Sero (formally iBlink Radio) is available on many platforms including iOS, Windows and Android. For a monthly paid subscription, you get access to a wide variety of resources of special interest to the blind and partially sighted community. Sero doesn't produce content. It merely makes it easier to access all in one service. To subscribe to podcasts, you must be a paying subscriber. However, it is possible to listen to podcasts without subscribing to them or paying for a Sero subscription. These instructions presume you have not subscribed to the Sero service and simply want a simple way to listen to AMI podcasts These instructions were written for the Sero app for iOS. Download the Sero app using the App Store.
Useful gestures for this app:
- One finger touch and drag: explore the screen
- Swipe right or left: select the next or previous item
- One finger Double-tap: activate the selected item
- Two-finger double-tap: answer or end a call; play or pause in Music, Videos, Voice Memos or Podcasts
- Two finger scrub: while touching the screen with two fingers slightly apart, quickly move back and forth to move back a screen
- Rotor gesture: while touching the screen with two fingers slightly apart, turn them in the same fashion as turning a dial on a radio
- One finger swipe up or down: activates the feature you have chosen with the rotor gesture
How To Play:
- Once you have opened the Sero app, flick right until you find the “Search” edit field and double-tap on it.
- Type in a podcast name, for example, Kelly and Company. Double-tap on the search button on the bottom right of the screen.
- Swipe right until you find the podcast name and double-tap on it. You will now find yourself in the episode list.
- Tap on any of the episodes and three options will appear. Play: will stream the episode to your phone. Download: will first download the episode to your phone and then start playing. Share: you can share a link to that episode with your contacts and/or social media. Double-tap on play and your chosen episode will start playing.
- The usual player controls are made visible and you can swipe through them and double-tap on what you’d like to activate. You can also quickly play/pause the audio with a double finger double-tap, also known as the “Magic Gesture.”
- To move back to the master list of podcasts, double-tap on the “Back” button found at the top left of the screen. You will have to do this twice.
Final Notes:
This is a great app for blind and partially sighted oriented content. Without a Sero membership, however, you are not able to subscribe to the podcasts. If you are new to listening to podcasts the ease of navigation and simple interface Sero’s strongest features. You can see all of the podcast content available in the Sero app by double-tapping on the “Podcast” button found on the main screen. For more information on Sero services, visit: http://www.serotek.com/sero
Was this helpful? We want your feedback. Tell us what you think about these platforms. Are they accessible? Do you enjoy using them? Is there another app you use to download podcasts that you prefer?
Email us at feedback@ami.ca or reach out to us on Twitter @AMIaudio and let us know what you think!