Re: [UACCESS-L] Fwd: TapTapDial makes phoning and driving safer

[Gregg Vanderheiden <gv@trace.wisc.edu>]

Grin

Agree.  And things like this sometimes take MORE focus away from driving than even a quick look at a visual interface. 

This was posted here as an 'eyes free' technique that might be explored for those without sight.   (whom I HOPE are not driving - though I know a few who have tried)

Gregg

-----------------------

Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D.

Director Trace R&D Center

Professor Industrial & Systems Engineering

and Biomedical Engineering

University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

On May 21, 2009, at 1:47 PM, Daryle Gardner-Bonneau wrote:

Sorry.....but what people don't seem to be willing to accept is  that what really makes driving and phones incompatible and unsafe is that you can't disengage your BRAIN from the phone.  People shouldn't be trying to do business while they're driving.  Hands free and eyes free does not imply BRAIN-FREE.

 

Daryle Gardner-Bonneau

-----Original Message-----
From: uaccess-l-admin@trace.wisc.edu [mailto:uaccess-l-admin@trace.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Gregg Vanderheiden
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 1:18 PM
To: Uaccess-L
Subject: [UACCESS-L] Fwd: TapTapDial makes phoning and driving safer

Gregg

-----------------------

Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D.

Director Trace R&D Center

Professor Industrial & Systems Engineering

and Biomedical Engineering

University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

 

 

Sent to you by Eli via Google Reader:

 

 

TapTapDial makes phoning and driving safer

via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) by Mel Martin on 5/16/09

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review

Unless you have voice recognition and Bluetooth in your car, dialing any cellphone can be dangerous to your health. It's truly frightening to see great numbers of commuters fooling around with their phones while trying to drive. Driving is tough enough these days without the distractions; without any tactile feedback on the iPhone, it's especially challenging to operate while in motion.

All the more reason for us to take a look at TapTapDial [App Store link]. This $0.99US app makes it easy to dial without looking at your phone and it provides voice, audio, and on screen confirmations, but don't look at that screen!

Describing how to use the app is a lot more difficult than just using it. You can add favorites from your phone book, and the app assigns them a number. If you want to call someone who is in position 3, you tap 3 times. The app will respond audibly with the initials of the person you are calling as a double check. It also will say if the favorite is a home, office, or cell number.

If your list is really long, you can tap on the right side of the screen to go through your list in increments of ten, so if you wanted to call person 31, you would tap 3 times on the right, and once on the left. If you make a mistake, simple swipes left, right, up, or down will move you around your list and provide other navigation functions inside the app. Once you have the person you want, a swipe up or down initiates the call.

You can even dial numbers that aren't in your address book, by tapping on the lower half of the screen. 6 taps dials 6, 3 taps dials 3, and soon. I think this feature is better for the vision impaired. Keeping track of all those taps while driving is probably not a good idea.

This is a clever and needed app that is, as I said, much easier to use than to explain. Some people will get quite addicted to it, and it will certainly result in safer roads and highways. I'd just make sure you have the app up and running before you get in the car, otherwise you'll be doing something dangerous just to get it up and running.

I don't really have any suggestions for the app, other than I think the GUI is not very attractive or contemporary to my eyes. Of course, if you're using the app correctly, you're not looking at it anyway.

Here are some screen shots of TapTapDial in action:

Gallery: TapTapDial

TapTapDial makes phoning and driving safer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 16 May 2009 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TapTapDial makes phoning and driving safer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 16 May 2009 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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