Accessible Apps

There are over 70,000 apps on the Android market, and many of these are quite accessible! This is just a tiny list of some of the accessible apps to save you time. Please send information about more apps!

Application Categories

Device Management

Please note that as of October 2010, the default camera application does not work with TalkBack. There is an alternative that we've listed below. There may be others out there - if you find one, let us know!

• Advanced Task Manager by ReChild - force quit or uninstall apps.
• App Installer by Gregory House - save and install apps to/from your SD card.
• Camera Magic by NoClick Labs - good accessible basic camera app.
• Dropbox by Dropbox, Inc. - easy file sharing, backup, and syncing between devices.
• Eyes-Free Shell by Eyes-Free Project - an eyes-free touch-screen home screen replacement.
• Gesture Search by Google Inc. - find a contact, bookmark, application, or a music track by drawing on the screen. Please note that the help page in the app is a web view and therefore inaccessible with TalkBack. However, you can find find the same information on the Gesture Search website.
• LauncherPro by Federico Carnales - a home screen alternative that is accessible with TalkBack. However, there are 5 unlabeled buttons at the bottom of the screen. They are: Phone, Contacts, All Applications, Messaging, and Browser.
• ADW.Launcher by AnderWeb- a home screen alternative that is accessible with TalkBack. However, there are 5 unlabeled buttons at the bottom of the screen. They are: Previous Screen, Phone, All Applications, Browser, and Next Screen.
• NoLock by BoD - gives you an option to turn on or off the slide-to-unlock screen.
• Rock Lock by Eyes-Free Project - an eyes-free touch-screen music player, can optionally be used as a lock screen.
• Task Manager by Futon Redemption - force quit and manage apps.

E-Mail

As of October 2010, the Google GMail client does not work with TalkBack. However, there is an alternative that we've listed below. There may be others out there - if you find one, let us know!

• K-9 Mail by K-9 Dog Walkers - an accessible e-mail program, based on the built-in Android E-Mail program. It's a complete and full-featured mail program.

Entertainment

• AudioBooks by TechFort - listen to LibriVox's library of audiobooks. Requires Wi-Fi or data connection.
• IMDB by IMDb - mobile interface to the Internet Movie Database
• mem by Eyes-Free Project - a memory game.
• MLB.com At Bat 2010 by MLB Advanced Media, L.P. - for major league baseball fans. Listen to games, view scores, and more.
• NPR News by NPR - listen to radio streams from National Public Radio in the USA.
• Onion News Network by The Onion - the entire Onion News Network archives.
• Randroid: Random xkcd by Eyes-Free Project - a talking random xkcd comic viewer.
• Stitcher by Stitcher, Inc. - subscribe and listen to podcasts.

Music and Video

• Amazon MP3 by Amazon.com - search for music, preview, and purchase music on your phone. It's easier if you set up an Amazon.com account from your desktop computer first.
• Ethereal Dialpad (synthesizer) by Adam Smith - touch synthesizer. Move your finger over the touchscreen to create music.
• Last.fm by Last.fm Ltd. - The Last.fm mobile app.
• Piano Man by Lucky Hercules - a touch-screen piano.
• Ringdroid by Ringdroid Team - create ringtones from your music.
• Rock Lock by Eyes-Free Project - an eyes-free touch-screen music player, can optionally be used as a lock screen.
• TuneIn Radio by RadioTime Inc. - find and listen to real-time streaming radio from all over the world. Over 40,000 channels.
• Ustream Viewer by Ustream.tv, Inc. - watch streaming video.

Navigation and Location Services

• Google Maps by Google Inc. - including getting driving, walking, or public transportation directions.
• Intersection Explorer by Google Inc. - explore a neighborhood on your phone before going outside. You can use touch to move around a virtual map and hear the names of streets and intersections. It also gives you compass directions as you explore so you can build a mental map of a neighborhood.
• Talking Compass by Eyes-Free Project - tells you what direction you're facing if your device has an internal compass.
• Walky Talky by Eyes-Free Project - speaks turn-by-turn walking directions as well as the addresses of nearby locations as you pass them.
• WHERE by WHERE Inc. - gives local places, weather, and news.

