[Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones

Gary Wunder gwunder at earthlink.net
Tue Mar 19 12:49:29 UTC 2013


Some research is going into having touch screens that can raise with proper
stimuli so that what is in reality a flat touchscreen feels like one with
buttons as well. This is but part of the problem--folks still want simple
and straight-forward phones that are phones and not a combination telephone,
radio, music player, and vacuum cleaner. Okay, I stretched it a bit there,
but the request is for a single-function device in which the way to do the
function is clear. It's not my cup of tea, but it is desired fervently by
some.

Warmly,

Gary

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbmo [mailto:nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of DanFlasar at aol.com
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2013 4:10 PM
To: nfbmo at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [Nfbmo] Looking for Info About Basic Cell Phones

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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>  
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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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