[Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones
DanFlasar at aol.com
DanFlasar at aol.com
Tue Mar 19 03:07:33 UTC 2013
Julie,
The only reason that the i-series of devices have become so popular
among blind and visually impaired users is that it is completely accessible
once you set it up - and it doesn't take much setup. Because Apple has
been developing VoiceOver for many, many years, it's a mature product that
works across all their product lines. I agree, a touchscreen doesn't make
much sense for someone who can't feel the virtual buttons, but because the
device reads to you what you're touching, and speaks the name of the icon
and it's submenus, text, emails, labels, tips and whatever lies on down below
the icon, it is much more accessible than a device that has only buttons -
at least for me.
I have a hard time reading text - otherwise, my vision is pretty
good. But it was always a problem trying to read the tiny little screen,
and the tiny little buttons were difficult to feel - partly because my
fingers are too big, partly due to arthritis.
An iPhone is a lot more than just a phone - but it can also replace
other devices that you may carry with you. Soon NLS books, as well as
Bookshare, Newsline and Learning Ally books will be available on Smartphones -
so you won't need your Victor Reader Stream, or lug around the BARD player
when you're out. It will provide increasingly efficient OCR
capabilities, so you won't need a separate device for that.
It can pick up radio stations, TV and other content sources,
including newspapers.
I have successfully avoided computer religion wars - I've used PCs
all my life solely because that's what Washington U provided. If they'd
provided Apples, I would have used those - so I'm not a fan of Apple.
But when I began to meet completely blind people using iPhones with
ease and speed, and found, after long and hard thinking about it, that it
solved a lot of problems for me - the choice was easy.
That said, your points about touch screens are valid - if no audio,
easy screen navigation is integrated, they are a barrier. Physical buttons
are in the same place, always tactile and will fill the bill for simple
phone calls. I used them for years.
But as Gary said, there is a Learning Curve, and the more
gadget-oriented you are, the easier it is.
It's the right solution for me. It may not be for other people. In
my case, it basically doubled my cell phone bill, but it was definitely
worth it.
So when it comes down to it, Smart Phones are not just phones, and
used only as such, would not be a good value.
Hope this answers your question.
Dan
PS: Touchscreens were developed, I suspect, because people got tired of
using mice. They also became very useful for informational kiosks, credit
card access devices, ATMs and so on.
In a message dated 3/18/2013 9:26:48 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
kaybaycar at gmail.com writes:
Hi everyone,
Maybe I'm crazy, but it is hard for me to think of a lot of pros for
the touch screen. Raised buttons help everyone. That way sighted
people can dile their phone without looking at it or while they're
engaged in something else. What started this whole touch screen
revolution? I'm curious.
On 3/18/13, DanFlasar at aol.com <DanFlasar at aol.com> wrote:
> I think the touchscreen technology will have a larger share of the market
> but it will be some time before tactile buttons are entirely gone.
> Dan
>
>
> In a message dated 3/18/2013 3:40:32 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
> b_wekamp at mediacombb.net writes:
>
> 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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--
Julie McG
National Association of Guide dog Users board member, National
Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16
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