app.
a. From the Eyes-Free Shell, down-stroke to Applications, type the letter M, arrow down to Messaging, and press enter.
b. From the stock Home screen, arrow to and press the selector on Applications, then on Messaging.
2. When the app opens, focus moves to “New message: Compose New Message.” Arrow down to a message that comes from someone whose phone number is not in your address book. Do not open the message.
3. Long press (2 to 3 seconds) the selector on the message; then arrow to Add to Contacts or View Contact if the former is not available. Options may be View Thread, Add to Contact, View Contact, and Delete Thread.
4. Create or edit the Contact.
a. If the contact is not in your address book, press the selector on Create New Contact.
b. If the contact is in your address book, but you do not have a phone number for him or her, navigate to the person's name and press the selector.
5. Fill out the contact details, typing in as many or as few of the following fields as desired. Notice that the phone number has been added automatically.
a. Contact photo image—press the selector to take a picture of the contact or select an image from a gallery.
b. First name—type in the provided edit field.
c. Last name—Type in the provided edit field.
d. Phone (include area code with or without hyphens)—The phone actually announces, "Home," which is the label of the first available edit field for a telephone number. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Mobile, Work, Work Fax, Home Fax, Pager, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type a number. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Phone icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, Mobile being second from the top, Work being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of a phone number, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Phone edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new number, arrow once to the right from the Phone edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
e. Email—The phone actually announces, "Home," again, which is the label of the first available edit field for an email address. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Work, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type an email address. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Email icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, work being second from the top, Other being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of an email address, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Email edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new email, arrow once to the right from the Email edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
f. Postal Address—press the selector to enter details.
g. Organization —press the selector to enter details.
h. More—press the selector to provide additional information: IM, notes, nickname, website, . If edit fields aren’t available for an item, press the selector on it to bring one up.
6. Press Menu, then Done, or simply press Back when finished.
Adding Contacts from the Contacts App
The most obvious way to add contacts to an Android phone is by going into the Contacts app and typing the new contact’s details manually. The steps are as follows:1. From the Home screen, go to Contacts and open the app.
a. From the Eyes-Free Shell, down-stroke to Applications, type the letter C, arrow down to Contacts, and press enter.
b. From the stock Home screen, arrow to and press the selector on Contacts.
2. Press Menu.
3. Arrow to and press the selector on New Contact.
4. Fill out the contact details, typing in as many or as few fields as desired.
a. Contact photo image—press the selector to take a picture of the contact or select an image from a gallery.
b. First name—type in the provided edit field.
c. Last name—Type in the provided edit field.
d. Phone (include area code with or without hyphens)—The phone actually announces, "Home," which is the label of the first available edit field for a telephone number. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Mobile, Work, Work Fax, Home Fax, Pager, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type a number. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Phone icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, Mobile being second from the top, Work being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of a phone number, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Phone edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new number, arrow once to the right from the Phone edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
e. Email—The phone actually announces, "Home," again, which is the label of the first available edit field for an email address. Press the selector on that icon and arrow down to select a different label for the number. Label options include Home, Work, Other, and Custom. Press the selector on the option you want. Once the label has been selected, focus moves to the edit field where you type an email address. If you simply press the selector repeatedly on the Email icon, a new edit field appears for each label, Home being at the top, work being second from the top, Other being third from the top, and so on. To change the label of an email address, arrow left to the Label dropdown list from the Email edit field, press the selector, arrow to the correct label, and press the selector again. To clear the edit field for a new email, arrow once to the right from the Email edit field and press the selector on a minus image button.
f. Postal Address—press the selector to enter details.
g. Organization —press the selector to enter details.
h. More—press the selector to provide additional information: IM, notes, nickname, website, . If edit fields aren’t available for an item, press the selector on it to bring one up.
5. Press Menu, then Done, or simply press Back when finished.
Doing More with contacts: Contacting, Viewing, Editing, and Deleting
Once contact details are on the phone, they can be used to communicate with someone, and the contacts themselves may be reviewed, modified, added to a list of frequently used contacts, or removed altogether. 1. To call or email a contact while in the Contacts app, do one of the following:
a. Find the contact's name.
b. Short press (1 second) the selector on the contact name.
c. On the new screen that opens, which has options like Call Home, Call Mobile, or Email, arrow to and press the selector on the desired item.
1. If you short-press on either of the calling options, the call is sent.
2. If you short-press on email, an email message opens up. Focus is in the To field, which is already filled in. Down-arrow to move to the Subject field, and continue with your message.
