2017-07-15 06:03:43

Looking to get into something with decent accessibility but isn't a cheap phone, yet won't break my budget. Something mid tear, like the Samsung Galaxy a5 or anythine above that... the oneplus 5 is also appealing, if I want to go up to the top end. As much as I would like an s8, I just couldn't afford that beast right now. What are peopls' suggestions, and are there any android groups or anything similar where I could discuss how to break into android with other VI people?

Discord: clemchowder633

2017-07-15 07:04:30

Hi,
Now many may not agree with my views/opinion exactly, and who knows they might be right,as I know of many people on this forum using android phones just fine,but...

If you already have an IOS device to fall back on,and you have cash to spend and wouldn't miss it or couldn't use it on anything else,I'd suggest you go with a android phone preferably with android 7 preloaded.

People praise the stock versions of android to heaven,and there are somethings that make a stock version really good, I.E better keyboard typing in android7, the samsung j7 on android 6 was so bad when it came to typing that it gave me fits. the moto g5 plus improves on that,at least enough that you don't feel like hearling the phone out of the window while typing on it.
but when they say stock,its nothing but barebones software,so you gotta keep that in mind. Phones that are not stock do have some great functionality which you'll miss in its stock brothers like running 2 different instances of an app,secure storage,and so on. fingerlocking apps etc.

I have used both samsung phones,and stock android phones, the cheaper end though or at least midrange I suppose some would call it, the j7, the moto g5 plus, oppo f1s etc,and have ended up feeling that it still needs improvement,could be better,or there's something missing in each of them.
Obviously android accessibility is improving, but it has a long way to fly up to IOS. Just things to keep in mind before you get yourself one.

There is the defenders of android list as I like to call it tongue where you can talk about android phones apps and the like,though be sure to research everything to a high standard though before you go posting, else you'll here about it.
And not a word against android,if you value your hide. wink
hth
Grryf

Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.
Follow me on twitter

2017-07-15 07:12:11

Not sure exactly what your end point was there... lol. I'm not planning on getting a stock android device, as I said my debates are between the galaxy s7, Galaxy A5 or the oneplus line of phones, all of which are quite good as well.

Discord: clemchowder633

2017-07-15 13:49:46 (edited by afrim 2017-07-15 13:55:47)

Hello,
I agree on what Griff said, nearly 100%.
Android may be a really good operating system, it's free, open source, it's highly customisable and you can pretty much change anything you like on it if you know how to, but when it comes to accessibility, Android really sucks. I started with an Android device (Samsung Galaxy S3), and it came to a point where the only things I could effectively take advantage of were music, calling, and listening to radio, as well as file transfer. Now, the phone offers quite a lot, you can browse the internet, you can use and chat on social forums like Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, Instagram, but how can you do it when the gestures take one to three seconds to respond? How can you chat on MSN when the keyboard is so sluggish and it takes two seconds to type a letter? How can you effectively chat with your friends when there is no Braille keyboard? On iOS, I can use the Braille Screen input and I can match the typing speed of my friends, and sometimes I can reply faster than them. I could buy a braille keyboard, but none offered me what I wanted. On Android you have to install pretty much everything to replace some and most of the components of your device. You have to install an application which let's you answer the call easily, then you have to install a call manager which provides also a keypad to accessibly type the phone numbers. Next you need to install another keyboard, because the current one, either won't be accessible by any means or you can't simply use it even if talkback manages to read the keys on screen. Next, to enhance the accessibility  of your device, you have to install a new homescreen which makes your phone more original, and after all more accessible on that area. You may need to work with e-mails, but the currently installed one won't display the emails correctly, won't be accessible in certain areas, or you cannot read the letters you type on the edit fields of subjects or body message, so you go ahead and find another. Finally, the Google play music won't correctly display the buttons on the screen for you as a visually impaired user, and again, you need to step up and find another music player. Funnily enough,  you have to pretty much set up your phone from scratch. Sorry but I won't accept the offer. What about people who cannot do these things on their own? How will they get to make their phone usable? And even if they can manage to do what I wrote some lines above, what's the point in doing it? Installing ten or more applications solely to make your device more accessible does not do anything except for overcharging your phone with apps and services that take up a lot of RAM, processor speed and consequently more battery power. Nothing else that does, but only ruins your device's performance.
Then there's that list that Griffendore mentioned, also known as the list of the Wisdom, the list of the bright, the list of the true, the list of the faithful, and other similar stereotypes; a group of people who can be defined as "exceptionally overexaggerated fanboys". A group of lads and lasses who so blindly and arrogantly protect Android, most of the time without any significant reason whatsoever. A group of people who accept only positive critics and if a negative comment pops up on the list, they will raise their virtual army to exterminate the comment and humiliate the person who posted it on sight. Some of these people are so blindly taken in by the name Android that most of them have ordered t-shirts with the label "Android, Android till I die!"

