[Electronics-Talk] Smart Phone for the Blind [Signal Strength]

cheez cheez at cox.net
Sat Dec 23 23:14:43 UTC 2017 

Gotcha.  So what is a poor signal to you, and what do you do to improve the 
signal?

Vince

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pamela Dominguez via Electronics-Talk" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: "Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances" 
<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Pamela Dominguez" <geodom at optonline.net>
Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2017 1:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Smart Phone for the Blind [Signal Strength]


> Sometimes, if a call is breaking up, I want to be able to check the signal 
> strength.
>
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: cheez via Electronics-Talk
> Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2017 12:10 PM
> To: Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances
> Cc: cheez
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Smart Phone for the Blind [Signal 
> Strength]
>
> Educate me on this.  Why are people so concerned with signal strength?
> I mean, if you are able to place/receive calls, access the Internet, etc.,
> then why is it so important?
> I vary seldom check the signal strength.  Usually when I do, it's just to
> see if my iPhone is using wi-fi or Verizon when something isn't right.
> And don't take this the wrong way, but, the only people I know whom are
> concerned with signal strength are blind.
>
> Vince
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Pamela Dominguez via Electronics-Talk" 
> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> To: <steve.jacobson at visi.com>; "Discussion of accessible home electronics
> and appliances" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: "Pamela Dominguez" <geodom at optonline.net>
> Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2017 9:26 AM
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Smart Phone for the Blind
>
>
>> Yes; I liked my Alcatel phone when I first got it, but I am finding 
>> things about it that frustrate me, like the silent times you mention.  I 
>> also think that sometimes, I can accidentally turn off the screenreader 
>> without knowing it.  Also, it says strange things that don't make sense. 
>> If I am choosing menu items, say on newsline for example, all of a 
>> sudden, the screenreader will sound like it's telling me that it is 
>> calling somebody. I forget the exact word it uses.  Another thing is, I 
>> found out how to check battery level, but can't find out how to check 
>> signal strength.  I had the Nokia n95 with mobile speak and it told me 
>> battery level right away.  It told me in bars, and it told me the signal 
>> strength in bars. This phone gives me the battery level in percentages. 
>> That's okay, but I can't find signal strength in anything, bars or 
>> percentages anywhere. Pam.
>>
>> -----Original Message----- 
>> From: Steve Jacobson via Electronics-Talk
>> Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2017 10:47 AM
>> To: 'Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances'
>> Cc: Steve Jacobson
>> Subject: [Electronics-Talk] Smart Phone for the Blind
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I would very much like to complete the electronic part of the discussion
>> surrounding a Smart Phone for the Blind.  After going to the website on 
>> this
>> particular device, I couldn't help but think about what it is that we 
>> might
>> need in terms of a special smart phone.  First, I tend to take the 
>> approach
>> that if a company markets their product honestly and they succeed in 
>> drawing
>> customers, it really does not matter if I think their product is a good 
>> one
>> or not.  The demand proves that the product has something to offer.  In 
>> this
>> particular case, I can also see the advantage in being able to pull out a
>> phone and use it easily without the need to pair another device, pull out 
>> a
>> separate keyboard, or pull out a braille display.  I am an iPhone user 
>> and
>> have successfully used a keyboard and a braille display and realize that
>> both approaches work and that both approaches are sometimes inconvenient. 
>> I
>> frankly don't know how sighted people use touch screens on a bus. 
>> <smile>
>>
>> What I am wondering, though, is whether people who feel we need a special
>> phone are really going to be happy with a phone like this.  I have had
>> frustrations with learning and using an iPhone, but frankly, many of my
>> frustrations are related to bugs or unpredictable behavior in the 
>> operating
>> system itself.  Some may be related to VoiceOver but some are not.  This
>> smart phone is apparently an Androidphone which, of course, is different
>> than the IOS operating system used on an iPhone.  However, I also have a
>> BrailleNote Touch device in my household, which is an android device, and 
>> I
>> see some of the same unpredictability there as well.  As an experienced
>> computer user, I have little trouble dealing with it, but the mechanical
>> keyboard and the specialized Keysoft software does not eliminate Android
>> processes from interrupting the workflow, for just one example.  It means
>> that the user has to consider which automatic updates to turn off and 
>> which
>> need to happen.  In other words, there is a lot in a complex operating
>> system that will still impact the user and will probably be the case on 
>> even
>> a specialized Android phone.
>>
>> Moving back to phones, as has been the case with other specialized 
>> phones,
>> this one only works on certain networks, being a GSM phone.  The website
>> itself says this leaves out Sprint and Verizon.  We also don't know, as 
>> far
>> as I can tell, exactly what one is getting for a phone in this special 
>> smart
>> phone.  While the price is not unreasonable for a good Android phone, is 
>> it
>> reasonable for what is being offered as the base phone?  Which Android
>> phones only can use GSM, for example?  What is a fair markup for a 
>> special
>> phone for the blind?
>>
>> My wife gave up on using an iPhone and we purchased one of the Alcatel
>> phones that Sprint has with a built in voice.  It is a flip phone with a
>> keyboard that is fairly easy to use.  However, even on this phone which 
>> is
>> not an Android or an IOS phone, there are periods of silence where one 
>> does
>> not know what is happening, and some of what is spoken is not clear. 
>> This
>> is a relatively inexpensive phone and it is working better for her than 
>> did
>> her iPhone, but it isn't the perfect solution I had envisioned when I
>> started my research, even though it might well have been the best choice
>> that could have been made at the time.  I would frankly hesitate to say 
>> this
>> phone would work well for a Senior who doesn't have some understanding of
>> technology.  The Odin phones seem to me to be pretty good, but their use 
>> is
>> limited to certain networks, and there has been rumors that the cellphone
>> technology they use will soon be phased out.  It seems likely that they
>> started out with an older phone as the base, although I don't know this 
>> for
>> certain.
>>
>> As usual, I am finding this issue to be more complex than I thought when
>> first looking at it.  We need to be careful to completely define the 
>> problem
>> that is being solved and be a little careful before putting down $500 or
>> more for a special phone that may leave many problems unresolved.  To 
>> really
>> judge these new phones fairly, we need to hear from people who have some
>> experience with them.  This is a topic that is worth some intelligent
>> discussion.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Steve Jacobson
>>
>>
>>
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