[Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones
Brian Wekamp
b_wekamp at mediacombb.net
Mon Mar 18 20:39:06 UTC 2013
Hi Everyone:
I wonder if the tactel keypad of a cell phone will one day be a thing of the
past; it seems like most cell phones that I have seen on Tv or touch screen
like the Iphone and androyd.
Any thoughts.
Brian Wekamp
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Olver
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 11:37 PM
To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones
Dan, there are very few if any phones available with speech other than the
Iphone and some of the Android offerings. You might check with AT&T or
Verizon, but I'm thinking that because we are again such a small market that
there is very little effort to grow this type of phone market. There is,
however Public Law 255 which was passed by Congress in the 90's which was
supposed to insure that all phones be made accessible, it never did happen,
and to this day, it is not the phone carriers which have come forward, but
either phone manufacturer or third party initiatives which have made some
in-roads in to this market.
Fred
----- Original Message -----
From: <DanFlasar at aol.com>
To: <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 11:27 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones
> Yep - a friend has one of those. But there a re other people who have
> problems reading any text because of macular degeneration. I've gotten
> them
> on to Talking Books (albeit in other states) - phones w/ text-to-speech
> would be much appreciated. And there is the vanity factor - they don't
> want to
> be seen in public with one of those clunky jitterbugs.
> Dan
>
>
>
> In a message dated 3/17/2013 11:17:23 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
> goodfolks at charter.net writes:
>
> Dan there is a phone, the Jitterbug with buttons which are a bit larger.
> It
> can be had from http://www.greatcall.com or from Independent Living Aids
> which website is http://www.independentliving.com
>
> Fred olver
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <DanFlasar at aol.com>
> To: <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 10:28 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones
>
>
>> Gary,
>> I understand your point - I put off buying an iPhonbe for a long,
> long
>> time. But after 3 different phones that seemed to offer some speech
>> assistance and each one being lacking, or getting to be more and more
>> expensive,
>> the iPhone didn't look that bad.
>> But hopefully, technology has advanced in the area of 'regular'
> phones
>> as well? I sure would like to know of what's out there that actually
>> is
>> accessible and doesn't cost excessively. I have friends who have
> severe
>> visual impairment and/or arthritis that makes trying to press tiny
>> buttons to
>> be a major problem. Actually, I had the same problem with small button
>> phones myself - another reason that the larger icons of the iPHone
> helped
>> me
>> a great deal.
>> But, what's out there in terms of non-smart phones?
>> Dan
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> In a message dated 3/17/2013 8:54:21 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
>> gwunder at earthlink.net writes:
>>
>> Hello, Fred. I have no wish to be argumentative, but I have to tell
>> you
>> that there are a lot of older blind people, not to suggest that Shelia
>> Wright is one of them, who simply want to telephone to be a telephone.
>> They
>> are not interested in going to a menu that says they want to use the
>> phone
>> as a phone rather than a web browser, an email client, or a music
> player.
>> The advance that Apple has given to blind people in working out a
>> strategy
>> for us to use touchscreen technology is fantastic and I love it, but I
>> realize that I am a power user who very much likes all of the extra
>> features
>> that the iPhone provides. It is the best radio I've ever had, but it is
>> not
>> the best cell phone I've ever had.
>>
>> One of the items that will be on our convention agenda has to do with
>> smart
>> phones and all they can give to blind people, but in our board meeting
>> there
>> was an equal chorus for having something on the agenda for people who
>> simply
>> want a telephone to be a telephone. I think we dare not forget about
>> this
>> segment of the population. Not every blind person can afford in
>> iPhone;
>> not
>> every blind person can learn to use one; not every blind person once
>> the
>> hassle involved in using touchscreen technology when we can still find
>> telephones with buttons.
>>
>> Warmly,
>>
>> Gary
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Nfbmo [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Fred Olver
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 5:55 PM
>> To: NFB of Missouri Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones
>>
>> At this time, I can't imagine anyone wanting "just a basic cell phone"
>> when
>> the Iphone has so much to offer.
>>
>> With it you can read books, send and receive email, order dinner, use
> it
>> as
>> a GPS alternative while traveling by car, bus or on foot. You can surf
>> the
>> internet, access NFB newsline, get local weather forecasts, listen to
>> your
>> favorite radio stations etc. To settle for something less capable is a
>> mistake because the 21st century's need is for instant communication on
>> all
>> sorts of levels. The android sector of phones are severely limited in
>> terms
>> of offering accessible software from the phones' manufacturer as well
>> as
>> other sources of possible downloads in the google play store. Also,
>> because
>> of the configuration of the Android phones there appears to be much
> more
>> of
>> a possibility of viruses being able to get in to your phone.
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Shelia Wright" <sbwright95 at att.net>
>> To: "'NFB of Missouri Mailing List'" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 5:44 PM
>> Subject: [Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones
>>
>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I just got a Sam Sung M400 out of necessity. My initial impression is
>> very
>>> positive. The voice menus are very similar to my antique LG-550 -
>>> Fusic
>>> with
>>> even added voice menus thus expanding the accessibility. However,
>>> there
>>> still seems to be some features not accessible yet. I do love the
>> quality
>>> of
>>> sound and almost no learning curve.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I would like to be able to text but the sales rep at the Sprint store
>> said
>>> he was 99% sure that it would not read the incoming text messages.
>>> Therefore, I left text messaging blocked on my phone as there is still
> a
>>> additional fee for basic phone plans; However, when experimenting with
>> the
>>> phone, I received a text from Sprint about usage of minutes. The phone
>>> read
>>> this message aloud. So does anyone know if it will read incoming text
>>> messages from other sources.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Also, if you've used this phone is there any drawbacks. There is a
> short
>>> window of time in which I could return it if not satisfied.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Shelia
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> -----
>>> No virus found in this message.
>>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>>> Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 2641/6169 - Release Date:
>>> 03/13/13
>>>
>>
>>
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>> -----
>> No virus found in this message.
>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>> Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 2641/6184 - Release Date:
>> 03/17/13
>>
>
>
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> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 2641/6184 - Release Date: 03/17/13
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