Episode 231, Screen readers for Android Android basics In recent episodes we have been revisiting app categories we looked at in the early days of the podcast. However, we have never dedicated a full segment to screen readers though we have discussed the differences in passing, so we are remedying that now. This week, we look at Talkback available as part of Google’s Android Accessibility Suite , Jieshuo/Commentary and Prudence . Check out this comparison article between TalkBack and...
May 10, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 231
Episode 230, GPS apps Android basics In recent episodes we have been revisiting app categories we looked at in the early days of the podcast. This week, we look at the state of GPS apps in 2025. Apps discussed include Google Maps , Lazarillo Accessible GPS , Seeing Assistant Move and the simpler Seeing Assistant Go , Goodmaps Outdoors and Waymap (disclaimer: this one hasn’t been tested)! Unboxing Joe Hodge unboxes his new tablet, the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3 . Commentary Karene brings...
May 03, 2025•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 230
Episode 229, Audio book apps Android basics In recent episodes we have been revisiting app categories we looked at in the early days of the podcast. This week, we look at the state of audio book apps in 2025. We discuss various apps including Audible , Smart AudioBook Player , Listen Audiobook Player , mAbook and LibriVox Spotlight We talk about the new phones from Motorola . My Android Journey Kirt Manwaring joins us to tell his Android journey story. Staying in touch Ma...
Apr 26, 2025•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 229
Episode 228, a look at browsers and Android 16 Beta 4 Announcements The developer of the app Magnifier which John demonstrated a few weeks ago has very generously donated a number of codes which will remove ads from the app. Get in touch if you’d like one. Android basics In recent episodes we have been revisiting app categories we looked at in the early days of the podcast. This week, we look at the state of browsers in 2025. We discuss Google Chrome , Vivaldi , Brave, Sa...
Apr 20, 2025•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 228
Episode227: The state of Email Clients in2025 Welcome to Episode227, where we discuss the state of email clients in2025. ANDROID BASICS Email clients continue to be a hot subject matter on both our email and Telegram groups. Thus, this week, we focus on the state of email clients in 2025. In this week’s discussion, we touch on the following clients: Gmail , Email Lite , Edison mail , Spark Mail , TwoBird , Aquamail , etc. where we talked about their strengths and weaknesses. SPOTLIGHT In the spo...
Apr 13, 2025•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 227
Episode226: 2025 2nd Quarter Open-Listener Session Welcome to Episode226, our 2nd Quarter Open-Listener Session. SPOTLIGHT Since this is an open-listener session, we moved segments around some, thus, the “spotlight” segment is about Android16Beta3.2 and One UI7Beta for the Galaxy A55 phone. BACKUP DISCUSSION This segment is a general discussion on Android backup, especially focusing on Talkback. TTS DISCUSSION In this segment, the focus is on the implementation of the Google TTS update policy. E...
Apr 06, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 226
Episode 225: The State of eBook Readers In 2025 Part 2 (Off-the-shelf Readers) Welcome to Episode 225 where we talk about the state of eBook Readers in 2025. Android Basics In this segment, we feature part 2 of the state of eBook Readers in 2025 with the emphasis on the “off-the-shelf” eBook readers in the way of the following apps: Speech Central , ElevenLabs Reader , @Voice Aloud Reader , etc. SPOTLIGHT The One UI 7 Beta 2 for the S23-series is spotlighted where the use of the Side-Key can be ...
Mar 30, 2025•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 225
Episode 224, launch of the Google Pixel 9A Android basics We discuss the changes in Android 16 Beta 3.1. Spotlight This week Google launched the Pixel 9A. The crew discuss the phone and whether or not they’ll be buying it. App of the week John demonstrates the Button Mapper app. Tip of the week Warren shows us how to perform some basic phone operations using Google Gemini in place of the Google Assistant. Staying in touch Make a donation via PayPal , Email us your Android journey stories, ...
Mar 22, 2025•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 224
Episode 223: PODCAST CLIENTS IN 2025 Welcome to Episode223. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Google is looking for participants from the U.S. and the UK for the “ Phone Typing Research study.” Details: Length of Study: 75 minutes Dates: March 20th through April 4th Compensation for your time: $100 or 80 British Pounds URL for remote participation : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYWM6XHX8WXtDN5o1XZ0I2DbHCVkG6FKDWJlkr7oCpYH_81g/viewform Android Basics In this segment, we take a look at the state of podc...
Mar 15, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 223
Episode 222: MWC2025 AND MARCH2025 PIXEL DROP Android Basics Welcome to Episode222. In this segment, Google dropped both the March Pixel Feature-drop for Pixel phones and the Watches. SPOTLIGHT In the spotlight segment, we highlight what took place at the MWC2025 week, where Samsung dropped a trio of phones— A26, A36 and A56 . We also mentioned in passing phones from the likes of Honor , Xiaomi and ZTE . HARDWARE DEMO Our friend and listener of the podcast Aaron Spears shows us how to inst...
