Often with most phones we only touch on the surface of what it can do. Take the iPhone it is simp,y the disabled persons phone of choice. Apple has baked in so many accessibility functions that blind people can use the phone just fine.

Personally, I find this aspect of the iPhone superb. There are even specific apps for the blind. Just imagine being blind but using the iPhone camera to slowly view the area around you. As you move the camera, it speaks the colours in precise detail.

But now with iOS 7 it gets even better. Disabled people can now operate the iPhone with head movements. The option can be found in the Switch Control area of the Accessibility menu, which is designed for users who need assistance with physical and motor movements.

Taking another aspect of the new iOS 7, there is support for gaming controllers from Logitech and Moga. Now because the support will be baked into an API, more games will be able to work quickly and easily with a controller. I currently use the ps3 dual shock controller and Moga Pro to play games and the difference is night and day in terms of enjoyment and control. This is using android devices but due to fragmentation on android there isn’t one device/solution. Apple is providing this solution. And whilst you think you won’t use a controller with the iPhone, just wait until you do as I doubt you will ever be able not to use one going forward. This feature of iOS 7 will destroy the Ninetendo DS and possibly the Sony PS Vita.

Has anyone else noticed that the voice recorder app in the iOS 7 beta has been removed. Is this just a temporary situation, or is it gone for good.

What do you think and would you miss it?

Citymapper for iOS has revealed a new updated look that is meant to follow the iOS 7 look.

So what do you think of the new flat look? For certain apps I am sure it will look superb, although the above does look similar to windows phone.

With iOS 7 there is some good news. You can happily apply any filter when using the camera, for example Black & White, but be rest assured that the original colour version is saved too.

This is the correct way and filtering apps should work.

iOS 7 has a pull down notification centre. It has been discovered that this includes a form of Google Now functionality.

Pulling down the notification centre, not only reveals the weather and appointments, but is also making suggestions. This maybe why Apple made the control centre swipe up.

On Monday, Apple demoed iOS 7 to the world. It is a visual re-imagination of a new operating system for the iDevices, including iPod, iPhone and iPad.

First reaction was wow, this is a total redesign and quite drastic. Then some of the reason I tried jail breaking had been covered off with the introduction of the control centre. I liked the fact that the spotlight search was now accessed from within the notification centre. I then watched over the next few days critics and admirers leave their opinions.

What was clear from the initial negative comments was the lack or ignorance of those comments. The depth of iOS 7 did not lie in the visual but the 1,500 new APIs. These were the clues to what iOS7 might reveal. On Tuesday, I already covered off some of the hidden features, but there are considerable more to discover. Since Monday I have asked people at work and at various meetings which style of iOS did they prefer. The winner every time was iOS 7. These are not tech geeks, just ordinary people.

I for one really like the redesign. It is fresh, modern and incorporates enough new tweaks to make it very user friendly.

iOS 7 beta is just out but here are some of the more interesting features not covered –

– the Clock app is a live tile that features the actual time

– Spotlight has moved. Pull down from within app grid to reveal Spotlight. Pull down from top to reveal Notification Center.

– per app settings for cellular use

– twitter and Facebook posting via notification centre has gone for now

– Ability to block users in Phone, FaceTime and Message apps

– Improved mail search

– New smart mailboxes

– Notification sync

– FaceTime audio

– Per app VPN

– Activation lock

– View PDF annotations

– Inclinometer

– Long MMS support

– Maps bookmark syncing

– Chinese-English bilingual dictionary

– Handwriting recognition for multiple Chinese characters

– Do Not Track option in Safari

– App Store volume purchasing

– Enterprise single sign-on

– Italian, Dutch and Korean dictionaries

– Tencent Weibo

– Wi-Fi Hotspot 2.0

– Night mode for Maps

– Managed app configuration

– Smart downloading of TV episodes

– Turn-by-turn walking directions in Apple Maps

– Newsstand can be placed inside a folder

– Live home screen icons

I will update as I find more.

Want to test the beta of iOS 7 and don’t have a developer account. Well this method currently works. Be warned installing a beta can destroy your iPhone and make it become unreliable. Install at your own risk.

What you’ll need to do is install a fresh copy of iOS 6 on your device, then to acquire the iOS 7 beta 1 IPSW file, simply hold down Shift on PC or Option on Mac while clicking the Update button in iTunes. Then, select the iOS 7 beta file and you should be able to update your device to the latest software version. iOS 7 is compatible with iPhone 4, iPad 2, iPad mini and iPod touch 5th gen or later.