Abstract
The study presented in this paper is part of mobile accessibility research with particular reference to the interaction with touch-screen based smartphones. Its aim was to gather information, tips and indications on interaction with a touch-screen by blind users. To this end we designed and developed a prototype for an Android-based platform. Four blind users (two inexperienced and two with experience of smartphones) were involved from the early phase of prototype design. The involvement of inexperienced users played a key role in understanding expectations of smart phones especially concerning touch-screen interaction. Skilled users provided useful suggestions on crucial aspects such as gestures and button position. Although the prototype developed is limited to only a few features for the Android operating system, the results obtained from blind user interaction can be generalized and applied to any mobile device based on a touch-screen. Thus, the results of this work could be useful to developers of mobile operating systems and applications based on a touch-screen, in addition to those working on designing and developing assistive technologies.
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Chiti, S., Leporini, B. (2012). Accessibility of Android-Based Mobile Devices: A Prototype to Investigate Interaction with Blind Users. In: Miesenberger, K., Karshmer, A., Penaz, P., Zagler, W. (eds) Computers Helping People with Special Needs. ICCHP 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7383. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31534-3_89
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31534-3_89
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