2017-07-15 18:03:51

Somehow, the accessibility experience you are describing does not sound like what most modern android users I have talked to are experiencing with android 6 and 7 on more recent smart phones, so while I appreciate it's been that way in the past, it certainly sounds like things aren't quite that annoying anymore. and the blind apple cult is just as big as the android one mentioned in this thread, so I don't think it's any place to slam them for doing the exact same thing all the iphone users do. See the typical iphone and ipad apps group on facebook...

Discord: clemchowder633

2017-07-15 19:26:43

Hi.
I am verry ok with my android device, a samsung galaxy s7 edge, but for budget an a5 2016 or 2017 is great.
Now on android 6.0.1 or on 7.0 is onli a problem.
For tiping fast on samsung you need to disable something in accessibiliti, I can not remember now, but nah, no problem just for a seting.
If you want, we have an android skype group called android accesibiliti and the link is:
https://join.skype.com/bTCA0Vpjbd7t
I used a samsung galaxy s3 a month ago for some days because I was traveling and I did not want to have a big phone atacked to me.
It was not laggy and the keyboard was good.
Well, it was galaxy s3 neo with android 4.4.2 from 2014, but a verry good phone.
I like ios, but some people says you need to build an android from scratch but now you do not need that.
Contact me if you want to show you an old android device because I can not show to you this new thing because I do not have on it an english voice.
HTH

I am myself and noone is ever gonna change me, I am the trolling master!

2017-07-15 20:49:34

I joined the group, thanks. I've pretty much narrowed it down to samsung phones... since the voice assistant reskin of talkback, from everything I hear about it, seems to be better than Google's stock android version. In particular, is there a reason to get the s8 over the s7 / a5? Other than the better screen, camera and iris scanner? I have a pretty good offer on an s7 for $375.

Discord: clemchowder633

2017-07-15 21:15:00

Not much has changed since I owned my phone except web browsing which has been significantly improved. Other than that, I can't see any major change. For example, if you want Talkback to work faster, read emoji, and have a comprehensible synthesiser, you have to buy a voice. Google Talkback still doesn't support autolanguage switching. Anyway, If I'd go back to Android, I'd surely choose Samsung, particularly the S series. The only line of devices that can come close to iPhone both for sighted people and visually impaired ones. Samsung has a really nice set of accessibility features, particularly direct access, (the equivalent of accessibility shortcut on iOS), it has already a built-in text-to-speech synthesiser which supports around 25 languages, it has a really nice virtual assistant called S voice, and the camera can very well guide you on taking good pictures as a visually impaired user. Also, Samsung galaxy S 6, S7, S8, and the new series of Galaxy note come with Voice Assistant, a screen reader based on the Talkback interface, but majorly modified. I'd recommend Samsung Galaxy S7, as I don't see a big difference between S7 and S8. The Galaxy S8 is eccessively big; 5.8 inches, and I can't see the reason why would I buy such a big phone; in fact, a small tablet.

