ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG | INVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Voice Dream Reader is an app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch that supports people who prefer reading in different ways. Voice Dream can read documents from a number of sources with multiple high quality text-to-speech voices. Users can import PDFs, Word documents, text files, webpages, and even Bookshare books into the app. Once the text is loaded into the app you can listen to it using text-to-speech, highlight the text, search for a specific words or phrases, and get definitions for unknown words. Among many other uses, Voice Dream Reader is a terrific Bookshare book reader for students. Voice Dream also works very well with VoiceOver. Now, with newly released Voice Dream Reader version 3.0, new features have been added that makes the app even more useful.

Up until yesterday evening, Voice Dream only supported text. All images and formatting associated with a file were stripped away. With version 3.0 images and formatting within PDF files are retained. Now you can read a PDF in its original layout. Voice Dream still highlights each word as it is read aloud. It is easy to switch between layout view and text view depending on your preferences. Version 3.0 also includes more customization options. Users now have more control over the colors of the highlighting and spacing of the text. An improved web browser has been added that makes adding text from the web quicker and easier. New Ivona text-to-speech voices are also available for purchase in version 3.0.

With large PDF files page loading is slightly slow, but this problem only occur with very large files and does not effect text view performance.

In future updates image support maybe added for Bookshare books or other document types. I also hope iCloud sync will be added in a future update. At school I read my books on my iPhone and make new annotations, but when I get home and start reading on my iPad the annotations are stuck on the iPhone and I must search for the page that I left off on. iCloud sync would make this process much more seamless.

Voice Dream Reader is a must have app for iOS users with print disabilities or anyone who could benefit from reading with text-to-speech. Voice Dream Reader's well developed features make loading, reading, and annotating text easy. Knowing that the app has a developer that is open to feedback and actively developing new features is an added benefit. Voice Dream Reader costs $9.99 on the App Store. Click here to download the app. There is also a lite version of Voice Dream Reader that allows you to try it before you buy.

Click read more to view screenshots of Voice Dream Reader.

Launch Center Pro is an app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch that allows users to launch apps and simple tasks directly from the app. Instead of launching Safari, navigating to the search site, and typing in your search, for instance, Launch Center Pro lets you directly search Google or Wikipedia; Launch Center Pro also can be configured  by users to set up group email, instead of having to type in the email address of each recipient.

Launch Center Pro uses a simple interface to make it easy to simplify some of your common actions and launch them quickly. I frequently text my sister "where are you?" Instead of launching the Messages app, finding my sister's contact, and then typing the message, I created a Launch Center Pro action that sends a text to my sister saying, "where are you?" Now, when I want to text my sister, I just touch the icon for this action and a text saying "where are you?" is on its way to my sister.
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Creating actions is easy with the built in action composer which gives users the ability to pick pre-made actions for apps they already have installed on their device. The action composer also allows users to customize the icon of the action to make it easier to find.

Launch Center Pro works with a number of apps, but support for more useful actions among third party apps is hit or miss. Some apps such as Prizmo integrate very well with the app allowing you to easily launch actions, but other apps such as Nike+ Running can be opened, but not further interacted with. It would be nice to be able to start a new run in Nike+ via Launch Center, but actions like that requires the developer to build special support for Launch Center Pro into their apps. Click here to view a list of the apps currently supporting Launch Center Pro.

I see Launch Center Pro as a great app for first time iOS users, and other individuals who struggle performing sequential functions. Launch Center Pro can make it easier for first time iOS users learn to use their devices. Instead of learning how to search Google, Wikipedia, Yelp, and Google Maps individually a simple search menu could be made with quick links to search all those services. In terms of accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, Launch Center Pro works well with VoiceOver and supports the Fleksy keyboard which is accessible.

Launch Center Pro costs $4.99 for the iPhone version and $7.99 for the iPad version. Click here to view the app for iPhone and click here to view the app for iPad. Click read more below to view screen shots of Launch Center Pro in action.

I have been following the digital writing market for some time now and was intrigued when I learned about a new product from Tegware, called the Tegware Bagel, which marries an iPhone case with a small Boogie Board eWriter display, which was released at CES 2014. Having reviewed the original Boogie Board when it was released, I saw first-hand how liberating it was to use for jotting down notes and for doodling and have enjoyed using one ever since. In fact, I now keep a Boogie Board Jot 4.5  on my desk at work to write down reminders and telephone numbers instead of wasting paper. There is a certain beauty in the simplicity of technology when it is done right and in this regard, Tegware has found a sweet
spot for using Kent Display's eWriter technology to marry it to an iPhone case. At first glance one might say why would you need to have another display when you have a digital device like an iPhone? That was my first reaction, but soon I realized that there are times when you just want to jot something down quickly when you are on the phone and having access to the Tegware Bagel is ideal for that.

