What Is an Android Phone?

Android is Google's smartphone operating system, with touch-screen interface and many built-in accessibility features.




What it does is pack a mini computer into a cell phone. Users can browse the web, chat, check out YouTube videos, get GPS information, keep up with Face Book and Twitter, listen to music, and send and receive email, as well as send text messages and make and receive phone calls.



What it isn't is a specific phone. It’s an operating system used by many different devices, all of them having a touch screen with soft buttons. The similarities end there, however. Some Android phones have physical typing keyboards for inputting information; others do not. Some have a directional pad (d-pad) for users to arrow around the screen; others have a trackball for scrolling; still others have neither. Some have a handful of physical buttons; others, only one or two.



For people who are blind and visually impaired, what Android offers is out-of-the-box accessibility in a smartphone, with the power of the Google Market, which lists free and paid applications that can provide workarounds for some of the gaps in built-in accessibility.



To help blind and visually impaired users have a positive Android experience, this blog provides general information about device accessibility, tips for setting up an eyes-free phone, tutorials on commonly performed tasks, and reviews and instructions for mainstream Market applications.