Listen to That Android Show Episode 33: Crusade Of One

They say that comedy relies on timing. Well, it turns out the same can be applied to podcasting. The day we had scheduled for the recording of this month’s show just coincidentally happened to be the same day Google informed the world about Android L. Listen as JJ, Ana and Steve talk about the latest news as it happened in Episode 33!

In The News:

Android L is now Android lollypop and Official

All current Nexuses, including Nexus 4 and 2012 Nexus 7, will get Lollipop

Moto confirms update to L plans

Nexus 6 official

Nexus 9 Specs

Sick of your Galaxy Gear with Androidware? Just stick Windows 95 on it

Nexus Player is First Android TV box

Google Play Store v5.0

MBraille 1.1.1 for Android is out. Fixes an UI translation issue where English was shown even if translation was available.

From SeroTalk, Fleksy talks Android and more

Blinddroid Wallet Updated

Google's conversational search adds Open Table

The Huddle 2 has been released

Android Developer Backstage Episode 14: Accessibility

Listen to That Android Show episode 32: NFC For You And Me

Steve and Joe drew the short straws this month to talk about what Android news is left on the table after a big Apple event. However, Joe also does a demo on the Google Now Launcher and how accessible it is with TalkBack versus his updated Galaxy S5 with Touch Wiz. Plus we have a great interview with code Factory. All that, and a bit more, on this month’s That Android Show.

In The News:

TalkBack was updated after our recording of this episode. Learn what’s new in this release by going to the Google Play Market page

As a follow up from episode 31: “For those who missed it earlier: #30DaysWithAndroid has a new home. No more Blogger! ;) And a nice listing.”

Are blind Android users the Amish of our community?

A new article in which Gonz responds to Android fans

From AccessTech @AccessZa on Twitter, Sony Xperia S accessibility review

Amazon Prime Instant Video finally comes to Android

Google's latest object recognition tech can spot everything in your living room

Google Unveils The Cartographer, Its Indoor Mapping Backpack

Nokia's HERE Maps is coming to Android as a Samsung exclusive

Report: Microsoft, Samsung and others showing interest in Cyanogen

20 Google Now tips every Android user should know

What Happened to Motorola?

Review: The new Moto G doesn’t change much, but still a steal at $179

Sony launches trio of flagship devices, Z3, Z3 Compact, and Z3 Tablet

Galaxy Note 4 versus HTC One M8: Quick comparison

Moto 360 review—Beautiful outside, ugly inside

LG G Watch R: hands-on with LG's Android smartwatch

Ouch! Fire Phone Drops From $199 To $0.99 On-Contract From AT&T, But At Least You Can Buy It In Europe Later This Month

App Demo: Google Now Launcher

Joe takes us on a short trip through some basic home screen differences between the recently revamped and released Google Now Launcher versus the Samsung Galaxy Series Touch Wiz interface. The Google Now Launcher is available for many phones and tablets running Kit Katt and is free. The Touch Wiz environment has many more hints and tips for speech users, however, it is nice to be able to hear what some aspects of the stock launcher would say under some conditions.

Developer Interview: Code Factory Global

Code Factory made the news earlier this year with the release of the very popular ETI voices. Joe sits down with Melanie Endres to talk Braille, more about voices and what changes are coming for the company in 2014 and beyond.

Contacting the Team

We’ve had our say, now its your turn. Drop us a line at [email protected] or send us a tweet at our official Twitter page.

You can also follow our hosts by visiting

Ana’s Accessible Android blog or

JJ at AndroidAccess.net.

Finally, Check out Steve’s Twitter feed.

Thanks for listening!

Listen to That Android Show Episode 31: Admit You Are Happy

The band is back together and its time to wrap up the summer. Google i/o, Site Village and the NFB/ACB summer shows are bandied about between JJ, Ana and Steve. Put your feet up, its an old fashioned gab fest Android style!

