Fleksy is an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows visually impaired users to type without needing to see the keyboard perfectly. Users press on the screen approximately where they think the correct letter is located on the keyboard. Fleksy is designed only for people with visual impairments. To use the typing feature in the app VoiceOver must be off, and then when you want to share the text you have typed you must turn VoiceOver back on by tripple-clicking the home button.
As the above video shows the taps on the keyboard can be fairly far from the correct letter without effecting the accuracy. If there are multiple possible words based on your taps. Fleksy will allow you to choose other likely words by flicking up and down on the screen.
After each word you must flick right to tell Fleksy that you are done typing that word. After each word, Fleksy will speak the word aloud using text-to-speech. To add punctuation you can flick to the right twice and the select the correct punctuation. If you have to enter a name, you can hold down on the keyboard and the letters will be spoken as your finger touches them, then you can release your finger to type the letter. To enter numbers and symbols rotate two fingers to switch between text, numbers and symbols. When you have typed your text, tripple-click the home button to turn on VoiceOver. Turning on VoiceOver automatically brings up the sharing menu which gives you the option to copy, email, text and tweet your text. Fleksy does not replace the standard iOS keyboard. I tested the app by closing my eyes while typing and found that the type was accurate and surprisingly fast. Fleksy claims that users can type up to 25 words per minute with practice. Fleksy is definately faster than typing with VoiceOver and the standard keyboard for visually impaired users.
As the above video shows the taps on the keyboard can be fairly far from the correct letter without effecting the accuracy. If there are multiple possible words based on your taps. Fleksy will allow you to choose other likely words by flicking up and down on the screen.
After each word you must flick right to tell Fleksy that you are done typing that word. After each word, Fleksy will speak the word aloud using text-to-speech. To add punctuation you can flick to the right twice and the select the correct punctuation. If you have to enter a name, you can hold down on the keyboard and the letters will be spoken as your finger touches them, then you can release your finger to type the letter. To enter numbers and symbols rotate two fingers to switch between text, numbers and symbols. When you have typed your text, tripple-click the home button to turn on VoiceOver. Turning on VoiceOver automatically brings up the sharing menu which gives you the option to copy, email, text and tweet your text. Fleksy does not replace the standard iOS keyboard. I tested the app by closing my eyes while typing and found that the type was accurate and surprisingly fast. Fleksy claims that users can type up to 25 words per minute with practice. Fleksy is definately faster than typing with VoiceOver and the standard keyboard for visually impaired users.
Fleksy sells for $14.99 on the App Store. Click here to download the app. Click read more below to view another video about Fleksy and to view screenshots.
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