The Tegware Bagel uses the pressure sensitive Boogie Board eWriter technology which gives you the smooth feel of writing on paper. The Tegware Bagel iPhone case is lightweight with a magnetic closure, has a good feel, and is made of high quality synthetic leather and is suited for the iPhone 5/5s and comes in a variety of colors to match your personal needs. The folio case comes with a stylus but in a pinch you could always use your finger. Once you jot something down you can quickly erase it by clicking on the erase button, which quickly refreshes the screen. The Tegware Bagel is powered by a non-replaceable built-in coin battery and has been rated for up to 50,000 erasures. If you have used the original Boogie Board then you will feel right at home using the Tegware Bagel. Writing or jotting down things feels really natural on the Tegware Bagel and is a really handy compliment to your iPhone. Short of being able to take the Tegaware Bagel out of the case to use in other venues, the product delivers a high quality writing experience for jotting things down when you are in a pinch. Now if Tegware can build the Boogie Board Sync into the Tegware Bagel it would take this product into a whole new realm!

"By partnering with GW Micro in this endeavor we are demonstrating Microsoft's onging commitment to provide all of our customers with the technology and tools to help each person be productive in both their work and personal lives."

This announcement is very significant in the world of assistive technology. This deal will allow millions of users to increase the usability of their computers for free if they already own Microsoft Office. Owners of Microsoft Office 2010 or higher can download Window-Eyes by visiting WindowEyesForOffice.com and following the instructions on screen.

Last week was certainly an exciting week as all the new gadgets and gizmos were announced at CES 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. One of the gadgets I had my eyes on all last year was the Boogie Board Sync 9.7 from Improv Electronics which had given us a taste for the product at last Year's CES. Well it finally arrived at my home last week and I have been putting it though its paces. If you have used any of the other Boogie Boards they are simple and easy to use eWriters for doodling or drawing, but one of the features that many of us asked for was a way to save our drawings and notes which is now possible with the Boogie Board Sync. Weighing in less than a pound and powered by a rechargeable battery which should last all week this device complete with stylus is an easy tool to capture notes and ideas without the need for pen and paper. The Boogie Board Sync utilizes a 9.7 inch diagonal LCD display to write on. While some of the early reviews have complained about the light contrast when writing on the device, I have found the contrast to be good and the writing quite legible. The stylus tip is quite thin and makes it easy to make finer detailed drawings or written notes compared to some of the previous stylus that were used with other Boogie Board models.  One of the really nice features of the Boogie Board Sync is the natural feel of the stylus on the LCD display-it has a smooth and silky feel when writing
and allows you to rest your palm on the screen without having to worry about making contact with it. The only strokes that are recorded by the Boogie Board Sync are the ones that are made with the stylus. The Boogie Board Sync has three buttons on the device, one to power up the device and two other buttons to save your notes and one to erase your notes. There are two LED indicators on the lower left hand side of the Boogie Board Sync to give you the status of the device's state and a blue indicator to indicate the status of the Bluetooth. While the Boogie Board Sync can be used with a micro USB cable plugged into a computer the real power is using this device with an IOS device (ie. iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch). You see you can pair your Boogie Board Sync to your iPad via Bluetooth and with the dedicated Sync app send your drawings directly to your device. You will find the free iPad app in the Apple Store which is a synch to learn. I have found the Bluetooth pairing to by quite quick and straight forward and have been able to pair my computer, iPad, and iPhone without a hitch. Once the Boogie Board Sync was paired to my iPad Mini I could access my
notes and drawings that were on the device and send them to Evernote, Twitter, or Facebook with an intuitive interface. The Sync app on my iPad Mini allowed me to organize my notes into Folders and automatically send them to Evernote for storage. If you have used your Boogie Board Sync to write some notes and have not paired it to your IOS device the next time you open the Sync app the Boogie Board Sync will automatically download all the files to your iPad.

The Boogie Board Sync has tremendous potential for students that want to move to a paperless system. This could be an ideal solution for students who want to digitize their notes and transfer them their JOS device or to Evernote. Having your notes stored in a digital format makes it easy to store and archive and search. Students will also enjoy the Boogie Board Sync portfolio case to house and protect their Boogie Board Sync. The possibilities are endless with the Boogie Board Sync and for an entry price of $99 dollars it is certainly worth entertaining as part of a note taking strategy and solution for students. All and all, waiting for the Boogie Board Sync to arrive was certainly worth waiting for and one that I will carry with me, to move away from writing notes on paper.

The number of gadgets that will surface in 2014 will be too numerous to follow-but one of the trends we will see are relatively inexpensive devices that complement the tablets and smartphones we carry and use. From this perspective the Boogie Board Sync adds tremendous value to our IOS devices and makes taking digital notes a reality with the natural feel of pen and paper.