Hello,
I just thought some would be interested in a few observations with Talks 5 and a touch screen phone compared to the iPhone and even the same phone running Mobile Speak version 4.
I’m using a N97Mini.
Firstly, Mobile speak did nothing but get on my nerves for the past few days. I don’t think as much work went into the S60 commands as went into the Windows mobile side of the application. It’s great that it’s cross platform but because the manual tries to be a one tool fits all facility, it is very hard to figure out what works on S60 and what works on Windows mobile. Also, this layered command approach is great with Jaws and Window eyes etc however Mobile speak uses layered commands for everything. It gets very confusing after awhile. Finally, Mobile speak does not do what it says it will on the N97. I have verified these observations with other mobile speak users. For example. Triple tapping on the screen should exit a layered command, double tapping should execute the item that has focus unless your in a layered command. These did not work at all. I could go on and on about the problems I had with Mobile speak but I won’t. I’ll finish this part of the mail by saying, don’t touch it. Don’t even think of touching it if your using aS60 fifth generation touchscreen phone. It will most certainly drive you crazy.
With Talks, all the commands just worked! I had a bit of bother installing it but I didn’t read the manual so the steps for installing this latest version could have changed slightly. I love that I can use the screen in the same way i used hte iPhone when it suits me. But if I want to get access to information like battery status, signel strength etc I know that I can use talks commands to get that without messing around looking for tiny indicator graphics at the top of the screen.
I also love the one handed mode that has been created. Using the iPhone with one hand was doable but it really wasn’t easy at all. Especially when walking. Talks takes over the volume key in places where it has no purpis. Arrow down moves you down in a list. Arrow up moves you up. Holding the down arrow for less than a half a second will select the item your on and holding the up arrow will give you a short list with the soft keys. It’s really very easy to look through contacts, the last numbers / missed call lists etc when walking.
Of course, the N97 comes with a qwerty keyboard. So, you can use the talks key along with the keys on the keyboard as well. This version of Talks really tries to cater for accessibility in every environment.
The only thing I’d say is that mobile speak used the camera button as it’s modifier. I think talks can be configured to use this but it would make more sense to have that set by default in my opinion. I don’t like having the menu key as the talks modifier.
After using the iPhone for a while and comparing it to this, I find that Talks has really built on what Apple did with voice over for the iPhone. They’ve thought it out a lot and played with a lot of consepts. There’s just so many ways of accessing this phone that no matter what your doing you’ll find a solution that will give you the speech feedback you need.
I personally like touch screens because after a while you know where everything is. Their designed for rapid one touch access to icons that are visible. If you can remember where they are a screen reader user can have the same quick access.
The only thing I’m finding just slightly off putting is that the menu shows four items across. This is just a tad off putting because on the iPhone, everything was either in the middle or the left and right. Now that there are two columns in the middle of this phone it’s not as easy to memorise the layout.
Of course some would disagree.
If you see the N97 mini, don’t dismiss it just because it’s a touch screen phone. I’m loving it.
I am happy you like Talks 5. I baught a smartphone in Oct of last year and put Mobile Speak on it, it’s the Samsung Jack by ATT. IMO, for phones that have physical keys, Mobilespeak 4 does pretty good and I like the new privacy feature. The only things get on my nerves is the overly long keyboard help. It talks about everything the command does for Pocket PC, smartphone, and even Simbian. That’s rediculous. and the manual does need a lot of workk.
Another thing I wish they could fix is the delay in DECtalk from the time you hit a key to the time the speech starts talking. Half a second! I’ve heard Talks is snappy in this regard, and I wish they could do the same with DECtalk (I like DECtalk speech). I think they need to work on the touch screen environment a lot like you say. A few people say that Talks is good for touch screens, MS is good for the rest.