Apple iPad and Proloquo2go (text to speech)

You may remember a while back I did a post on the then dubbed 'MacTouch' by apple and its potential for Ataxians as a portable communication device.

It is almost here! Announced on 27th Jan by Steve Jobs (big apple man.. lol.. not sure of his official title!) the new 'iPad' will be released in two versions.

The iPad is like a jumbo iPod Touch or iPhone. It’s 9.7 inches diagonally, compared to the iPod Touch's 4.7 inch diagonal screen. It comes with built in speakers which seems maybe loud enough for it to be used as an AAC device, without needing to have external speakers like those sold in packages with P2G and iPhone/iPod Touch.

The iPad synchronises with iTunes the same as iPod Touch and iPhone and also runs the same operating system, this means all the applications should also work on iPad.

The iPad has some accessibility features such as VoiceOver, screen zoom, white-on-black display, mono audio, and closed-captioning. Although Apple have designed a keyboard for it and say it will also work with their Blue tooth keyboards, its not known whether Bluetooth switches would work with it to give access to people who need scanning/switches.

Also due to the fact it has larger touchscreen it will allow people who couldn't manage the iPod Touch and iPhone due to fine motor difficulties, to enjoy the same features.

Programs developed for the iPhone and iPod Touch can be used “zoomed up” on the iPad so they won't need as much fine motor skills on the iPad as they do on iPod/iTouch as the controls will be bigger. However newer future programs that are designed particularly for the iPad may not have this feature.

This increased size will make the iPad a viable AAC device for people who were not able to use Proloquo2go (P2G) on the iPod Touch/iPhone because of their small size. Grids and lists on P2G can be made much bigger so a person can easily hit the right icon.

The touchscreen interface is very easy to use you just touch a program to start it, if you want to activate a control you touch it which will also make it easier for people with motor co-ordination difficulties who find 'steering' a cursor with mouse (or mouse alternative) difficult.

The external keyboard for the iPad will be helpful to those who have trouble with a keyboard with no tactile feedback for eg blind users or people who need to use mouthstick etc.

Overall it is looking very promising, the wifi version will be out in the next few months (like iPod Touch) and the 3G version (like iPhone) will be available in April, so you will also be able to send text messages from that which again is good for people who struggle with the small keys on mobile phones.

UPDATE:
Sadly it seems the 3G version will be Data only so will allow you to access the internet via 3G if there is no wi-fi spot near you. This maybe handy if you travel alot and are likely to take it with you and need to access the internet from anywhere to collect email, otherwise I suspect it will be maybe Business people who pay for this one (it will cost more not sure of prices yet for UK and other countries) This means that you cannot use it to send text messages as I was originally hoping and the original rumours mentioned possibilities of.

The wi-fi version will be cheaper, that will be like having a large iPod touch where you connect to your home broadband network to download apps onto it directly or access the internet. You can also access the internet while out and about if you went to any public place with wi-fi spots. The US prices are estimated at around $499 for the wi-fi version and around $600 (just over I think) for the 3G version.

Here is some further information I got from the person who developed the software regarding Proloquo2Go on iPad and the enhancement of text based communication in P2G for adult/literate users.

"Hi Katilea,

Proloquo2Go is aimed at all ages. Icons can make it easier to quickly pick buttons, but you can also turn the images off entirely. The upcoming 1.2 version further enhances use without images through larger fonts, better placement of text on text-only items and more.

Proloquo2Go will work on the iPad (according to Apple's information) but of course we will investigate what we can do to optimize iPad use. Switch access is not currently supported on the iPad, so for now touch only.

Cut and paste is partly supported in the current version of Proloquo2go, but we plan to enhance it over time.

david."

You can find more information on Proloquo2go (pronounced Pro-low-quo) here:
http://www.proloquo2go.com/

Proloquo video channel on You tube for instructional videos on how to set up:
http://www.youtube.com/user/proloquo2go

These don't have subtitles however they are very easy to follow as you just watch what is pressed on the ipod to right to see what effects it is on the screen to left. iPods/iPhones are used in these videos but the iPad will be the same as its the same operating system.

To see further pics and more details on ipad and accessories:
http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/design/#accessories