Mar 09, 2025•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 222
Episode 221: OnePlus 13 Review and New Voices for RHVoice TTS Android Basics Welcome to Episode 221. In this episode, Olga, the Dev of “ RHVoice ” informs us of what’s going on with the new voices for Armenian and Finish languages. Google dropped a little patch for Android 16 Beta 2 , bringing it to Android16Beta2.1 with the following fixes: Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented devices from entering Doze mode. (Issue #396603519) Fixed issues that caused some animations to appear choppy ...
Mar 02, 2025•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 221
Episode 220, shopping with innosearch AI Android basics Talkback 15.2 has been released. Braille displays which use the HID protocol are now supported via Bluetooth, such as the most recent releases from Humanware. Spotlight We are joined by Patrick Long from Innosearch AI, a shopping site which aims to make the experience of shopping from major retailers more accessible. App of the week Warren brings us a demonstration of the game Project Dark . Commentary Karene shows us the touch lockin...
Feb 23, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 220
Episode 219: THE STATE OF AUDIO RECORDERS IN 2025 Welcome to Episode 219. In this episode, we continue on our journey of essential app categories in 2025 and this week, we focus on Audio Recorders. Android Basics Keeping in line with the subject matter of this episode, we discussed the following recorders: ASR Recorder , Easy Recorder , HiQ MP3 Recorder , Dolby On , Advanced Recorder , Parrot Voice Recorder , AudioLab Audio Editor/Recorder , etc. SPOTLIGHT In the spotlight segment, we take a loo...
Feb 16, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 219
Episode 218, The state of text editors in 2025 Android basics We continue our look at app categories we examined a few years ago, to see what has change as apps come and go, or simply get updated. This week, it’s the turn of text editors. We discuss the pros and cons of Google Keep - Notes and Lists , UpNote , Simple Text Editor , Microsoft Word , Google Docs , Simplenote and Joplin . Unboxing Warren unboxes the HMD Vibe . Staying in touch Make a donation via PayPal , Email us your A...
Feb 08, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 218
Episode 217, First open listener session of 2025 We’re delighted to be joined by our listeners to discuss a range of topics related to Android. Unboxing John unboxes the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra . Staying in touch Make a donation via PayPal , Email us your Android journey stories, suggestions or comments, subscribe to our Email list , join our Telegram and Facebook groups, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Leave us a voice message via our suggestions, comments and questions phone number at: +1-3...
Feb 02, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 217
Episode 216: Android16Beta1&Samsung S25-Series Unpack Event Welcome to Episode216. In this episode, we salute the 1st Android16Beta and welcoming the Samsung S25-series of phones. ANNOUNCEMENTS We update you as to what’s going on with Ed’s family and wish Katie a belated birthday. Android Basics Keeping in line with the subject matter of this episode, this segment focuses on the 1st Beta of Android16Beta1, where interested users can enrol using this page . https://www.google.com/android/beta...
Jan 25, 2025•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 216
Episode 215: E-BOOK READERS PART1 (BLIND-CENTRIC READERS) Welcome to Episode215, our very first episode of revisiting categories from the past 3 years. In this episode, we’re starting off with E-Book Readers and for this week, we focus on blind-centric readers. Android Basics Keeping in line with the subject matter of this episode, this segment focuses on the 3 apps listed above— Dolphin Easy Reader , Legere Reader and Tech-Freedom . UNBOXING John unboxes his brand spanking new OnePlus 13....
Jan 19, 2025•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 215
Episode 214, CES 2025 and The OnePlus 13 and 13R Android Basics We discuss the latest beta releases from Samsung and Google. One UI 7.0 Beta 3 and Android 15 QPR 2 Beta 2.1 . Spotlight 1 We let you know what Android related news caught our attention at CES 2025 . Spotlight 2 We give you the details from the OnePlus winter Event and share our thoughts on the new OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R . Staying in Touch Make a donation via PayPal , Email us your Android journey stories, suggestions or comment...
Jan 11, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 214
Episode 213: BATTERY VERSUS PERFORMANCE Welcome to Episode213, our very first episode for the year 2025. Android Basics In this episode, we deliberate on Battery versus Performance. In other words, which one is better? Is it better to have a phone with a great performance, or is it better to have one that has great battery with a mid-of-the road performance? APP OF THE WEEK For this week’s “APP of the week,” we demo a file-management app called “ File Manager ” by a developer called “ File Manag...
Jan 04, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 213
Episode 212, Our Favorite Android Apps and Phones of 2024 We get together with some of our listeners and discuss our favorite apps and phones of the year. Here is Kareen's Article explaining the differences between PiccyBot and Seeing AI Video Descriptions. Please add to this thread on Samsung Members to help us put an end to this talkBack fragmentation nonsense. Staying in Touch Make a donation via PayPal , Email us your Android journey stories, suggestions or comments, subscribe to our E...