2017-07-15 22:00:10

Definitely going to keep looking... and the Samsung equivalent to Siri is actually known as Bixby in the latest devices. And there are only a few people who have told me that no major changes have happened... most people have said that the latest android versions have been improving more and more in most major areas.

Discord: clemchowder633

2017-07-15 22:13:08

Auto language switching will be available with Talkback 6, however you will need to wait for a device/an update to Android O.

See:

https://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=17218

, for more info and audio demonstration.

Honestly, I would go for the LG line of phones.
For midrange devices, there's the "K" line, the "Stylo" line, and new this year, is the "Q" line.

2017-07-15 22:36:36

I recomend for 375 dolars an s7.
And on s7 you have another equivalent of siri called s voice.
It was improved from my s advance and now it is like siri.

I am myself and noone is ever gonna change me, I am the trolling master!

2017-07-15 22:52:00

Is bixby only on the s8? I haven't seen much appeal in LG phones, to be honest. All the good reports come with samsung users, occasionally oneplus as well.

Discord: clemchowder633

2017-07-16 03:44:30

This is gonn be very odd, I'm a proud owner of the LG K20 Plus, exclusiely to T-Mobile and Metro PCS, and I'll be upgrading to the Stylo 4 Plus next yer when it arrives.


I'm not sure why folks despize LG phones, especially since they have a nicer speaker on the back, and Micro SD card support  up to 2 TB.

2017-07-16 04:02:56

Well, the nicer speaker is certainly attractive. lol

Discord: clemchowder633

2017-07-16 06:40:54 (edited by grryfindore 2017-07-16 06:43:33)

Hi,
@assault_freak, my posts are all over the place I know tongue but what I was going for was the experiences I have had with both samsung and stock android phones.
Shrug, I dislike any kind of cultism etc what you will and tend to keep away. If I were a apple fanboy,I wouldn't have gotten an android phone just to keep up with both systems or environments now,would I?
However I call it like I see it,and right now android has a long long way to go.
This is me speaking from owning a samsung device a few months ago,as recently as April,and still own a moto g5 plus.
You still! need to install a billion million apps of the same type to get things done,I.E if you need addblockers while browsing crome won't do,and believe me you do want a addblock on there,never seen adds make phones vibrate anything before but the open and free android lol, so the need for installing another browser, this is not relevant to you as you aren't getting a stock android moto g however,the camera app sucks not accessible at all,so another camera will be needed. Talkback doesn't duck audio well, so if you get a call,its a hit and miss whether you know who's calling,so... another app....
On and on.

If you'd like to try it for yourself though,and have a better experience,make sure you get a samsung as you and afrin previously wrote the voice assistant (That's the name of samsungs own screenreader) does actually come with that device,VA makes things a bit better.
Another thing you may want to look out for is that the phone already comes with android N or 7,as they say it. as I owned a device with android 6,and believe me you don't want a phone with 6 on it,because the typing really sucks to high heaven,say what others may.
Either way,hope that helps you some.
Grryf

Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.
Follow me on twitter

2017-07-16 08:41:25

Thanks Gryf. I'll definitely keep it in mind... but so far, others seem to have a bit more luck with the more current samsung devices, so my hopes are optomistic if not high. One question though... does Voice Assistant support Eloquence, and can talkback be on the same device? Just for curiocity's sake... as a techi, I would love to fiddle around with both.

Discord: clemchowder633

2017-07-16 09:14:48

Hi,
I wouldn't know about TB and VA, didn't get a chance to install TB when I played around,but yes. Eloquence tts once bought, or you know, not wink can be used with anything that supports tts so VA supports it and it works with VA just as good as anywhere else.
hth
Grryf

Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.
Follow me on twitter

2017-07-16 09:16:00

Ok, cool. That's definitely a nice bonus, for sure.

Discord: clemchowder633

2017-07-16 10:18:55

Yes, you can have talkback and Voice assistant both installed and it is quite easy to switch back and forth.

