Eyes-Free Review: Droid2 From MOT

Here is a quick eyes-free access overview of the MOT Droid2.

Hardware

1. The device has a pull-out keyboard, and the buttons are much more tactile than the original Droid.
2. The device also has dropped the hard-to-use D-Pad from the original Droid in favor of PC-style arrow keys.
3. There is once again no dedicated number row at the top.
4. The capacitive buttons on the front of the device appear in a different order from the original Droid --- with the device in portrait mode, reading left to right you have: Menu, home, back, and search.
5. In addition, MOT ships a voice search application on the device that is triggered by pressing a special microphone button -- it's worth learning the position of this key, since voice-search can be useful --- and more importantly, if you're relying on spoken feedback, hitting this button leads to the phone falling inexplicably silent.

Software

If you look under accessibility, you'll find an application called Voice Readouts from MOT. This appears to be a screenreader analogous to TalkBack, though in my experience, it did not produce spoken feedback in many instances. That said, this application collaborates well with TalkBack --- and after installing TalkBack from the Android Market (note: the Droid2 does not come with TalkBack bundled) -- you can activate both TalkBack and VoiceReadout for an optimal experience.

VoiceReadout appears to have a preliminary version of touch-exploration. With VoiceReadout active, a single tap speaks the item under the finger; a double-tap activates that item. Note that moving the finger around on the display does not appear to trigger touch exploration; also, touch exploration appears to be available in only some contexts.

Instances where touch exploration appears to be active

1. Settings application.
2. Portions of Android Market.

In general, touch exploration appears to be available in ListView.

In addition, the Droid2 also includes a low-vision accessibility tool called Zoom Mode ( look for it under Settings -> Accessibility ) this tool provides a magnification lens.

Summary

All in all, the Droid2 appears to be one of the better choices for eyes-free use from among the presently available crop of Android phones. Touch exploration, though preliminary, is nice to see on the platform, and the bundled low-vision magnification aid is a nice touch. Voice Readouts is also a great example of an Android accessibility service done right in that it co-exists peacefully with other screenreaders like TalkBack to provide an optimal end-user experience. To users not familiar with adaptive technologies in general, this might not sound like a big deal --- but users of PC screenreders have long been familiar with the need to have only one screenreader turned on. As we transition to modern platforms like Android, it's useful to remind ourselves that screenreaders can in fact co-exist, with each tool providing something useful to create an overall experience that is greater than the sum of the parts.

Welcoming Loquendo Susan To Android (FroYo)

Android 2.2 (AKA FroYo) introduces many platform enhancements, and one that I find particularly relevant is the ability to plug-in additional Text-To-Speech engines. What this means from an end-user point of view:

• Android comes with a set of built-in voices since Android 1.6 --- these are the Pico voices for English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
• With the Text-ToSpeech plug-in mechanism in place, we can now add new engines to the platform.
• The first such add-on was ESpeak, which brings support for many of the world's languages.
• And now, vendors are able to sell high-quality add-on voices via the Android Market.
• Loquendo Susan is the first commercially available voice for Android. Users running FroYo can buy this voice on the Android Market. Thanks to the plug-in mechanism, once you buy a new voice, you can switch all your talking applications to use the newly installed voice --- see instructions below.

Activating And Using Newly Installed Voices

Goto Settings → Voice Input And Output → Text To Speech Settings. First, activate the newly installed voice by clicking the corresponding checkbox item for that voice. Next, go to Default Engine in the Text To Speech Settings menu, and make the newly installed voice your default engine. Finaly, if you want all applications to use the new voice, check option Always use my settings

With this in place, my Nexus and Droid both speak using Loquendo Susan --- thus turning my Android into into a truly pleasant eyes-free device.

Stitcher And TalkBack: The World In My Ears

Shortwave Radio --- and DXing was one my hobbies growing up--- I spent many hours listening to far-off radio stations ---and in the process developed a love for languages. Fast forward to the late 90's, and one could now listen to radio stations from all around the world on the Internet --- but this time without the hiss and static of shortwave propogation. But there was a catch --- you needed to be at your computer to listen to these stations. At home, I solved this problem by setting up a set of living room speakers connected to the computer in my office-bedroom; with a wireless keyboard, this brought Internet radio to my living room.

Fast-forward to the next decade, and I now have the Internet in my pocket in the form of a smart phone. I recently discovered Stitcher on the Android Market --- and it got me the final mile to having ubiquitous access to Internet Radio!

Using Stitcher With TalkBack

There is little more to say other than try it out! .Stitcher on Android is a simple Android application that worksout of the box with TalkBack. Once you install stitcher fromMarket, use the arrow keys or trackball on your phone to browse through the various categories. Clicking on stations launchesplayback immediately. Note that for now, the stop buttonin the player is not navigable by the trackball --- I have gotten used to hitting it by dead-reckoning since it always appears in afixed position. In the last few weeks, stitcher hasreplaced StreamFuriously , my previous Internet Radio solution on Android.

So here's to happy listening!A brief note on the title of this post --- The World In My Ears was also the title of abook on DXing by Arthur Cushen from New Zealand --- I remember hearing his voice in the 80's on the BBC's World Service.