In The News:

Eve Andersson, manager of the core @googleaccess team at Google research, gave an inspiring speech at NFB 2014

Revisiting the "Switch to Android full-time" experiment

Fun with an Á Capella voice sample ;) #30DaysWithAndroid

Google’s Play Store refund policy appears to have been extended to two hours

Tesco's prototype Glass app lets you order milk by looking at the barcode

The Summer That Was…

We’ve had a lot of questions, emails and comments about the various summer events. And now its time to chat about all we heard from the various extravaganzas. Be sure to send in your thoughts to us via iBlink Radio, on Twitter and through email [email protected] with your opinions on these hot button issues.

Speaking of iBlink Radio, remember you can use that awesome Android app to catch up on all of SPN’s summer specials by checking the “Catch Convention” link on the front page or by going straight to our SeroTalk website

Additional Info…

There were a few products mentioned throughout this episode. Here are links to some of the products mentioned.

JJ talked about Android access with the iGrillMini

Steve described Telorion. To learn more, or purchase, it visit this link.

Or visit their homepage.

Contacting the Team

We’ve had our say, now its your turn. Drop us a line at or send us a tweet at our official Twitter page.

You can also follow our hosts by visiting

Ana’s Accessible Android blog or

JJ at AndroidAccess.net.

Finally, Check out Steve’s Twitter feed.

Thanks for listening!

Listen to That Android Show Episode 30: Short But Sweet

Its summer. Pools, beaches, backyards and BBQs. Those all sound like fun don’t they? Well, um, the crew of our show wouldn’t know because for them, sadly, their lives have involved hotels. But for travel related to summer connventions… and work. Oh well, we’ll catch up with the team next month. This time around we’ll have a short show with a demo, an interview and a review. Enjoy the summer everyone! App Demo: iBlink Radio

Lisa takes us on a tour of the new features found in the recently updated iBlink Radio for Android. The new version of iBlink Radio, also available on Kindle Fire OS devices, sports the ability to download content for offline listening. Check out this demo to hear what else is new with Serotek’s iBlink Radio. Then, right there from the app, leave feedback via the iReport button. Who knows, you may hear that on our next show! Also, feel free to read our help documentation for iBlink Radio here.

Finally, listen to Lisa's demo of iBlink Radio from a cross-platform perspective first heard on SeroTalk Podcast 205.

Developer Interview: En-Vision America

joe sits down with David Raistrick, of En-Vision America, to talk about the recently released ScriptTalk Mobile. Hear a short demo of the NFC based technology that can make reading prescription medication information a whole lot easier. And find the app in the Google Play store.

App Review: legend Of The Blue Dragon

From the thrilling days of yester year, or at least back when the world used a BBS for what we now call online communication, JJ brings us a demo of the classic “Legend of the Blue Dragon” game. Except, some how over the years, the dragon that was once red on BBS is now blue. No worries as the gameplay is the same. Which means it’s a whole lot of fun.

Contacting the Team

We’ve had our say, now its your turn. Drop us a line at or send us a tweet at our official Twitter page.

You can also follow our hosts by visiting

Ana’s Accessible Android blog or

JJ at AndroidAccess.net.

Finally, Check out Steve’s Twitter feed.

Thanks for listening!

Listen to That Android Show Episode 29: Ye Skeptical Bodies

Google i/o is just about to descend upon San Francisco. However, there is still a lot of news and info to cover before that event. Plus, our own Access Ana is on the gound at i/o and we’ll get a first hand account of the show next month on Episode 30. But we are getting ahead of our selves aren’t we? Episode 29 is here with talk of hardware, games and what’s new in access. Oh, and a really full Mailbag!

In the news:

Chrome 35 for Android now has native accessibility support

What Android 4.4.3 could mean about the future of Android updates

KitKat hits 13.6 percent of all Android devices, eclipses Ice Cream Sandwich

The Master Plan: Why Samsung Is Ditching Android

Google to sell Project Tango tablet dev kits for $1,024

Check out the new app Oculi

fleksy is trying to set up beta testing for Eyes-Free users in June.

