Seeking help with the Innuos Sense app

Hello, Audiogoners. A warning at the top: This post, by necessity, will be long and detailed, as I’m a blind guy who is looking for very specific help with a certain app, and will need first to describe how blind folks employ a screen reader to access their phone.

My reason for writing: I’ve been thinking about buying an Innuos Zen Mini, but need to determine if the company’s Sense app will be accessible too me, as the last thing I want to do is drop a bunch of money on something I cannot use.

A bit of information so this makes sense. On my iPhone, I use VoiceOver, Apple’s built-in screen reader for the blind. It speaks what’s on the screen and allows me to click on buttons, etc. On apps that are written properly, that is. And not all are — at all.

I’d like someone who has an Innuos device to check the Sense app to determine if it could work for me. Simply put, there are three general categories of accessibility: Some apps are completely inaccessible, giving a blind user no information whatsoever. At the other end of the spectrum are the apps that work like a charm, allowing a blind guy to do anything a sighted person can. And then there are a great many apps that are somewhere between those two extremes, working to a degree, but not always easily or completely.

For anyone still with me and willing to read more, I’ll explain how VoiceOver works. You launch it with a triple-click of the iPhone’s power button. (It’ll say something like, “VoiceOver on. Another triple click turns it off.) At this point, your phone no longer works as it used to. If the app on your screen is accessible, moving your finger around will tell you what’s beneath the cursor. You can also flick left or right to move forward or back from one element to another. When you find something you’d wish to activate, like a button labeled “New,” you tap twice and you are off to the races.

If someone with the Innuos Sense app would be willing to try launching VoiceOver and seeing what happens, I’d greatly appreciate it. If you move your finger around on the screen does it speak what’s under it? If you flick left and right, does it do the same? When you find something you’d wish to tap on, does double-tapping it activate it? Also, are items labeled clearly? Sighted folks would be surprised to know how many times a VoiceOver user comes across a button that is simply called “button,” instead of, say, “play” or “pause” or some such. When that happens, it’s not a deal-breaker, as a motivated blind user generally has ways to soldier on.

I’ve gone on far too long here, but felt I needed to. If anyone with an Innuos system and the Sense app would be willing to give this a try, I’d greatly appreciate it.

Thanks so very much.

— Howard