Phone and SMS

As of October 2010, the default Android phone and contacts app is fully usable with TalkBack. However, some devices have different contacts applications developed by the manufacturer or carrier, and these apps may not be as accessible. There are alternatives available on Market, one of which we've listed below. There may be others out there - if you find one, let us know! Also, keep in mind that your contacts on Android sync with your contacts in the GMail web interface, so you can also use a web browser to edit your contacts.

• AContacts by Yermek Zhumagulov - a contacts manager.
• Bump by Bump Technologies, Inc. - share contact information, photos, and apps by bumping phones with another Bump user.
• Handcent SMS by handcent_admin - an alternative SMS app with lots of features.
• Talking Dialer by Eyes-Free Project - an accessible touch-screen dialer, so you don't have to open your keyboard.
• Google Voice by Google Inc. - lets you access Google Voice for voicemail or to use Google Voice for all phone calls. Mostly accessible but with some issues. You need to sign up for Google Voice from your desktop computer first.

Productivity

The default Android Calendar is fully accessible as of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). On phones with earlier versions of Android, the default Android Calendar is not fully usable with TalkBack. The agenda view is somewhat accessible, and you can get notifications on your phone. The weekly and monthly views are not accessible. Adding or editing calendar entries on your phone is possible but a little tricky.

It works better to create calendar entries from your desktop computer and then sync it to your device using Google Calendar. You can also try using the mobile version of Google Calendar on the web.

• Checkmark Calendar by GrennbeanSoft - Full featured calendar app. Allows you to view events by day, week, or month.
• Notes by Yuli - notepad with extensive features including labels and backup/export.
• OI Notepad by OpenIntents- to take notes and organize them.
• OpenLoopz by Iode Software - GTD-style task manager.
• Quick Calendar by Jim Blackler - Places your upcoming calendar appointments in the notifications bar.

Shopping

• Amazon.com by Amazon Mobile - search for products and purchase them from your Android device. The app is accessible but unfortunately the detailed description for each product is an inaccessible Web View. It's easier if you set up an Amazon.com account from your desktop computer first.
• Amazon MP3 by Amazon.com - search for music, preview, and purchase music on your phone. It's easier if you set up an Amazon.com account from your desktop computer first.

Social

Please note that as of October 2010, the Android Twitter app is only partially usable with TalkBack. However, there is an alternative that we've listed below. There may be others out there - if you find one, let us know!

• Facebook by Facebook - the official Facebook app. If the home screen doesn't read, just click once to go to your news feed.
• Foursquare by foursquare - a social app to tell your friends where you're hanging out.
• Seesmic by Seesmic - a Twitter and Google Buzz client. See this review on the Eyes-Free list for more information.
• Swift App for Twitter by Sebastian Delmont - a Twitter client.

Tools

As of October 2010, the default Android alarm clock is fully usable with TalkBack.

• Alarm Klock by Craig G - an alarm clock app. Note that in the app title, "clock" is spelled with a k.
• Calculator by Pop Game Team - A basic calculator.
• Earthquake! by Reto Meier - lists the last 24 hours of earthquakes, enables you to set your own notifications.
• Finance by Google Inc. - Streaming real-time quotes. Synchronizes with your Google Finance portfolios.
• Financial Calculators by BiShiNews - A collection of commonly used financial calculators.
• Gmote 2.0 by Marc Stogaitis & Mimi Sun - turn your phone into a remote control for your computer.
• Grandfather Clock by Thomas Pongrac - chimes on the hour
• Tuner - gstrings by cohortor.org - an instrument tuner
• Scanner Radio by Gordon Edwards - Listen to police, fire scanners.
• The vOICe for Android by Peter Meijer - camera, color identifier, and augmented reality.
• Urban Dictionary by Tim Clark - look up the definition of slang terms and phrases.
• The Weather Channel by The Weather Channel - a full-featured weather app.

Web

As of October 2010, the default Android web browser does not work with TalkBack. However, there is an alternative that we've listed below. There may be others out there - if you find one, let us know!

• IDEAL Web Reader by IDEAL Group, Inc. Android Development Team - an accessible gesture-based browser. See the release notes for more information.