Google Now can set an alarm to help remind you when it's your stop on public transit

Hardware Demo: Galaxy S5

Steve and joe are now sporting the Galaxy S5. As we discovered last month, this phone has many access options not seen in stock versions of Android. Steve takes us on a small tour of what you might encounter when using the new phone. And find out how it got him to give up Nova launcher!

Developer Interview: Nick Barbato of Diceworld

Joe sits down with one of the developers of the game that has taken the blind iOS community, and probably your social media feed, by storm. Heark Nick and Joe discuss what challenges the team faced when making their app accessible with Talkback, ow much friendlier the development platform is on Android and how you can help make the DiceWorld experience even better with your feedback.

App Review: Quizup

Did you know our host JJ adores game shows? Well he does and he can’t wait to shae just how this new TalkBack friendly app is perfect for scratching that casual game itch. Leaderboards, experience points and all in the time span it takes to answer seven questions.

Mailbag

Wow did you all ever send in the iReports, er um A Reports thanks to Ana, this go around. Check out the show to hear those, however, take a gander at this from Jessica too.

“Long winded as usual (sigh). But if you read this I think it will please you and maybe be an encouragement to others to try android os out perhaps. Hello. First I would ask something. Why is android access.net and anna's site out of date? People aren't likely to try things out if info is out of date and hasn't been updated for a while. Enough with the negative. I was an iphone person since iPhone 3gs. I guess you could say I was a pioneer in the touch screen accessibility field. I have a lot more computer experience but when I talk about it I fear people think I am bragging so I am going to leave it out of this message. I know nothing about programming however. Or very little. And if I had to administrate a system I probably would have a headache. I am more about showing people how to use their devices properly although I am not certified to do so. For years I told people stay away from android. Please bear with me. There is good news. I got my iPhone 5 in 2012 or 2013. Huge update from the 3gs. I also got the iPad mini first generation around this time. The iPad mini did not connect with me very well and just sat on my desk a majority of the time. And I got to thinking. My friend over here needs something he can use and he actually likes it now. He can download books from bard among other things and although he doesn't have things down as well as I like he knows how to delete books and how to download ones from the recently added audio books and magazines and is having the time of his life. For him the bigger screen works. For me it does not. Around this time. I still told people to stay away from android. But I was becoming less anti android. I would read anything I could find and occasionally tuned in to your android show podcast.

Listen to That Android Show Episode 28: Chips And Beer

To help remake accessibility training as we know it, visit to view training subscription options and make your contribution to EZFire’s A11YTV funding campaign.

Welcome back everyone to a show that has lots of talk, demos and an awesome interview from a phone retailer. JJ is a world traveler this month, therefore, the other guy with a J in his name steps in to host with Ana and steve. We have a ton of iReports in the Mailbag, an app to help you relax and your next TTS for Halloween.

In The News:

Our own Ana appeared on the Eyes on Success show talking about the kindle Fire HDX. Check it out here…

Android Silver: everything you need to know - TechRadar UK

In relation to the Silver discussion, Google Now launcher Recently Updated

Flounder” could be the codename for Google’s next Nexus device

Motorola’s Moto E runs KitKat, resists scratches, costs $129 unlocked

HTC-made Nexus device shows up in Android source code

Google added the ability to take photos while recording video back to the stock camera app. Neat!

Google Maps 8 brings lane guidance, Uber integration, and more

From JJ on Twitter, if you use Android and Uber, sign up for the beta of 3.0 so accessibility comments can be heard.

Google Now Shows You a List of Stores When You Go to a Mall

Steve had a chance to use Guide Dots. To learn more about this app, check out the google Play page

The Eyes Free List found a way around the “Okay Google” bug by using OpenMic

Sample Phone Setup Options for Android

From Our That Android Show Twitter Feed, Kyle Borah ?@KyleBorah May 10 If any Talkback android users are looking for a good trivia game, check out quizup. Its very accessible. @thatandroidshow

