The Android Crew by COOL BLIND TECH

In this episode, James Oates shows off a new accessibility feature which allows anyone using an Android phone running Nougat 7.1 or higher. If you open the camera app, and you have Talkback 5.1 or higher running, Talkback will automatically give feedback concerning how many people are in the frame, if the faces are centered, and what percentage of the screen is occupied by the face or faces. This is a great way for a person who is blind to take selfies and capture important moments.

James also shows us how to give the photo a description, and share it to social media, cloud drive services, or by email.

In this episode, James Oates gets out of his comfort zone, and tries out his first ever Android phone. He describes the Pixel, shows us how to start TalkBack, navigates through the TalkBack tutorial, and shows us how to setup the phone.

Amazon’s virtual assistant was first introduced on the Echo, as well as the Echo dot. It only made sense that Alexa would eventually expand onto the rest of Amazon’s devices. If you own any of the new fire tablets including the fifth generation—or the hd tablets, you have access to Alexa, including her skills!

In this podcast, Leo demonstrates several ways to interact with the virtual assistant on the Fire tablet. Keep in mind that your tablet will need to run the latest version of Fire OS.

What do you think of Alexa on Fire tablets? Let us know in the comments!

In this episode, James Oates reviews the new Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Generation). He describes the configuration, and tells the lay-out of the physical buttons, and what they do. If you need help setting up your new Echo device, listen to this podcast from Leonid Prazdnik of Cool Blind Tech. James then talks about Amazon’s new unlimited music subscription which rivals the other major music subscription services already available. He demonstrates how well the Echo works with Amazon’s music subscription.

The amazon's Fire tablet has a lot of content to offer via its app store including games, apps and more. The problem is that not all apps that are on other app stores make it to amazon's ecosystem. Fortunately, since FireOS is based on Android, it's possible to get the Google Play Store onto your Fire tablet. In this Podcast, Leo demonstrates how to install the play store using a script from Root Junky. Keep in mind that if you haven’t already, you will need to obtain the Google USB drivers for the tablet.

Have you found the Play store on the Fire tablet useful? Let us know what you think!

The Amazon Echo is amazon’s Wi-Fi voice controlled speaker. Using just your voice, you can ask the Echo to do a number of things such as play your music library, check the weather, give you news updates, and much more! Additionally, third-party skills allow the Echo to expand its capabilities. In this podcast, Leo covers setting up the echo for the first time, as well as some of the things you can do with the echo, as well as its accompanying Alexa app.

Are there any particular features or skills you would like to be covered in a future podcast? Let us know!

No doubt the word phablet has entered every day vocabulary among the general population. The larger screen allows not only for more precise on-screen navigation, but also provides an opportunity for more content and video to be viewed.

On some phablets, such as Samsung's Galaxy Note 5, a stylus is included which can detect not only precise finger movement, but also pressure in the form of greater line thickness. For professionals, artists, and general consumers alike, this provides the ability to write with handwritten notes or drawings. A picture's worth a thousand words, or so they say.

What about other stylus advantages? Samsung has built a special "hover" gesture, which allows swiping and various screen actions without touching the physical phone. This is similar but very, very different from Apple's 3D touch. The reason we make this comparison is simple: Some air gestures can preview content or interact with it in contextual ways. However, it is worth "noting" that 3D touch requires a firm press on the screen, while this is the opposite, whereby you lift the stylus half an inch above it.

What about accessibility? Lucky for us, Samsung has built in Talkback support for the stylus. While not ideal, it allows you to swipe around the keyboard, tap items or keys, and see a more "3D" overview of the screen. With a physical stylus, your entire wrist and hand are involved in the touch exploration process. Drawing might also be useful for those who have some vision, as you can create large-print notes for yourself. Join as the question is explored: Is the Note 5's stylus capability worth it for the visually impaired?

With the recent release of KNFB Reader for Android, we can now see how text recognition and accuracy can differ among various smartphones. Does iOS still have an edge over recognition quality? What are some of the shortcomings of the Android app? Taking the same document, we run it through the camera of a Galaxy Note 5 and an iPhone 6s, which offer the 2015-era top notch camera quality from both Apple and Samsung.

You can grab the Android version of KNFB Reader here

Or grab the iOS one from the iTunes Store here.

If you are a fan of Android, you might be aware of how different the typing experience on most keyboard solutions can be for the platform. Samsung, LG, and even Google all design specific keyboards which differ in the way they present key layouts or even speak some of the names for keys.

For some, typing on Android might also seem slower than on rival operating systems. Usually this sluggish behavior is noticed when your finger makes contact with the keys on the keyboard - it takes a few seconds for the screen reader to announce which key you have touched.

Enter the Blind Accessibility Keyboard , a $3 app which is designed specifically for blind and low vision users. Unlike most other products, it announces the key your finger lands on by using the default TTS engine on your device. Other customization options, such as the height of the keyboard, labels for specific keys, and even a settings backup/ restore function are provided for advanced users.

In our experience, the keyboard can be a hit or miss depending on your device. For slower, more budget phones, typing might be slower or equal to the current stock solutions. For phones that are better with processor speed, it will probably feel faster and smoother. Other issues, such as not being able to hold the delete key to quickly erase text, are being addressed by the developer in a future update.

In this podcast, Yannick gives us an introduction to the new Samsung Galaxy S6, and its own screen reader named Galaxy Talkback. Feel free to send Yannick any comments or suggestions below or via twitter at @YPlassiard.

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