LG G Pad 8.0, very accessible and easy to use

Monday, 16 March, 2015

By Amóvil

The LG G Pad 8.0 in white

The LG G Pad 8.0 is an intuitive and user friendly tablet suitable for persons with vision and hearing disabilities, poor dexterity skills, and limited comprehension skills. Running on Android 4.4.2 (KItKat), it is also powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. We were able to review this device thanks to a loan by Orange.

The tablet features a very practical design with dimensions of 210.8 x 124.2 x 9.9 mm that make it easy to hold it with one hand when positioned vertically. Also, at 310 grams it is quite lightweight for its category.

Its display is an 8-inches ISP LCD panel with 800 x 1280 pixels resolution. The device comes with a 5 MP camera with autofocus on the back, and a 1.3 MP camera for videocalls on the front. The Pad includes Bluetooth technology, DLNA, A-GPS and Wi-Fi Direct.

Accessibility review

Like other devices recently launched by LG Electronics, this tablet includes a series of features designed to improve the experience of people with disabilities. One of the most salient is the possibility to launch the accessibility menu from the moment the user turns the handset on for the first time. This, for instance, enables blind users to run through the initial general set-up process and set the language, the Wi-Fi connection, among others, on their own.

In addition, the LG G Pad’s accessibility menu is divided into four types of disabilities. The names of the features listed in this menu include brief descriptions about their use, allowing users to readily decide which one suit them best.

Vision

The LG G Pad 8.0 is suitable for blind users. TalkBack is capable of reading out loud the entire available visual content. However, there is problem worth mentioning: if the text of an icon includes initials or abbreviations, the screen reader will read them just as they are. It will not convert them to full words. This can make it hard for some users to readily know the purpose of an app or a feature.

This tablet is also accessible to users with low vision. It allows changing the size of the text and inverting background and foreground colors. In addition, users will be able to customize color contrasts and use Touch Zoom to enlarge the text. Blind users have the option to dim the backlight to save battery power.

Hearing

Because this device does not support phone calls, its hearing compatibility rating was not considered a necessary feature. While it is possible to pair the tablet to a smartphone using the QPair app to receive call notifications, making or receiving phone calls is not possible. However, users will be able to send and receive text messages. Videocalls are also supported but only through instant messaging apps such as Google Hangouts or Skype.

In addition, hearing impaired people will be able to select they type of audio that suit them best (stereo or mono), balance incoming sound (left or right), and activate closed captioning for multimedia content.

Dexterity

There are several features built-in that render this device adequate for users with poor manual dexterity skills. The tablet’s display can be locked and unlocked making a simple double-tapping gesture with one finger and its large size makes it easy to activate icons. Also, buttons on the side are easy to press.

However, users with little or no dexterity skills may have a very limited experience. The voice recognition feature built-in can only be used to browse the net and does not open native apps making it impossible for them to control the tablet with their voices.

Notwithstanding, the feature “Touch Assistant” may improve the experience for some of them. This is an app that reproduces the functions of buttons on the side from the display allowing users to control the tablet using assistive devices such as head-wands or mouth-sticks.

Comprehension skills

The LG G Pad is suitable for users with comprehension issues. The design of icons complies with accessibility standards. In addition, when an app is opened for the first time a help balloon popups, providing simple explanations on how to use it.

For more information about accessibility features available in this device, please consult the full accessibility report available in Amóvil.

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