We are about to see the release of the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the first mobile phone to come with the Ice Cream Sandwich version of the Android operating system installed. There are some well documented improvements offered by this new system such as unified applications for both mobile phones and tablet devices. There are however some features that are less well known and one of them is the support offered to visually impaired users.

On previous versions of the Android platform blind users would need to rely on separate applications to help them use the phone but this is the first time support has been integrated into the operating system. This support takes the form of voice guided navigation to help you perform everyday tasks. When you unbox the phone for the first time it is simple to activate the voice guidance by simply drawing the shape of a rectangle on the display.

Once activated for the first time the phone will run through a tutorial that explains how you can use the assisted functions. Perhaps the most useful aspect of this support is that the phone automatically reads out the name of icons that you have your finger placed over. This is tremendously helpful with the modern smartphone and the huge variety of applications and widgets that are available. Due to this function being incorporated the scrolling on the phone is performed by a two finger swipe meaning any single finger action that you perform helps you find your way around and establish what screen you are actually viewing. The implementation of software such as this on the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus may help the handset compete very well with the iPhone 4S which has offered support for visually impaired users for several months.