2. To text a contact from the Contacts app or Call Log, do one of the following:
a. While in the Contacts app, arrow to and short-press the selector on the person's name. A new set of options appears, which includes Call Mobile if a cell number is listed with the name. Arrow to and long-press (2to 3 seconds) the selector on Call Mobile. The new screen lists options for calling the contact, texting him or her, and making the number the default. Arrow to and press the selector on Text Contact. . A text message opens, and focus is in the message body. Continue with your message.
b. While in the Call Log, arrow to and press the selector on the name of the person you wish to text. A new set of options appears: Call Contact, Send Text Message, and View Contact. Arrow to and press the selector on Send Text Message. A text message opens, and focus is in the message body. Continue with your message.
3. To view the contact details, do one of the following:
a. While in the Contacts app, long press (2 to 3 seconds) the selector on the contact name. A new list of options appears: View, Add to Favorites, Edit, and Delete. Arrow to and press the selector on View. Then arrow through the details for that contact. Press Back when finished.
b. While in the Call Log, arrow to the person's name and short- or long-press the selector. A new set of options appears. For a short-press, they are Call, Send Text Message, and View Contact. For a long-press, they are Call, View contact, Edit Number before Call, Send Text Message, Remove from call Log. Arrow to and press the selector on View. Then arrow through the details for that contact. Press Back when finished.
c. While in Messaging, arrow to the text from the person whose details you're interested in. Then do one of the following:
1. Short-press (1 second) the selector to open the message, and press Menu for additional options. They are View Contact, Add Subject, Attach, Insert Smiley, Delete Thread, and All Threads. Arrow to and press the selector on View. Then arrow through the details for that contact. Press Back when finished.
2. Long-press (2-3 seconds) the selector on the closed thread for additional options. They are View Thread, View contact, and Delete Thread. Arrow to and press the selector on View. Then arrow through the details for that contact. Press Back when finished.
4. To make changes or add information to the contact details, do one of the following:
a. While in the Contacts app, arrow to the person's name and
1. Either short-press (1 second) the selector on the contact name, press Menu, then press the selector on Edit, arrowing through the following fields to provide new or revised details as described in previous sections of this post: the contact's photo, first name, last name, phone numbers, email, postal address, organization , IM, notes, nickname, and website. To clear an edit field that already contains text, right-arrow from the edit box to a minus image button and press the selector.
2. Or long press (2 to 3 seconds) the selector on the contact name. A new set of options appears: View, Add to Favorites, Edit, and Delete. Arrow to and press the selector on Edit. Then arrow through the following fields to provide new or revised details as described in previous sections of this post: the contact's photo, first name, last name, phone numbers, email, postal address, organization , IM, notes, nickname, and website. To clear an edit field that already contains text, right-arrow from the edit box to a minus image button and press the selector. Press Back when finished.
b. While in the Call Log, arrow to the person's name. Then either short- (1 second) or long-press (2 to 3 seconds) the selector. A new set of options appears. For short-press, they are Call, Send Text Message, and View Contact. For Long-press, they are Call, View contact, Edit Number before Call, Send Text Message, Remove from call Log. Arrow to and press the selector on View Contact, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Then press the Menu button, arrow to and press the selector on Edit, and down-arrow to provide new or revised details for the following fields as described in previous sections of this post: the contact's photo, first name, last name, phone numbers, email, postal address, organization , IM, notes, nickname, and website. To clear an edit field that already contains text, right-arrow from the edit box to a minus image button and press the selector. Press Back when finished.
c. While in Messaging, arrow to the thread from the contact. Then either press Menu on the open message or long-press on the closed thread, navigating to and pressing the selector on View, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Then press the Menu button, arrow to and press the selector on Edit, and down-arrow to provide new or revised details for the following fields as described in previous sections of this post: the contact's photo, first name, last name, phone numbers, email, postal address, organization , IM, notes, nickname, and website. To clear an edit field that already contains text, right-arrow from the edit box to a minus image button and press the selector. Press Back when finished.
5. To delete a contact, do one of the following:
a. Go into the Call Log. Arrow to and press the selector first on the person's name, then on View Contact. Press the Menu button, and arrow to and press the selector on Delete. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
b. Open the contacts app, arrow to the person's name, then do one of the following:
1. Press the backspace button on the physical keyboard. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
2. Short-press as if to call or email the contact. Then press Menu and arrow to and press the selector on Delete. Options are Edit Contact, Share, Options, and Delete Contact. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
3. Long-press (2 to 3 seconds); then arrow to and press the selector on Delete. Options are View Contact, Add to Favorites, Edit, and Delete. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
c. Open Messaging, and arrow to the thread from the contact. Then either press Menu on the open message or long-press on the closed thread, navigating to and pressing the selector on View, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Then press the Menu button. Options are Edit Contact, Share, Options, and Delete Contact. Arrow to and press the selector on Delete Contact. A confirmation screen appears, asking if you're sure you want to delete the contact. Press the selector on OK.