Federal court overturns Google v. Oracle decision, setting disastrous precedent

The Ever-Sorrier State of Android Bloatware

Your Android can now endlessly play relaxing music for free, thanks to Doze

App Demo: Doze

After all the news, Ana needed time to relax. An what better way to relax than for free on your Android with the Doze app. Rain, music and more. Find inner peace or at least something to just have on in the background for white noise. Ana also sent in this note after we went to press…. “Doze has been updated. There is now an additional unlabeled button for donating to the developer. If you swipe through the UI, the donate button is before Doze and Recline. Tapping it takes users to the Play Store, where they can donate a little over a dollar.” Discussion, New voices

The team sits down and talks about Eloquent Witches. No wait, the team sat down to discuss Elequence and yes, a Witch voice. Jarrod Jicha ?@JichaMan1974 wrote on Twitter,

This is got to be the weirdest android voice I have ever heard!

Code Factory ETI on Google Play

Interview: Odin Mobile

Ana sits down with the team at odin mobile to discuss the many options they offer in phones, in support and now a few options for those who live in particular states to gain an even cheapr mobile device. You won’t want to miss this interview and you definitely want to visit their site to learn more.

Contacting the Team

We’ve had our say, now its your turn. Drop us a line at or send us a tweet at our official Twitter page.

You can also follow our hosts by visiting

Ana’s Accessible Android blog or

JJ at AndroidAccess.net.

Finally, Check out Steve’s Twitter feed.

Thanks for listening!

Listen to That Android Show Episode 27: Lovely Cognitive Dissidence

The TAS team returns, no really, and we’re back to discuss a somewhat busy mainstream news month. Ana wasn’t able to join us in studio, however, she turns in a stellar overview of Google Calendar and takes an in-depth look at the new Galaxy S5’s new accessibility features. All that, and more, on a “back to normal’ That Android Show!

In The News:

CSUN 2014 has come and gone. Yet the news from that show continues to make waves. Take a gander at this article on highlights from the Exhibit Hall floor, written by our own JJ, for an example of some news on Android related products.

And Blind Bargains conducted interviews from the show floor as well. Check this one out on a popular synth being released through Code Factory to Google Play soon.

And even more on video magnifiers, Access Note and other Android news can be heard on our SPN flagship feed at SeroTalk.

And then there was the really big story this month. How to tell if your Android device is vulnerable to Heartbleed

Android 4.1.1 Still Vulnerable to Heartbleed

[Google now constantly scans your installed Android apps for malware[(http://liliputing.com/2014/04/google-now-constantly-scans-your-installed-android-apps-for-malware.html)

[Android fragmentation turning devices into a toxic hellstew of vulnerabilities[(http://dlvr.it/5N2GwS)

Android's KitKat is rolling out even more slowly than Jelly Bean did

Fingerprint lock in Samsung Galaxy 5 easily defeated by whitehat hackers

PayPal Debuts Its Biometrics And Smartwatch Integrations With Samsung

It’s out and being talked about. Samsung Focuses On Accessibility With An Ultrasonic Case, A Text-Reading Stand And Voice Labels

Tap Tap See Comes To Android

The following stories we may not have discussed directly, however, we thought them worth a read regardless.

Pre-iPhone Android envisioned with no touch-screen support

Google Play Still Tops iOS App Store Downloads, And Now Narrowing Revenue Gap, Too

Google Glass gets KitKat update, video calling removed

I Was Assaulted For Wearing Google Glass In The Wrong Part Of San Francisco

Google Patents Tiny Cameras Embedded In Contact Lenses

App Demo: Ana And Her Calendar

Ana is a very busy person and she has a super grasp of the Google ?Calendar as it’s how she keeps all her schedules together in one place. She shows us some basics and discusses the power that is in mastering dates and times. Also, check out this article for some advanced features.

The Coolest Things You Can Automatically Add to Google Calendar

Discussion Topic: In The Shadow Of Google i/o 2014, What Is Android Doing For Us Now

3d printing, pointy Braille and CSUN aftermath. We sit down and talk about various ways of access with Android and beyond.

