I've never used a touch screen device but I would
imagine that the same kind of muscle memory you develop when using a keyboard
makes using such a device much easier than may seem at first as you continue to
use it. On my feature phone, with a keypad, I don't feel around when I
want to up arrow or down arrow through apps or menu items. I place a
certain finger right on the right part of a control that functions as up arrow
or another that functions as down arrow. I am not assuming this is exactly
like what a touch screen user does, but I would think it is similar to be a
meaningful analogy.
So, the foreign seeming nature of a touch screen
may result largely from people not realizing how much more similar it is to
working with a keyboard than would seem to be the case without such a
framework.
These are my speculations, not based on working
with a touch screen, but by extrapolating from a keypad to what logically seems
the case regarding a touch screen. I haven't wanted to go through the work
of learning gestures and getting used to a touch screen. I don't use a
phone in a way that it would benefit me. But I believe I have found a way
to think about learning such a device that may make it less frightening to some
or many people.
Gene
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2020 3:57 PM
Subject: Re: [TechTalk] New Smart Flip Phone?
Hello again:
For those who have lost their eyesight later in life, I can totally
understand why they might have trouble using touch screens. They may have a deck
stair ready issues and finger sensitivity issues that those of us who have been
blind since birth or since we were very young do not have. Therefore, I can
certainly see the exceptions to what we are talking about. In these cases, maybe
a flip phone would be best.
Victor
On Feb 20, 2020, at 12:37 PM, Jim Wohlgamuth via
Groups.Io <wohlggie@...> wrote:
Hello Jerald!
Wonder what you base you conclusions on? I personally know
quite a number of totally blind iPhone users and I personally have owned 6 or
7 touch screen phones and know of a fairly large number of other totally blind
Androind users. So wonder if you actually took any sort of poll
-scientific or other wise to come up with your conclusions..? Yes, I had a
small amount of sighted help in getting my first iphone setup and a bit more
in getting my Android setup but using a touch screen device is far from being
difficult for the folks that I know as well as don't know.
To answer your question as to how a totally blind or
partially sighted person uses the touch screens, we use our fingers to
navigate around the screen and locate the various items that we wish to
activate and then double tap them to activate them. Yes, my first touch
screen was a bit of a challenge but now I would rather have a touch screen
phone than a physical key board. I do use blue tooth keyboards with my
various touch screen devices but that is more out of convenience rather than
necessity. Of course I have always been a very inquisitive
indevisual. Just my thoughts! Catch Ya later! de
<wohlggie@...><KF8LT><Jim
Wohlgamuth>.
On 20-Feb-20 10:01, Gerald Levy via Groups.Io
wrote:
I suspect that many "blind" consumers who use smart phones that are
completely devoid of tactile buttons are not really "blind" at all, but
visually impaired and retain some funtional vision to navigate around a
touchscreen. Those who are totally blind and purport to use a
touchscreen smart phone probably had a lot of sighted help. Which is why
smart phones with tactile keypads like the BlindShell and Smart Vision have
been introduced. So I'm looking forward to hearing about the experiences of
a totally blind consumer using the new Samsung smart flip phone.
Gerald
On 2/20/2020 9:41 AM, Gene wrote:
Your statement about buttons is inaccurate
based on discussions I've seen on this topic before. Most smart
phones already had very few buttons, and, as for the elimination of the
home button on the I-Phone, while I can't speak from personal experience,
I've seen enough comments on lists like this that the button's elimination
doesn't mean blind people can't use the phone. Evidently, the screen
simulates the presence of a button by vibrating. I'm not saying I
definitely understand the situation and I await other comments but how
many people have you seen say they stopped using an I-Phone because of
elimination of the home button?
You often state the worst case interpretation
of situations.
Gene
----- Origial Message -----
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2020 5:22 AM
Subject: Re: [TechTalk] New Smart Flip
Phone?
According to Consumer Reports, this Samsung smart flip phone employs a
new touchscreen technology that allows it to be thin and flexible enough
to be folded in half like a wallet. But in tests, it proved to be
very fragile, and CR did not recommend it, especially in view of its very
high price tag. And it would probably not be a good choice for a
blind consumer because even unfolded the touchscreen is relatively small
and has no tactile buttons. This seems to be a growing trend in
smart phones: eliminating all physical buttons, making it virtually
impossible for a blind consumer to use the phone without some sighted help
or a lot of hands-on training.
Gerald
On 2/19/2020 9:20 PM, Mike B wrote:
Hi Lisa,
I heard about a phone like you're
describing just the other day and I think they said that Samsung was the
company producing it. From the way the guy was describing
the way it works, it sounds like it'll be a really cool phone, but for
$1300 it damn well otta be! LOL LOL Check out the link
below for a review.
Take care. Mike. Sent from my iBarstool.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2020 5:02 PM
Subject: [TechTalk] New Smart Flip Phone?
Hi, all.
My semi-techno-phobic dad is going to
trade in his old flip phone soon.
He said he saw something on TV
advertising a smart flip phone, he means
a phone with the same body
style as a feature flip phone but with the
capability of a modern
iPhone or Android Smart phone. I haven't heard
anything about this.
Does anyone here have any info about this type of
phone? Brand,
Wireless carrier, etc?
TIA
Lisa
--
Lisa Belville
missktlab1217@...
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