Working with Favorites: Finding Favorites, Adding to Favorites, and Removing from Favorites
Since contact lists can get very long very fast, users find it convenient to separate frequently used contacts into a shorter list they can scroll through quickly. This list behaves exactly like contacts, and the items found in it remain in Contacts, even after they are removed from favorites.To find Favorites, do the following:
1. Open the contacts app, navigate to the top of the list, and up-arrow one more time. This moves focus to a set of four tabs--Call Log, Contacts, Favorites, and Phone—though the order varies from handset to handset.
2. Navigate to Favorites; then down-arrow or press the selector.
Note: Some handsets do not allow users to reach these tabs with the navigational control. If this is the case, touch the top of the screen to move focus to any one of the tabs; then arrow left or right.
To include a contact in Favorites, do the following:
1. While in the Contacts app, arrow to the person's name. Then either short- (1 second) or long-press (2-3 seconds) the selector. A new list of options appears. For short-pres, they are Favorite and options to call or email if those details are part of the contact. For long-press, they are View Contact, Add to Favorites, Edit Contact, and Delete Contact. Arrow to and press the selector on Favorite or Add to Favorites to check the item. Press Back when finished.
2. While in the Call Log, arrow to and press the selector on the person's name, then on View Contact, and finally on Add to Favorites to find and check that item. Press Back when finished.
3. While in Messaging, arrow to the thread from the person whose details you're interested in. Then either press Menu on the open message or long-press on the closed thread, navigating to and pressing the selector on View, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Arrow up and down through the list of information for the contact. At the top of the list is a Favorites checkbox. Arrow to and press the selector on it to check the item.
To Remove someone from Favorites, but not from the general Contacts list, do either of the following:
1. While in the Call log, arrow to and press the selector on the person's name, on View contact, then on Favorite. Press the selector to clear the Favorite checkbox. Press Back when finished.
2. While in the Contacts app, go into Favorites. Use the arrow keys to find the person you want to remove from the Favorites list, short- or long-press the selector to open additional options, and uncheck the Favorites item by navigating to it and pressing the selector. Press Back when finished.
3. While in Messaging, arrow to the thread from the contact. Then either press Menu on the open message or long-press on the closed thread, navigating to and pressing the selector on View, as if you were simply going to review the person's details. Arrow up and down through the list of information for the contact. At the top of the list is a Favorites checkbox. Arrow to and press the selector on it to uncheck the item.
mardi 8 février 2011
Apps4Android Releases 6 Accessibility App Installers (AAIs) and 37 Voices in 25 Languages
On February 6, Apps4Android announced the release of two new products. One is a set of carrier specific accessibility app installers (AAIs) for Android users living in and out of the United States. The other is a set of new voices in a wide range of languages.
The following has been excerpted from the announcement. To read the complete press release in html, click here. To read a Word version of the release, click here.
The apps can be found on the Android Market by searching for Apps4Android.
Apps4Android’s AAIs:
Apps4Android’s AAIs are carrier-specific applications designed to make it easy and intuitive for wireless carrier retail store personnel, help desk professionals, and subscribers to identify, download, and install "no-cost-to-the-subscriber" suites of third-party applications designed to enhance the accessibility of Android smart devices. Apps4Android’s AAIs identify the accessibility applications not currently installed on an Android smart device. They then walk the user through installing the missing accessibility applications.
Apps4Android’s AAIs manage the detection and installation of the following Android accessibility applications:
1. Accessibility Preferences (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Enables users to easily modify settings for accessibility applications such as TalkBack.
2. Eyes Free Shell (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Permits the use of an Android smart device as an eyes-free communicator.
3. IDEAL Item Identifier® (Apps4Android) Takes pictures of standard UPC and QR codes and voices the description of the item using Google’s TTS voices. It also enables users to create talking barcodes.
4. IDEAL Magnifier® (Apps4Android) Turns most Android smart devices into handheld video magnifiers.
5. IDEAL Web Access Pack® (Apps4Android) Enables individuals with print disabilities to easily surf the Web.
6. K-9 Mail® (Apps4Android and K-9 Dog Walkers) Fully accessible Android e-mail client that includes the ability to create, send, receive, and read e-mail messages. Other features include search, push e-mail, multi-folder sync, flagging, filing, signatures, bcc-self, mail on SD and more! K-9 Mail supports IMAP, POP3, and Exchange (with WebDAV).
7. KickBack (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) provides haptic (vibratory) feedback in response to various events taking place on Android smart devices
8. Rock Lock (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) A fully accessible music player.
9. SoundBack (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Provides non-spoken, auditory feedback in response to various events taking place on Android smart devices.
10. TalkBack (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Provides screenreading functionality to native Android applications on Android devices.
11. Talking Dialer (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Enables users to dial phone numbers in an eyes-free environment.