Blind Bargains asks some tough questions about cross platform apps in relation to the latest release of TapTapSee

Joe recommends Access Talk for another look at what happened recently at CSUN and to get thoughts on a new user to the world of Android.

its good vs. evil? Its mets vs. Yankees? No, it is a battle that has always been around for one reason or another. Its “Is the note taker dead? 2014. While not directly Android related, except if you consider the Braille Plus 18 or the upcoming Access note from AFB, this discussion from HIMS started a lot of emails on so many Blind related lists.

Google Reveals the Crazy Modular Phones Ara Will Let You Build

Hardware Close Look: Samsung S5

Triple click Home to bring up… TalkBack? No, its not April Fools again. Ana sits down with Nimer Jaber to learn how this is a real thing on the newly released Samsung Galaxy S5. Touch Wiz has been improved and a whole slew of new access options came along in the box. Hear what’s new before you sign that next cell phone contract!

Mailbag:

We got in lots and lots of mail, iReports and tweets about how you liked [or in many cases didn’t] our April Fools programming on our show,

Listen to That Android Show Episode 26: You’re Android Is Not My Android

Welcome back to another month where the mainstream technology meets the Assistive Technology in an open and friendly arena known as “That Android Show”. This month our Alena, Buddy and John cover the recent events from the worlds of Android, Chrome and Google. Come on along and listen to what we think will be a swell and informative discussion about what drives us to use those amazing phones and tablets!

In The News:

Google Releases Huge Text-To-Speech (TTS) For Android Update v3.0 With High-Quality Voices, New Languages, And UI Changes APK Download

Everything You Didn't Know You Could Do with Google Voice Commands

Link to the Hitchhikers Guide Game mentioned by the crew

In two weeks, Google may have the only OEM-agnostic OS in a market again

Google’s Android Head Sundar Pichai talks Galaxy S6, Tizen, security and Nokia X range

Rumor: Google Picks LG to Create Nexus 6 and Nexus Smartwatch

Android custom experiences are the reason I carry a Moto X

The Nokia X has already been hacked to load Google Apps, access the Play store

Five reasons Microsoft could become a top Android smartphone company

Android low vision games.

Lunar Tabs: An Intelligent Accessible Guitar Tab Reader

Strap on your boots and play Tin Star

How I Droid- Email

10 tips to improve Android battery life

BBC News - AirPnP rent-out-your-toilet app launched for Mardi Gras

Contacting the Team

Follow Alena Roberts on Twitter

Follow Buddy Brannan on Twitter

Follow John Panarese on Twitter

Follow That Android Show on Twitter

Thanks for listening!

Listen to That Android Show Episode 25: The Silver Episode

February maybe one of the shortest months of the year, however, it doesn’t seem to be a quiet month for Android fans. Google’s buying, selling and updating like crazy and we try to encapsulate the month’s recent news in this episode. Plus, Ana provides an interview with another Android Developer, a discussion on recent critical articles on Android’s accessibility and of course your feedback in the overflowing Mailbag.

In The News:

Google’s $3.2 billion Nest deal is official

Q&A: Lenovo CEO On How To Turn Around Motorola

Nokea launches a trio of Android based phones

Strange bedfellows: Microsoft could bring Android apps to Windows

New Android OEM licensing terms leak; “Open” comes with a lot of restrictions

CamFind is Tap Tap See for Android says Steve

A walk with Project Tango

ideal Group has released GuideDroid Beta

Steve notes that you have to suspend TalkBack first, try Crazy Bat

Why you shouldn’t propose with Google Glass

Google i/o June 25th - 26th

Developer Interview: PDF To Speech Pro

Ana sits down to discuss the parels of development with PDF, alternative formats and the challenges of keeping up with so many changes to it all over so many years. don’t miss this inside look at one of the veteran apps for TalkBack users. Also, not listed here, this app is also available for Amazon kindle users via the Amazon App Market.

App Demo: PDF To Speech

Ana calls this PDF To Speech “a media player for books”. And she may just be right. With options for so many formats, voices and gestures, you will see why this app is one of the best options for those who use TalkBack to read various text formats.