Dec 29, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 212
Episode 211, 4th Anniversary Celebrasion Episode211 is a very special episode for us as we observe our 4th year in existence and we want to sincerely thank those that were able to join us in observing this milestone. Staying in Touch Make a donation via PayPal , Email us your Android journey stories, suggestions or comments, subscribe to our Email list , join our Telegram and Facebook groups, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Leave us a voice message via our suggestions, comments and questions p...
Dec 21, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 211
Episode 210: 2nd visit with Tech-Freedom Welcome to Episode210. ANNOUNCEMENTS We would like to remind you that next week, Dec. 21, is our 4th anniversary celebration of the existence of Blind Android Users . We encourage all our readers and listeners to join us in celebrating this monumental milestone. Spotlight We are joined by the crew of “ Tech-Freedom ” (their second appearance on our podcast) to talk about the changes that came down earlier this month and what that means for users of the ap...
Dec 15, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 210
Episode 209, Samsung One UI 7 Beta Announcements The countdown is on to our 4- year anniversary celebration! We will be recording on 21 December at 12PM Eastern or 9AM Pacific and you are invited to take part. We’ll be posting a link on our usual channels closer to the time. Android Basics We discuss the December feature drop for qualifying Google Pixels, and the announcement that some phones will get upgrades for longer than previously thought. You can read about these feature...
Dec 08, 2024•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 209
Episode 208, the role of AI in the life of a blind person Announcements The countdown is on to our 4- year anniversary celebration! We will be recording on 21 December at 12PM Eastern or 9AM Pacific and you are invited to take part. We’ll be posting a link on our usual channels closer to the time. Our Youtube channel has reached 1,500 subscribers! Thank you so much for all your support. Android Basics The crew discusses the rapidly evolving world of AI and its use cases for blind peo...
Nov 30, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 208
Episode 207, All About Android 16 Developer Preview Announcements Join us in 4 Weeks for our 4- year celebration. We will be recording on Dec 21st at 12PM Eastern or 9AM Pacific and you are invited to take part. Android Basics android 16 has shown itself early this year. We discuss the developer preview that just dropped this past week and what we are looking most forward to. TalkBack Highlights John shows us the new web reading controls we now have access to as of TalkBack 15.1. Staying i...
Nov 23, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 207
Episode 206: TalkBack 15.1 is Here Android Basics We discuss all that's new in Android 15 QPR2 Beta 1 . Spotlight TalkBack 15.1 has arrived, and we share everything new we have discovered so far. App of the Week Warren demonstrates Startpage , a web browser focused on privacy. TalkBack Highlights John shows us the new ways of activating links as of TalkBack 15.1. Staying in touch Make a donation via PayPal , Email us your Android journey stories, suggestions or comments, subscribe to our Email l...
Nov 17, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 206
Episode 205: Concluding One UI settings Announcements We would be delighted if everyone could join us for our 4-year anniversary on Saturday 21 December. Please join us at noon Eastern, 5 PM UK time and 9 AM Pacific so save the date! Android turned 17 this week. It can now obtain a driving licence in the UK and apparate in the Wizarding World. Android basics This week, John concludes our look at Samsung One UI settings, demonstrating what you’ll find in About phone. App of the week W...
Nov 09, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 205
Episode 204: Seeing AI Video Descriptions and One UI Tips and User Guide Announcements Don't forget to join us for our 4-year celebration on December 21st at 9 AM PST or 12 PM EST. Spotlight We discuss all the new features in the latest update to Seeing AI , but focus mostly on our first impressions of the video description feature. Android Basics John takes us through the "Tips and User Guide" portion of Samsung's One UI settings. App of the Week Warren demonstrates the reading app that calls i...
Nov 02, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 204
Episode 203: Big week for Qualcomm and Android15 QPR1 Beta 3 ANDROID BASICS This week has been a busy week for many companies, among them, Google who rolled out Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3 for Pixel6-series through Pixel9-series. Spotlight This week, Qualcomm showcased the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite during its annual conference in Maui, HI, where it unveiled the new generation of the Qualcomm chip that would be powering most flagship phones next year. APP OF THE WEEK For this week’s “App of the week...
Oct 26, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 203
Episode 202: Android 15 Announcements We would be delighted if everyone could join us for our 4-year anniversary on Saturday 21 December. Please join us at noon Eastern, 5 PM UK time and 9 AM Pacific so save the date! Android basics This week, it’s all about Android 15 which dropped for eligible devices on 15 October. The crew talk you through some of the key features and changes. App of the week Warren brings us a demo of Simplenote . Tip of the week Warren shows us how to archive a...
Oct 20, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 202
