Plenty has been written about the new iPhone 4S, but one little known feature is the amazingly thoughtful AssistiveTouch.

Apple has always gone to considerable lengths to make the iPhone usable for people with vision and hearing impairments. If you're deaf, you can have the LED flash to get your attention when the phone rings. You can create custom vibration patterns for each person who might call you.

But now, you can literally turn the screen off if you're blind and operate everything — do your e-mail, surf the Web, adjust settings, run apps — by tapping and letting the phone speak what you're touching.

(READ the article in the New York Times)