{"id":2634,"date":"2014-09-23T13:58:44","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T17:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.equipmentlink.org\/blog\/?p=2634"},"modified":"2014-09-23T13:58:44","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T17:58:44","slug":"new-iphone-ios8-and-more-92314","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.equipmentlink.org\/blog\/?p=2634","title":{"rendered":"New iPhone, iOS8, and more, 9\/23\/14"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contributed by Joel Zimba, Special Projects Corodinator, MDTAP<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been quite a week in the mobile accessibility world.\u00a0 For iOS users, it\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year.\u00a0 As expected Apple released a new version of the iOS operating system, along with new iPhones.<\/p>\n

As if that weren\u2019t enough, a couple of new apps have dropped which you can run on that spiffy new iPhone: \u00a0An informational app called \u201cNAGDU<\/a>,\u201d produced by the National Association of Guide Dog Users, provides legal and contact information which may be useful to any guide dog user.\u00a0 It\u2019s a simple and straight-forward app, though I expect it will be expanded over time.\u00a0 NAGDU can be downloaded from the App Store free of charge.<\/p>\n

The long-awaited KNFB Mobile app has finally arrived.\u00a0 Much like the KNFB Reader, which ran its software on a Nokia phone, the KNFB app performs OCR functions using the iPhone camera. \u00a0We receive many calls at MDTAP asking about software which can read printed text.\u00a0 I\u2019ve written previous articles about Text Detective and Prizmo which attempt to solve the same problem.\u00a0 Nothing I\u2019ve used previously compare to the speed and accuracy of the KNFB Mobile app.\u00a0 Early reports are very positive.\u00a0 There is plenty of discussion at the applevis.com website regarding tips and tricks as well as large amounts of user-experiences and advice.\u00a0 KNFB Mobile can be found in the Appstore.\u00a0 The cost is $99.00.<\/p>\n

As mentioned above, iOS 8 has arrived.\u00a0 A host of improvements, changes and bugs await you.\u00a0 The good folks over at the NFB Technology blog have written a couple of articles about iOS 8. Check out http:\/\/www.nfb.org\/at-blog<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0Of particular note is the new Braille entry mode.\u00a0 For questions and comments, particularly about accessibility, I, again, recommend the excellent applevis.com resource.<\/p>\n

Over the next few weeks, there will be many updates to third-party apps\u00a0and certainly a patch or two for iOS 8 itself.\u00a0 If you\u2019re the cautious type, it wouldn\u2019t hurt to update your device after the dust has cleared.\u00a0 If I were a betting man, I would put money on a demonstration video or two coming your way as well.<\/p>\n

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