MyVoice

MyVoice is a communication App for the Apple iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices that provides communication.

Released by MyVoice Inc., this is a free to download App that utilises a scrolling list of words and phrases that can selected an spoken through the installed digitised voices. Before February 2012, this App was free to download, though in this state it was more of a 'try before you buy' setup. Before you handed over hard cash, you had the ability to add a limited amount of items, places and communication packs. They had a pay per month/year scheme which meant that the App could end up costing you dearly.

We can now report that their pricing structure has changed to a one-off payment of £129.99, though there is no free 'try before you buy' option it seems. 

The user interface

To use the App, you need to scroll through the selections (with the App only working in portrait view). This is fine as long as you have a precise pointing action. For many people with tremors or poor fine/gross motor skills, you may find you are scrolling rather than selecting the item, however, an item can be turned into a group that will then link to a selection of words and phrases within that group. This could overcome the scrolling issue, though with a maximum of only room on the screen for 4 words and phrases at a time, constant linking would be the only way to overcome this issue. 

With version 4.1, released Jan 28th 2012, MyVoice is now compatible with switches for those with poor gross motor skills. The switch option uses the whole screen as a switch, with the scanning just working on the word/phrase selection. Since the switch option doesn't use a switch interface, such as the Bluetooth switch box sold by Therapy Box, people who are unable to use the iPad as a switch itself (an external switch) will not be catered for. 

Switch use came at a price of $34.99 prior to February 2012! Then in February the cost was just cost £0.69p as a, one-off in-App purchase and now free (thank you), with a sliding scanning speed setting.

There is a couple of drawbacks with the switch interface however. The switch interface uses the whole iPad screen as one big switch, with no support for an external switch interface. This means that if you are a switch user who needs a none-mechanical switch such as a sound operated switch, a suck/puff switch or a switch that is activated other than with your hand, you will struggle. Maybe struggle is a slight understatement - you're screwed! 

The second drawback seems to be the 'Places' option becoming inaccessible. To access the the 'Places' option (the location specific word/phrase list) you need to press the Places button at the bottom of the screen. Not only does the button not scan, but you can't see it because a swipe bar is placed over it that allows you to exit out of switch scanning mode. 

Places - location aware communication

OK, this is new to any of the Apps we have looked at to date and it's pretty cool. 

MyVoice uses the devices location via the iPad's built-in GPS services to be able to link your current location with a communication set. Let's use an example:

If I were to use this App, I would probably add the following places - Work, Home, Restaurant and so on. If I were to add a place, the App would locate where I am and allow me to name the location such as Work. I can then produce a set of words and phrases that are work related such as 'sorry I'm late, the bus driver threw me off the bus' or 'can I have a pay rise?'.

This allows you to separate words and phrases so that you don't have to trawl through an endless list of phrases and just have a list that apply to where you currently are. I suppose this is the alternative to linking grids from cells such as in Proloquo2Go, the phrase banks in Predictable and the software found in traditional communication software grids.

I did start off by saying this is cool, though if you are a person who visits many places, then adding a location for all eventualities could be a daunting task and having a communication cell that links to a topic would be more flexible. An example of this would be traveling on the bus. Using your location to bring up phrases such as 'I would like to buy a day ticket' would be a nightmare unless you travel from the same bus stop every time, though generally, the positives outweigh any negatives and is a good use of the GPS functionality.

Conclusion

One of the beauties of Apps is that they tend to be a one-off cost and updates are frequent, easy to install and free. I'm so glad that they have ditched their monthly/yearly pricing scheme for a one-off payment as I feel the price is now much more transparent.

The location services (places) is a very good utilisation of the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch's GPS capabilities, allowing location specific words and phrases to be made available.

The voices are high quality, with British and American voices available.

Pros

• Places, using Location services allows you access to location-related conversation.
• Switch accessible interface (at an extra one-off cost).
• The App is free to install, but in reality this only works as a try before you buy.

Cons

• The cost at £129.99 still makes this App one of the most expensive, though I do like the GPS integration for location-related conversation, something that we haven't seen before. I guess they can charge more for innovation.
• Only having the ability to display 4 to 5 words/phrases on a screen at a time will promote the need for scrolling, hampering those with fine motor difficulties.
• Version 4.1 seems very unstable, it often crashes out, though I expect this to be rectified in a future update.
• Switch access only uses the screen as a switch. Ok for some, unusable for others. Also, location specific communication is not available to switch users.