12. Walky Talky (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Accessible GPS navigation aids.
13. Intersection Explorer (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Accessible GPS navigation aids.
Apps4Android AAIs have been released for:
1. AT&T® Android smart device users in the United States.
2. Sprint® Android smart device users in the United States.
3. T-Mobile® Android smart device users in the United States, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Poland.
4. Verizon® Android smart device users in the United States.
5. Vodafone® Android smart device users in Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, and Romania.
6. Optus® in Australia, Orange® in France, DOCOMO®, SoftBank®, and au by KDDI® in Japan, Singtel® in Singapore, nTelos® in the United States, and all other carrier’s Android smart device users in all other countries including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Best Voices for Android®:
All of Apps4Android's accessibility applications incorporate the use of text-to-speech voices. Because of this, and because many text-to- speech users prefer high-quality human-sounding voices, Apps4Android is pleased to release "Best Voices for Android." Voices are available in 25 languages including a total of 37 voices.
"Best Voices for Android" languages include Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Canadian French, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, European Spanish, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Mexican Spanish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Turkish, UK English, and U.S. English.
Best Voices for Android® not only provides the ability to purchase the best voices on the market, it permits users to sample the voices before purchasing them! Even better, Best Voices for Android® are only $2.99 each!
Important note: "Best Voices for Android" will only run on smart devices running Android version 2.2 (Froyo) and above.
The following has been excerpted from the announcement. To read the complete press release in html, click here. To read a Word version of the release, click here.
The apps can be found on the Android Market by searching for Apps4Android.
Apps4Android’s AAIs:
Apps4Android’s AAIs are carrier-specific applications designed to make it easy and intuitive for wireless carrier retail store personnel, help desk professionals, and subscribers to identify, download, and install "no-cost-to-the-subscriber" suites of third-party applications designed to enhance the accessibility of Android smart devices. Apps4Android’s AAIs identify the accessibility applications not currently installed on an Android smart device. They then walk the user through installing the missing accessibility applications.Apps4Android’s AAIs manage the detection and installation of the following Android accessibility applications:
1. Accessibility Preferences (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Enables users to easily modify settings for accessibility applications such as TalkBack.
2. Eyes Free Shell (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Permits the use of an Android smart device as an eyes-free communicator.
3. IDEAL Item Identifier® (Apps4Android) Takes pictures of standard UPC and QR codes and voices the description of the item using Google’s TTS voices. It also enables users to create talking barcodes.
4. IDEAL Magnifier® (Apps4Android) Turns most Android smart devices into handheld video magnifiers.
5. IDEAL Web Access Pack® (Apps4Android) Enables individuals with print disabilities to easily surf the Web.
6. K-9 Mail® (Apps4Android and K-9 Dog Walkers) Fully accessible Android e-mail client that includes the ability to create, send, receive, and read e-mail messages. Other features include search, push e-mail, multi-folder sync, flagging, filing, signatures, bcc-self, mail on SD and more! K-9 Mail supports IMAP, POP3, and Exchange (with WebDAV).
7. KickBack (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) provides haptic (vibratory) feedback in response to various events taking place on Android smart devices
8. Rock Lock (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) A fully accessible music player.
9. SoundBack (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Provides non-spoken, auditory feedback in response to various events taking place on Android smart devices.
10. TalkBack (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Provides screenreading functionality to native Android applications on Android devices.
11. Talking Dialer (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Enables users to dial phone numbers in an eyes-free environment.
12. Walky Talky (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Accessible GPS navigation aids.
13. Intersection Explorer (Developer: Google Eyes-Free Team) Accessible GPS navigation aids.
Apps4Android AAIs have been released for:
1. AT&T® Android smart device users in the United States.
2. Sprint® Android smart device users in the United States.
3. T-Mobile® Android smart device users in the United States, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Poland.
4. Verizon® Android smart device users in the United States.
5. Vodafone® Android smart device users in Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, and Romania.
6. Optus® in Australia, Orange® in France, DOCOMO®, SoftBank®, and au by KDDI® in Japan, Singtel® in Singapore, nTelos® in the United States, and all other carrier’s Android smart device users in all other countries including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Best Voices for Android®:
All of Apps4Android's accessibility applications incorporate the use of text-to-speech voices. Because of this, and because many text-to- speech users prefer high-quality human-sounding voices, Apps4Android is pleased to release "Best Voices for Android." Voices are available in 25 languages including a total of 37 voices."Best Voices for Android" languages include Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Canadian French, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, European Spanish, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Mexican Spanish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Turkish, UK English, and U.S. English.
Best Voices for Android® not only provides the ability to purchase the best voices on the market, it permits users to sample the voices before purchasing them! Even better, Best Voices for Android® are only $2.99 each!
Important note: "Best Voices for Android" will only run on smart devices running Android version 2.2 (Froyo) and above.