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12. Installing and Using Native Android Apps
While the Polaris MINI has many powerful programs created specifically for the
visually impaired, one of its most powerful features is the ability to install and use
native Android applications directly from the Google Play Store. Before you can
install native Android applications, you must have a Google Play Store account.
You can run the Play Store by navigating to it from the Main menu, and pressing
"Enter". You can also press the letter "P".
When you first open the Play Store application, you will need to sign into your
Google account. It is important to note: when you use the Google Play Store and
any applications you install from there, you are utilizing native Android apps. Thus,
you are no longer accessing the BrailleSense interface, and interaction and
navigation is slightly different.
BrailleSense Polaris MINI contains a mobile screen reader that is automatically
executed when you use any native Android app. It is somewhat similar to
TalkBack for Android with some notable enhancements. Because you must
navigate the graphical Android screen, it can sometimes be difficult to locate what
you need efficiently. For this reason, the Polaris MINI screen reader allows you to
locate icons according to their first letter. So, if you're looking for a Search icon,
press the letter S. Pressing a given letter will take you to the first icon that
matches. Subsequent presses of the same letter will jump to additional icons on
the screen beginning with that letter.
Use "F3" and "Space-F3" to move among individual objects on the screen. The
Control and Alt keys will often take you to different content areas on the screen.
