The iPod Touch

11/24/2009

One great deal in the quest for Christmas gifts this year is the iPod Touch 3G.  The iPod Touch is essentially a pocket-sized computer, which is operated through the use of its touch-sensitive glass surface.  Built on the premise of the iPhone, the Apple iPod Touch lets one gain access to music and playlists.  In addition to shipping with applications like a calendar, world clock, email client, and web browser, the iTunes App Store lets you download third-party applications like Twitter clients, games, and streaming Internet radio applications.  The iPod Touch's hardware configuration includes built-in Wifi and Bluetooth.  Any applications that let you input audio will require you to use the microphone on the ear buds that come with the IPod.  The iPod Touch 3G does not contain a camera, so any applications that require camera access will not work.

The iPod Touch 3G, and all of the applications that ship with it, can be made fully accessible.  VoiceOver for iPhone was added to iPod Touch when the 3G arrived this fall.  It can be activated directly on the device through the Settings > General > Accessibility menu.  Nonvisually, you can activate accessibility features from the Summary tab in iTunes once you have connected the device.  It is important to note that iTunes is the focal point of iPod access.  All music and other content that goes onto the iPod Touch must be synced through iTunes.  New content can either be purchased or subscribed to through iTunes on your computer or by using the iTunes mobile client on the iPod Touch.

iPod Touches with built in VoiceOver start at $299.00.  You must purchase either the 32 GB or 64 GB version of iPod Touch and you must ensure that you are purchasing the iPod Touch 3G.  3rd generation iPod Touches can be identified by checking the Settings > General menu for an accessibility option, under which VoiceOver is found.  Verify with the retailer that VoiceOver is present or that the iPod Touch is the 3G (latest 32 or 64 GB model available).  Note that the 8GB iPod Touch models do not have VoiceOver access.  You may find our November 2009 Braille Monitor about the iPhone to be helpful as the concepts it covers apply to iPod Touch with VoiceOver.  A list of third-party applications that have been tested and confirmed to be usable are at www.maccessibility.net/iphone/apps.

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