Whether you want to explore your neighborhood, the country, or the world—or even if you don't want to leave home at all—the National Braille Press, with the superb talent of authors Judy Dixon and Doug Wakefield, has published a fantastic roundup of travel apps. Out and About: Our Favorite iOS Travel Apps is a small book packed with fun, instruction, and entertainment, that offers an amazing augmentation to the already awesome power of your iOS device.
The small-format 80-page braille book (also available for download for braille and non-braille-reading fans alike) is aimed at enabling the iPhone user who is blind to see more of our wonderful world. The book features two dozen apps for iOS devices. Whether you're the kind of person who can't wait to get on the next airplane or one who prefers sitting in your favorite chair reading about adventure, this book will expand your horizons.
Defining Travel for the Visually Impaired
The title of this book might lead you to think that it is designed for the amateur travel agent or avid vacation planner. While some of the apps highlighted in the book do have those kinds of capabilities, this is first and foremost a book for travelers who are blind. As blind people themselves, Dixon and Wakefield recognize the many, varied, and unusual connotations the word "travel" has for blind individuals, and the collection of apps featured here address every one of those meanings.
When it comes to planes, trains, buses, and taxis, there are certainly apps here designed to help you track flights, examine train schedules and fares, or even find out where your taxi is, but the blind traveler needs other kinds of information. How do you signal that you are looking for a taxi or skycap, for example? Or, when you have a three-hour layover in a huge airport, how can you find out where the nearest gift shop or restaurant is located?
For that matter, the blind "traveler" might simply pine for more information about his or her own neighborhood. Would you like to sit on your own porch swing or at your kitchen table and learn more about the businesses nearby? Maybe you want to examine an area where you plan to visit. Apps discussed in this book will give you the opportunity to explore virtual maps on your phone, learning the names and directions of streets and the businesses situated on them before you ever pack a bag.
Speaking of packing that bag (if conventional travel is your intention), you'll find an app to help you build your packing list and even one to help you practice essential phrases in a foreign language.
Organization and Presentation
The two dozen apps selected for the book are arranged alphabetically, from Amtrak to World Facts, with each app's "chapter" presented in a concise and consistent format. At the top you'll find the app's name, developer, category, price, and size (along with the name that will identify the app once it's loaded onto your iOS device, if different from the name used to locate it in the app store). Following this header information, the authors describe what the app is designed to do (get map directions, find out why your flight is late, discover how many transportation options there are to get from any city to another, obtain audio commentary on landmarks in your hometown or distant locations, and so on).
All of the apps featured are, of course, accessible with VoiceOver. Exploring new apps is made much easier, however, by the detailed information provided in the book, which acts as a quick orientation for, and introduction to, each app. Incorporating fun examples to illustrate the use of each app, the authors describe the screen layout, identifying the placement and function of all buttons and tabs.
Most apps included here are either free or priced at under $5. Some are already built into your iOS device.
A Reference for Now or Later
If you read this book straight through, as I did initially, you will find a treasure trove of information, entertainment, and education in the examples used to illustrate the purpose of each app. The conversational tone creates the feeling of two blind information lovers sharing tips and observations with another. That first read, however, will only give you the overall view of the apps as a collection.
You will probably find some apps here that you already have. I even found a few I had downloaded and somehow neglected to explore, until my interest was sparked anew by the examples in the book.
Whether one dozen or the entire collection is new to you, most chapters will lead to countless hours of experimentation and discovery. For that reason, you will want to keep the book on hand for future reference as you work your way through trying one or another of the apps featured.
If you want to give better directions to the people who drive you from place to place, if you want to take greater control of your own transportation itinerary, or if you just want to learn more about the places in your neighborhood and around the world, you will love this book. In fact, even if you only want to read it and never download a single app, the pleasure derived is worth the book's $9.00 price tag!
Out and About: Our Favorite Travel Apps by Judy Dixon and Doug Wakefield, is available from National Braille Press for $9. The book is available in hardcopy braille, DAISY CD, DAISY download, eBraille CD, eBraille download, Word file CD, or Word file download. To order or learn more, visit National Braille Press or call 800-548-7323, ext. 520 (toll free US only).
Related Articles
- The LookAround GPS from Sendero and the Ariadne GPS: Two iPhone Apps that Increase Independence for Blind and Visually Impaired Travelers
- Tips and Tricks from a Blind Business Traveler: How to Manage the Airport More Effectively
More from Deborah Kendrick
