Back in late September, Microsoft announced the launch of the Microsoft Surface Adaptive Kit. Of course, I made sure I had ordered one for release day! Read on for my thoughts after a few weeks of use.
The TL;DR version is that this is an amazing kit. Remarkable in its simplicity, and outstanding in its flexibility. One for anyone out there irrespective of accessibility needs or requirements.
What is the Microsoft Surface Adaptive Kit then?
The kit itself caused a stir, in a good way, because of the simplicity of the idea. The Microsoft Xbox Adaptive Controller is awesome because of the countless ways to create interactivity and control. The Surface Adaptive Kit on the other hand is a box of stickers.
Now that is far from a criticism or any form of derogatory remark. The kit is an AMAZING idea and executed really well (for the most part). It’s the sheer minimalism that makes this a phenomenal solution.
The stickers themselves are coloured and textured, each one distinct and designed to be easily applied and then utilised. The idea being that they can be stuck on keys, cables, next to ports, and even on the lid of a laptop or the kickstand of a Surface tablet.
Where the Adaptive Controller is an, understandably, pricey piece of kit the Surface Adaptive Kit is a moderately reasonable £14.99. Admittedly I was hoping for a price around £10 but I can’t grumble with what you get.
One thing I will also say is that the usage examples Microsoft present you with are exactly that, examples. You can use these any way that suits your needs. There are countless possibilities, and endless applications!
What’s in the box?
OK, the first time of trying to get into the kit required a fair bit of effort. The glue holding the bottom tab in place provided a surprising level of resistance. This is something I could envisage that providing some initial issues for some folks. One you’ve opened it though you are greeted with a nicely embossed white lid which then reveals a folder of the stickers themselves.
There are 4 sheets in total: A set of coloured symbols, a selection of different textured clear stickers, a sheet of textured coloured stickers that are a long strip paired with a matching smaller square sticker, and then two silicone/rubber/plastic tabs on a sheet.
The Stickers themselves
Starting with the set of coloured symbols. These are demonstrated as being used on things like Bluetooth headsets to help find controls etc. There’s a dot, a hollow circle, a dash, and an X. These are raised and very easy to feel the design. The sensitivity in my fingertips can be wildly different one day to the next but I can easily feel these.
The sheet of strips and squares are designed so the long strip goes around a cable. The corresponding square goes next to the port for the cable on a laptop or other device. This is ingenious as even though I don’t suffer severe vision difficulties it is often a challenge to plug the right cable into the right port when my desk isn’t lit up!
The third sheet is a set of transparent stickers with different symbols on them. There is also an applicator to help place these on surface keyboards. The idea here is that you place these on keys and buttons to help find them by touch. For me this is a total godsend. I’ve noticed that the usual bumps for touch typists have been getting less and less pronounced, leading to me making far more mistakes than I would like!
I also have issues due to nerve damage, and I don’t always have full sensitivity in my fingertips. These stickers are much more raised in their feel and make it easy to locate keys and buttons. My only issue is that the glue/tape used here is translucent rather than completely clear when placed on my black Microsoft Natural Keyboard. This ruins the look a bit, but they are there so I don’t have to look at my keyboard!
Finally we come to a sheet with just 2 “stickers”. Theses are in the surface grey colour and made of a silicone/rubber type materials. What’s genius here is that these are designed to help open a laptop or pull out the kickstand on a Surface tablet device. The larger of the two is a simple handle type sticker. The smaller sticker has a loophole for putting a lanyard or tie through it to help with pulling the lid/stand.
So, who’s the kit for?
In coming up with the idea for this, the Microsoft Surface team invited people with different disabilities and accessibility needs to bring their devices in and to discuss ideas. What the team saw was people who had put on glue dots, their own stickers, or other methods to help with their everyday usage. Taking what they saw, they came up with this kit.
For people with a physical disability or those with vision issues this is an amazing kit and works on any device you may have – it doesn’t have to be a Surface!
The kit is also useful for any other tech users. If you ever need to swap out cables on a regular basis, switch devices around, or take your devices on the road, then this kit will prove useful time and time again.
Concluding thoughts about the Microsoft Surface Adaptive Kit…
Designing something that has endless flexibility and possibilities is not an easy task. Making something that makes technology and peripheral devices more accessible across a massively diverse set of individual needs and requirements is even more challenging.
Remarkably the design team have pretty much nailed it. As I’ve mentioned, there are a couple of things I think could be improved, but that doesn’t not take away from the brilliance and simplicity of the solution they have created.
This is a flexible pack that can be used in any way that you want. It’s that flexibility that really makes this something I would suggest anyone could make use of and is a massive testament to the design team.
You can grab one at the Microsoft Store (UK Link) or read more about it on the Microsoft Blog. I get no referral or payment for clicking on these links, and this blog post is not sponsored.
Finally
Don’t forget to check out my other posts about accessibility or my list of accessibility resources and websites! If there’s anything you’d like me to talk about then please get in touch.
You must be logged in to post a comment.