UPDATE 2016: Tecla and Bell announced a partnership to offer Bell customers a Tecla Kit for $200 which includes the Tecla Shield and Tecla Mount. Find out more here.
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On Tuesday, July 26 my friend James and I met with a team from Komodo OpenLabs, the makers of the Tecla Shield to do some field trials playing the popular Pokemon Go using the Tecla Shield. The team comprised of Lawrence Kwok, an Inclusive Designer, Elise Darmanin, the Marketing & Social Media Director and Kaela Malozewski of Communications.
The Test
Upon the first trial with my iPhone 6, it appeared that the Pokemon Go app wouldn’t work with the Tecla Shield, as when you try to “tap” an individual button in point mode, the whole screen acts like a button and you are unable to access the desired selection.
However, Lawrence showed me a way to get around this glitch by using the “tap” button in the “gestures” menu thus giving you access to all buttons on the screen. With that in mind the next step was setting up an account which is lengthy and can be quite arduous but once you get past that step, you are good to GO!
There are 2 modes, the camera mode that gives an augmented reality experience (that is only good if you can hold the phone up to view the screen and scan your surroundings for juicy prey) and the map mode which gives you an overhead view (which I preferred as my phone is mounted to my chair) that can be synced with a compass to lead you to all the pesky Pokemon.
Final Thoughts
Overall I enjoyed the whole experience, except the sign up process, which to me felt like virtual fishing and although I don’t think I will get hooked to the game I was more than happy to be a guinea pig (or Tepig) to ensure others with limited dexterity can join in on the social craze that is Pokemon Go.
So get out there, keep your eyes on the road and happy hunting! And for surprising health benefits of playing video games check out this article!
