[Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones
Fred Olver
goodfolks at charter.net
Mon Mar 18 20:51:08 UTC 2013
Actually, Brian, not to worry. A company called speeddots which site is
http://www.speeddots.com offers overlays for the Iphone which provide
dotical placement on the screen for apps or letters. Also there several apps
which offer one the opportunity to try typing using a Braille style keyboard
or a typewriter style keyboard.
Fred
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Wekamp" <b_wekamp at mediacombb.net>
To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2013 3:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones
> 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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>>
>>
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>
>
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