Discussion topic: Android Development Accessibility

The team sits down to discuss recent articles from Marco and Chris about their views on Android Development and how accessible these development tools are. To follow along with the discussion, check out these articles: From Chris: Testing Android Accessibility: I Give Up

He also wrote a post on programming

Marco, previously interviewed on our show, has some info up about the challenges encounterd with firefox for Android

And… Accessibility in Firefox for Android – Some more technical details

Plus… Accessibility in Firefox for Android: Some more technical background, Part II

Be sure to send in your thoughts on these articles, or on our discussion of these articles, in an iReport or email. We’d like to hear what our audience has to say about all this. Who knows, your comments could be featured in an upcoming show!

Mailbag

Our first email is from Kelsey:

“Hi Guys, I just want to start off with a big thank you for all the great work you include in your Android podcasts and wish you all the best for 2014... bring it on podcast 25! My main topic is about Android - specifically, the Nexus 7.I'm a dedicated iOS user; I started off with an iPod Touch 4, merged to the iPhone 4 when my Owasys 22c blind phone broke down and now have an iPhone 4S. However, I took a risk just before the new year and dived into Android with the Google Nexus 7. This was after reading many articles with blind people moaning about how awful Android was compared to iOS and how it should be killed or destroyed or beaten up but I decided that I would decide for myself thank you very much. After un-boxing the Nexus 7 (which happened to fly across the room when I finally persuaded it to rather violently pop out of the box), I managed to set it up with TalkBack with no sighted assistance - one aspect I was very impressed with. I checked out the TalkBack tutorial and got my head around the basics. Next, I updated it to 4,4,2 KitKat and then set to work. The first thing I did was go to the Play Store, go to my iPhone and see which of the applications on my phone were available on the Nexus 7. I found a few and then went with the ones I knew.Plume for Twitter just didn't do it for me so I soon uninstalled that.

Listen to That Android Show Episode 24: Jeff Bezos’s Kidneystone

The polar Vortex doesn’t just bring cold, ice and snow. It also brings missing hosts and the happy return of our very first Developer interviewed on our very first independent show away from the, now called SeroSpectives, Tech Chats we did in the days of 1.6. Ah the memories. And what fantastic ones we will have with the cool games we demo in this latest episode!

In The News:

Android was featured twice on SPN’s This Year In A T

And check out “Triple Click Home” host Buddy Brannan talking about Android on the Kindle in his review of the HDX

Why the Kindle Fire HDX is a far better tablet than the iPad

Nest's CEO Tony Fadell explains why he teamed up with Google: it's about infrastructure

Why Nest will be bigger for Google than Android

Former Nest fans return their thermostats after Google acquisition

Leveling the Android Playing Field with the EqualEyes Launcher and Suite of Accessible Smartphone Apps

Tipa Reader, accessible document reading app released

Google Play Services 4.1 Released

Slow Down: Why Fast Android Updates Don't Matter Anymore - Lifehacker

Motorola offers free Chromecast with off-contract Moto X purchase

"Google Glass for the Visually Impaired," and episode from the Eyes on Success podcast

Putting Windows and Android on the same PC doesn’t solve anyone’s problems

Developer Spotlight: Ananse Productions

We sit down with the man behind the Stems and the Stacks, Mr. Kwasi Mensah, and talk about how things have changed over the past 23 episodes of our show for him and his games. He talks about the challenges of developing on Android, iOS, VoiceOver and TtalkBack. Plus, we hit him up for tips on the newly released SpellStack. Find more info about it, and the awesome Stem Stumper, at the Ananse Productions website.

Need help with your stacking? Check out the Player’s Guide for SpellStack

If you need more help, check out these recently posted YouTube links for the game;

Tutorial Walkthrough

Advanced Tutorial Walkthrough

And you can always email Support for more assistance at [email protected]

Contacting the Team

We’ve had our say, now its your turn. Drop us a line at [email protected] or send us a tweet at our official Twitter page.

You can also follow our hosts by visiting

Ana’s Accessible Android blog or

JJ at AndroidAccess.net.

Finally, Check out Steve’s Twitter feed.

Thanks for listening!