Hands on with the mobile phone app for the blind
ITProPortal recently attended the launch of the mobile phone application for the blind, called Georgie. This is an overlay to the Google Android operating system. It has been designed to help the day-to-day life of the two million people in the UK that live with sight loss.
The app runs on Android 2.2 Foyo, 2.3 Gingerbread and 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It enables the visually impaired to do things that many of us take for granted. These include easily finding out where you are, reading printed text, catching buses, using Twitter and even taking a picture.
The app essentially provides an interface for several features of Android and other apps, for its target audience. These include Google's TalkBack text-to-voice app that is used to deliver audio for every function of Georgie; and SpeechSynthesis for voice dictation. It also uses the phone's built-in compass and GPS, while relying on a data connection to bring in requested information.
