Nailed it!
We’ve been thinking a lot lately about designs that would help a couple of clients who have arthritis but are adamant about not giving up their long fingernails. So we’re thrilled to see the TAD, which slips over any finger and provides a pointer that at least makes accessing cellphone buttons and touch screens easier. Comes with three interchangeable tips, available in your choice of three sizes and six fashion colors, and will only set you back about $6.
Hi, society
Hate leaving your social networking sites when you have to meet people in the flesh? Now you can have both; aka-aki, a new service from Germany, lets you send and receive information about commonalities with other subscribers within the same brick-and-mortar space, and then use Bluetooth to actually find them. This could be a great means of icebreaking for people with communication disabilities, or for anyone who’d rather put who they are ahead of what they look like.
Times Online: The future of social networking: mobile phones
Thinking a head
Given that the Internet is the most powerful information tool ever devised, it’s good that someone would come up with a website to let you easily find…a local bathroom. Locations can be added and identified by whether a purchase is required, whether there are baby changing capabilities–and whether they’re wheelchair accessible!
Teen talk
Since teens theoretically spend all day text messaging anyway, why not take advantage of the technology to remind them to take medications? A pilot program in Cincinnati has volunteers typing reminder messages at set times of the day–with all words spelled out so they won’t be mistaken for BAU from BFFs. Given the rise in conditions such as asthma that are affecting kids, we say :)
A whirled of the map
Schmap, which has already established a web presence with interactive maps and guides, has developed an iPhone-savvy version of its site. What we really like is that it takes advantage of the iPhone’s built-in gyro sensors; hold your phone one way to see just the local points of interest, then just tilt it 90 degrees to see these points plotted on a map. Easy for anyone, and likely to be especially welcome by those whose fine motor impairments make them prefer not to fumble with links whenever possible; we’d love to see this implemented for other types of applications.
Control version
Designer David Chacon has come up with a small remote for controlling devices all over the house. Besides the convenience for people with mobility disabilities, we particularly like the large, intuitive iconography–no reading capability required–and the potential for creating custom icons for specific products.
Dvice: Universal remote concept reminds us of the all-in-one gadget dream
Twittering away
We have yet to quite see the point of Twitter, the online service that lets you keep the world posted on the most minute details of your day (”Retrieved bellybutton lint, 5:04 PM”). But at least now there’s TwitterFone, a hands- and cost-free option for creating Twitter posts via speech recognition of phoned-in updates. As the article points out, this could also be used to create to-do lists for yourself, so maybe there’s a purpose after all.
Gadgetell.com: Twitterfone: why type when you can call in your tweets?