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

Arlene arlenes71154 at earthlink.net
Sun Dec 24 17:23:51 UTC 2017 

Pam, that is really strange. I could understand all the more why you would 
want to check on your signal strength. In a while I'm going to see if I 
could find that information on the sim mobile. I know at one time, where my 
mom lived in St. James they didn't have enough cell towers out there for 
t-mobile, and it was iffy about being able to use their phones in the house, 
sometimes they could  and other times they couldn't. That doesn't sound like 
the problem because there's probably enough cell towers in the city, and 
since your kind of close to the city hopefully you have enough cell towers 
there. Considering some of the time the signal strength is strong and other 
times it isn't.

Arlene
----- 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: Sunday, December 24, 2017 7:12 AM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Smart Phone for the Blind [Signal Strength]


> Well, this signal strength that bops up and down was also happening in the 
> city.  Sitting at Lynnea's table, it could tell me I had seven bars, and 
> then turn around and tell me I had one bar, or no signal.  It did the same 
> at my house.  Pam.
>
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Arlene via Electronics-Talk
> Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2017 4:27 AM
> To: Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances
> Cc: Arlene
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Smart Phone for the Blind [Signal 
> Strength]
>
> Pam, hopefully when you move to the city you'll have better signal 
> strength.
>
> Arlene
> ----- 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 6:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Smart Phone for the Blind [Signal 
> Strength]
>
>
>> Well, the lower the signal is, the worse it is.  What do I do to improve 
>> it? It depends.  Sometimes I try to move the phone around in different 
>> directions, or go somewhere else.  It depends on where I am when I don't 
>> like the signal I'm getting.  Pam.
>>
>> -----Original Message----- 
>> From: cheez via Electronics-Talk
>> Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2017 6:14 PM
>> To: Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances
>> Cc: cheez
>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Smart Phone for the Blind [Signal 
>> Strength]
>>
>> 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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>>
>>
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>
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