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Accessible applications – Episode 3: iPhone

Softonic Editorial Team

Softonic Editorial Team

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What are accessible applications?

Accessible applications are programs that allow people with disabilities to use the computer, or to perform, via a PC or a smartphone, tasks that are usually impossible, or at least very difficult.

In recent years, a large number of programs have been created to help those who are blind, visually impaired, deaf or color blind, as well as people with physical and cognitive problems, and speech and language difficulties, making their lives a bit easier.

All platforms offer accessible programs, some by default with the operating system (such as VoiceOver for OS X) and others through third party software. In this article, we explore the options available on iPhone and other mobile OS.

Vlingo (for iPhone)Browse the internet using voice commands. This is a very good speech recognition program with a web function. You can even use it to search Google or Yahoo!, to tweet and to post on Facebook.

You can also use the app to make a call or to dictate text messages. You only have to have a basic understanding of the application to be able to use it easily.

Vlingo is also available on Android, Symbian S60 5th and BlackBerry.

Proloquo2Go (for iPhone)Let you phone speak for you. This app basically gives a voice to those who don’t have one! Thanks to its easily accessed basic vocabulary, people who are mute or have difficulty articulating words can communicate more easily.

Once you’ve constructed your sentences using icons and designs, the app pronounces and writes the sentence for you. There is also a keyboard, which allows you to enter words that Proloquo2Go doesn’t have in its database. In addition, you can add new terms by assigning them custom icons, or even photos taken with your iPhone.

Thanks to the video tutorial, it’s very easy to learn to use this app, which offers many different voices to suit the person who’s using it.

iHear Dialer (iPhone)Dial phone numbers without the aid of sight. This app lets you do this thanks to a simple but ingenious idea – a numeric keypad speaker. A voice tells you the number your finger is touching. When you get the right one, lift your finger and the number is entered. The same concept applies to the Call key and the Delete button.

To make your life easier, iHear Dialer also stores the last six numbers called.

SoundAMP R (iPhone)–  Amplify and correct the sounds around you, so that they are more easily heard. SoundAMP R uses the microphone and the audio output of your iPhone to do this.

The human ear, on average, perceives sounds ranging from 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz, and the range at which the ear is most sensitive is between 2,000 and 3,000 hertz, which is roughly where the human voice falls. SoundAMP R helps users perceive these important frequencies, thanks to a five-band graphic equalizer.

The app also offers a replay function, which allows you to replay the last 30 seconds of conversation, and a voice recorder. It makes an excellent aid for those with hearing loss.

Visolve for iPhone Change or intensifythe colors of images to make them easier to see. By doing this, Visolve for iPhone aims to help people who are colorblind. The program applies a filter to the image shown on the screen of your mobile phone, or portions of it, and makes it easier to see the colors.

It works with any type of image, as well as photos you’ve taken that are already in your albums.

Read the other episodes in the accessible program guide:

Original article, written by Pier Francesco Piccolomini first published by Softonic IT.

Softonic Editorial Team

Softonic Editorial Team

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