2017-07-16 11:20:23

Hi,
When I say you need to pretty much set up your phone from scratch to create an accessible environment, I say it without any level of exagiration or irony. I had to do it for myself, and recently with Griff as I helped him set up his Samsung device that he returned because it didn't meet his expectations. All I've mentioned in post 4 is absolutely true, because I had to go through all those steps when I had my phone. As I said in a newer post on this topic, I can't see anything that has changed besides web browsing. You still need to install a call manager, a contact manager, a keyboard, an e-mail client, a homescreen, a music player, and other applications that stand for different services that are not accessible with Talkback.
Those who say that they've had luck with Android and their experience has been successful, either have not seen a better experience, or  most probably suffer from a kind of Apple paranoya. That's what I can say. Without making more comments, I can simply say that iPhone simply brings the phone experience to a new level for the blind and visually impaired users. Do not take this from a prospective of a fanboy, please! I started with an Android device and after switching to iOS, the difference became highly noticeable.

2017-07-16 11:22:19 (edited by queenslight 2017-07-16 11:31:01)

One of the great things about LG phones I enjoy, is a feature called "Message/call Voice notifications" found under the "Accessibility" settings. When turned on (even with headphones pluged-in, it will speak the caller's name/phone number without needing to touch the screen or grabbing a separate app for announcing them.

Another thing I like about the LG line, is its the only phone I know which will "by itself" create its own "Ringtones."

Finally, just like with the Galaxy S5 through S7 series of phones and others like it such as the "J" line, you can tap the "virtual" home button 3 times to turn on Talkback to begin set up. (Yep, tap the bottom middle of the screen [where a "physical" home button would be] to turn on Talkback when you've reached the "set up" screen.)

After the set up process is done, visit the "Accessibility" settings to turn on the "triple-click-home" feature for Talkback, or check out Settings>Accessibility>Vision>Talkback which ain't just your normal TB landing screen.
Among it (besides the usual "Talkback Settings" icon,) that "two-finger-hold" gesture on the power screen, can also "turn it off!" Simply find the checkbox under the screen I talked about above.

To be perfectly frank, I do own an "IPod Touch" 32 Gig gold, though its mainly for those programs which do not have an Android app available.

For example, "Blind Fold Games" will "never" come to the Android platform, and "Bossjock Studio/Junior" will "never"   come to Android either.

2017-07-16 15:56:51

hi everyone.
Has anybody had  experience with HTC phones?
there latest phone (HTC U11) has stereo speakers, 360-degree audio recording thanks to it's 4 microphones, Edge Sense (just squeeze the phone and it'll do things for you) and so on...
but I'm not aware of it's accessibility. Is Htc's UI accessible?

and one more question, does voice assistant on galaxy phones get updates or not?

:)

2017-07-16 16:43:34

Afrin, +1

I'd second st.mc's post,
as I am also interested in knowing more about the accessibility or lack there of of the htc phone, 4 microphones simply sound amaizing(pun intended) big_smile
Grryf

Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.
Follow me on twitter

2017-07-16 19:01:29

Hi.
Voice asistant gets updates.
I am not an apple paranoia but I have the possibiliti to work with a 6 s now but I can not install apps because it is not mine.
When I swiced from ios to android I saw onli a beter thing on android, you do not have these verry problematic restrictions.
Is sad you can not put verry simpli ringtones on the iphone and much more.

I am myself and noone is ever gonna change me, I am the trolling master!

2017-07-16 21:38:07

It's very interesting that everyone seems to have different reports... another group of android users have told me that none of them had to install any extra or alternate apps on their new devices from various companies. IOS may be more streamlined and easy to use yes, but like others have said, you are limited in the type of hardware you get, and the customizability of your device and even the screenreader itself.
And I don't see where Apple paranoya will sway peoples' opinions. My most recent experience on android on an asus phone was actually quite pleasant, surprisingly, and definitely wasn't as bad as everyone has been saying it was.

Discord: clemchowder633