Listen to That Android Show Episode 21: Flowers, Rainbows And Puppies
Welcome back everyone to one of the longest running Android Accessibility podcasts, now legal age at 21! In this episode we’ll hear about Point Finder, Ana shows us a neat app in beta and she even drops a hint to the boys on what she wants as a holiday gift. Oh, and some pointy remarks in the mailbag too. So sit right down and enjoy a Kit Katt with us as we wait for that update to arrive.
In The News:
Nexus 5 leaked on Google Play: $349 for 16GB
Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
Kindle HDX Released, Talkback, BrailleBack and Ivona voice on board
Photos of a redesigned Google Play Store for Android have leaked
Nike’s no-Android stance on FuelBand is a huge mistake – CNET
For Samsung, All Roads Lead Away From Android
HTC Seeks to Outsource Smartphone Production
The Problem with Android is Choice
Google advantage, Google Now and Replacement Keyboards
GOOGLE STOCK HAS BROKEN $1,000 — AN ALL-TIME HIGH
How long will Google keep burning money on Motorola?
Why Making a $6,000 Smartphone May Not Be Crazy After All
Want to remember where that comfy chair is? Need an app to assist you in finding that particular spot is for finding that tricky door at the shops? Or, how about marking the hard to find bus stop? Ana shows us that we can do it all and more with Point Finder.
Developer Interview: Point Finder
Ana sits down with the gang from ico Space to discuss the point Finder Accessibility app. Hear about the inspiration for the app, the development process and how the features of the app changed over time.
We talk about it in the News section and now ana shows us how it works in this short demo of the app.
Mailbag:
We thank you all for your tweets, iReports and your emails. Speaking of emails, here is one from Bruce.
“Hi Guys, I really appreciate the information you make available to us. Thanks. I’m in the process of choosing a phone. I had the “cheap” iPhone in mind but it’s not cheap and I think Apple have shot themselves in the foot. So I’m back to looking at Android solutions again. I have a few questions I hope you can help with. a) Do you need a quad core phone for Talkback? What would be the minimum spec you need for good Talkback performance? Would a Galaxy S4 Mini (dual core 1.7GHz) do the job, or even a Galaxy Ace 3? I’d want to be running GPS and travel planning apps. b) I have some vision but really need white text on a black background. Can this be achieved for the menus and apps? I came across a ROM you can installed which does this but I’m not sure if it would compromise accessibility. (It’s bizarre to me that the term “ROM” is used for software! Had me confused for a while.) c) Do you know of any apps that will read MP3 audiobooks and allow you to vary the speed? I have a Victor Reader Stream but it would be nice to be able to use the phone for this. Thanks in advance, and keep up the good work.
Bruce Cambridge, UK”
The team feels strongly that you should be fine on any of the modern phones being released today. You may want to think more along the lines of being outdated with the tech in your phone over the lifetime of a contract rather than if you need a hardware bump for access. With this in mind, you may want to look at mid line phones like the motto X and then work your way up to Galaxy S4, Note 3 or others. And, for sure, you may just want to hang on and see what the nexus 5 may bring as well. The same goes for checking into any access changes on v4.4. Currently, unlike iOS, there is no toggle for inverting colors. There is the triple tap for screen magnification and a few other shortcuts in Jellybean though.
Also, the team mentions several apps for the audio books question. Check out Smart Audio here if you want to know more about one recommended by all.
Next up, a comment from James Mannion…
“Hi,
I have to say I really like the podcasts on serotalk and listen to be informed. I am not even writing this to get into a debate. Honestly I see the good and the bad in both platforms. No, neither is perfect and that extends to the accessibility on either one. Listening to the That Android show though all too often pisses me off because it feels like there are as many Apple bashing comments as can be engineered into the show. If Apple and IOS is that bad, if their market share is so low as not to matter, if they have so lost their way, then why do you feel such a need to bash and bash and bash what doesn’t matter to you anyway? Know I don’t hate Apple and it seems to be a requirement to listen to your show all too often.
Jim”
JJ and Ana disagree, however, Steve agrees with the comment above. Possibly because, as he puts it, he wasn’t there to keep the rest of us in check. But there is a bit of a double standard when it comes to this kind of thing with some out there on the internet. And if you don’t believe us, check out our sister SPN show “Triple click Home” and count the number of snide comments made about android. We think you will find we are not even close to the number of remarks made on our last episode.
Contacting the Team
We’ve had our say, now its your turn. Drop us a line at or send us a tweet at our official Twitter page.
You can also follow our hosts by visiting
Ana’s Accessible Android blog or
JJ at AndroidAccess.net.
Finally, Check out Steve’s Twitter feed.
Thanks for listening!
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