iphone is stupid
iPhone is stupid. Because it does not care for the blind. Tell me it isn’t so. A plane plastic touch surface does nothing good for a blind user. Even a 50 bucks phone has key “5″ marked with plastic projections to know how to use the keypad, just by touch.
Cars are stupid, blinds can’t drive. Being a pilot is stupid, a profession that do not care for the blind. Designing offshore structures is stupid, a blind can’t do it. Being a surgeon is stupid, a blind can’t do it. Telescopes are stupid, they mean nothing for the blind…
Do you imagine the scope of your statement? Think about it. There are lots of things that are not blind friendly, the same way there are lots of things that aren’t disabled friendly, deaf friendly. Are PDAs stupid? Lots of them do not have keyboards, they are far from being blind friendly. iPods, are they stupid. Portable music and video players, are they stupid? Most of the “regular” mobile phones out there aren’t blind friendly neither. Still, that doesn’t make them stupid.
I am disappointed Chetan.
2 years agoDavid, don’t get me wrong, but you sound more like a flaming fan than thinking about it rationally.
To me, Apple is not just another company. Its products are generally so superior that the entire industry stands-up to take notice.
Apple’s designers are supreme demigods, for there are no devices designed to love, like Apple’s products. And they are the ones that taught the industry to be user-friendly. So, let’s not discuss your first paragraph.
Imagine the scope of my statement. What if Apple designed it inclusively to cater all users, not just savvy, then I’d be impresssed.
A blind person could use it to navigate himself while alone, call someone in an emergency, et al. Or are Maps just fancy stuff?
You know what, Apple designers didn’t think hard, for I have a solution that might just work. Introduce a jog-dial (together with sound aid), like Sony did eons ago on one of their earliest phone products. The jog dial, in the absence of vision, could help a person select the choice on the phone and navigate down further. A blind person need not dial a number, but at least dial a pre-set number in the address book.
What good is a music player + phone if it cannot read out loud (address books, options, etc) to the blind user? Is adding a tiny plastic wheel on the side to take commands hard? For Apple, I don’t think so.
Yes, Apple definitely disappoints. That’s just my opinion. Disagree if you like.
2 years agoC’mon you’re being more than a little unfair. With the smart phone market as diverse as it is there are plenty of products for the blind user to choose from.
And given that one of the big selling points with Apple products is their look this isn’t even going to register with the people you think you’re speaking up for.
2 years agoChetan, my point is that Apple phone isn’t stupid, just because doesn’t accommodate blind users (or deaf, or people without hands or missing fingers, you name it). That statement is pretty stupid to me. And no, I am not a flaming fan user, I don’t even own a Mac, or an iPod or anything Apple, as a matter of fact.
I am sure Apple designers thought hard. And the prove is that they have come up with a device that will revolutionize the mobile industry. And for all I know, they might add a feature, once released, that will cause the phone make a sound, or vibrate when the number 5 is hovered, for example. Or have it to have a complete sound feedback, or vibration feedback.
There are plenty of mobile phones out there, blinds can pick something else. No one is forcing anyone to use an Apple phone. Can you imagine a deaf person stating the phone is stupid, because it doesn’t come with an attached device for then to “hear” it, or a homosexual stating it is stupid, because it isn’t “gay enough”?
I like you. I think you are a guy I could hang out with –if we lived close by– and discuss interesting things, sometimes even quarrel about things like this, for example. And of course, as no one is cut the same as other, I respectfully disagree with your statement.
Off topic, Happy New Year for you and family! May 2007 be a much better year for you and yours.
2 years agoDavid, you’re now sounding cruel. All along, almost all interactive devices have subtly and unobtrusively captured features for disabled person’s requirement. By defying that, Apple, in all its moronic culture of I want to be cool–I want to show off attitude has set a precedence that it’s fine not to design for disabled persons. And before long, others will start to use this precedence and if making small features meant for disabled makes their products uncool, they’d rather skip it. I personally believe that should not be the way it goes.
Why does US government enforce usability features on websites? Does such analogy not apply in consumer products?
Ditto here, David
Happy new year to you and your family too. Have a great year ahead.
2 years ago@leon: I thought Apple was always about making things easy for the user (no bias). And I believe they have done it in most cases, at least when it comes to hardware. e.g., iPod has buttons that disabled persons can feel and press.
Apple iPhone has all the ingredients to be a superphone. I pity Apple for not connecting 2 and 2 to make it a great one. So, it’s just another Walkman phone to me. But, add usability features, speech commands through OSX may be, and a simple method to use the on-screen menu for the disabled, and I am like yes, they’re on.
2 years agoI fail to understand even who should buy the iPhone – business savvy users who want music, but then cannot connect to exchange or outlook, or a ipod lover who wants a phone but no other feature really matters. Its difficult to see who Apple is targeting with this product – unless of course its die hard fanatics will lap it up.
Much like its iTV product – which is another useless piece of crap.
S
2 years agoI know next to nothing about the iPhone (and technology in general) but I agree with Suyog’s comment.
2 years agoa MAC OSX has good voice software i.e for reading aloud and acting on voice commands. Actually the best and it comes FREE with OSX. I am very very sure – mac is taking that to this new iPhone platform also – So, I guess this will solve the problem as long he can talk (otherwise he can for get talking …) have other more cribs about iPhone thought but will mention that sometime later!!
2 years ago