Getting in Touch with iPad

By Dorrie Rush

There is a beautiful concept in technology today. It’s called universal access, and it’s on fire! This means that what’s good for one is good for all — it is the great equalizer. If you are visually impaired, like I am, and you wish you could use the same electronic devices everybody’s talking about, your time has come.


The iPad has landed. On the market just a few short months and already in the hands of some 4 million users, it has already revolutionized the culture of — really — personal computing. And it is raising the bar — way high — for universal accessibility. That’s because the iPad comes out of the box ready to serve all your visual needs.


Let’s just talk for a moment about electronic books. I am asked frequently about how those of us with impaired vision can successfully move into the mega-trend called e-reading. It seems like a natural, but so many factors must be right for it to work. Will the screen be big enough? Will the print be large enough? Will the contrast be sharp enough?


The iPad has a 9-inch screen and the contrast is bright and clear. It has built-in accessibility features that make it possible to read an electronic or audio book with low or no vision. Yes, that’s equal access for all. The multiple choices that come from a feature called Zoom for enlarging print and from Voice Over for enabling voice are often available with a gesture as easy as a tap, a click, a pinch or a swipe. There is certainly a learning curve involved; no doubt about that, but that’s true for all users of this new-age touch-screen technology. I promise you, it’s worth it. So, my advice is to start with one thing — say iBooks. Learn to use it comfortably, and then move on to one of the other uses for the iPad: e-mail, internet, photographs, movies, music.


I am as technophobic as any average member of the aging population, which is why I know, if I can do it, you can too. Yes you can! Go to your local Apple retail store and ask for a demonstration of iPad’s accessibility features: Zoom and Voice Over. Don’t get overwhelmed by everything it does. Take one step at a time — and take advantage of Apple’s Genius Bar. You can also sign up for one-to-one training.

The iPad has, undoubtedly, reset the standard for universal accessibility. And it looks like we can soon expect to use more popular electronic devices right out of the box — like everyone else. Just last week, Amazon released the Kindle 3 with speech-enabled menus, a brighter screen and sharper fonts. It’s not yet in the hands of consumers … but it certainly is promising.


This is really just the beginning. The world is changing in some amazing — and long-overdue —ways!


Original article published on:
http://www.amdalliance.org/DRush_Getting_in_Touch_with_iPad.html