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Cell Phone For the Blind?
brigc writes "Here's one that's got me stumped. A friend of mine who is blind asked me for help tracking down a cell phone for him. He's interested in a flip phone with well-defined separations between the keys, and as much voice control as possible. Battery life is the only other thing he mentioned. Preferably something that would work on AT&T's network in the US. We spent part of the afternoon in a local AT&T store checking out all the flip phones they had and didn't find one he really loved. Anyone have any ideas?"
There was a story some months back about a phone that would read to you by interpreting pictures from the built-in camera, but it doesn't have much information about usability. I'm sure it'd be handy to have some sort of text-to-speech option for common cell phone features like caller ID and text messaging, or even just reading menu names.
Sorry...
Why not just refer to information from some local organisation of blind people? There's this survey of accessible mobile phones in the UK, but surely there must be something similar for the USA.
Why not Jitterbug. It doesn't work with AT&T but it does have large well separated buttons and is relatively easy for people to use. I don't think your friend wants a "complex" phone -- more buttons and more potential for error.
Here is the linky : http://www.jitterbug.com/phonesDial.aspx
Good luck....
http://www.screenlessphone.com/
Has voice commands (In that it will read the command name to you as you go over it), as well as well-defined separations between the keys. It, has good battery life, too. It's a candybar phone, however, and is very limited. I picked one up (with prepaid service) for about $12, but their full retail US is still only around $50. CDMA and 3G are both available.
I hate grammar Nazi's.
Google provides a lot of info, I found some interesting information and most of it appears recent. The 22C is a screenless-specific GSM phone that appears to be a good match.
Check out http://www.codefactory.es/en/
I have a blind daughter and she uses an Nokia N95 and it works verey good, i also know that there is some OCR software for Nokia N82 coming up soon which can read a photo, that could be an even better choice.
He might find this meets some of his needs:
Jitterbug
However, it looks like you have to also buy service through them.
I volunteer in an NGO that helps blind people in various ways, and is also my passion, privately.
I am VERY happy this question appeared here on /. for once, because last time I mentioned MP3 players that would be just as functional for blind as for seeing people, I was derided. But the truth is, making MP3 players and mobile phones with a user interface that is usable for blind people does NOT detract anything from the usability for seeing people. In fact, I'd argue that it makes them more usable for the seeing people as well - allowing for a whole new area of use cases.
The trend is, however, unfavourable for the blind: touch screens and the related user interfaces make it impossible for blind people to operate such gadgets, unless they have a voice feedback.
And now, to the point of the question, and related to voice feedback: there are plenty of Nokia phones with software designed to make it possible to be operated by a blind person. Such software would announce who is calling or whose call you just missed, who is the sender of an SMS and read the SMS to you, or give feedback on your commands. Nokia phones in general (especially the slightly older ones, say, 2006, 2007 generation) have a user interface that is more suitable for blind people than most other. I am just now trying to teach my visually impaired mother how to use a certain Panasonic mobile phone (only one extra phone in the house at the moment), and I notice how the UI emphasizes using the same button for several functions. Like, locking the phone requires two pushes on the same button. Unlocking it requires three pushes on that same button, and the only feedback you have is visual. WTF? Total rubbish.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
I know nothing about this phone,
http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-jitterbug-dial-sph/4505-6454_7-32115117.html
but see it recommended often for older folks and those with poor eyesight. A real barebones phone, with limited features, big keys, and decent battery life.
hth,
jeff
My blind friend uses an HTC Mogul, with a mobile version of JAWS. JAWS is probably the speech software for most blind computer users.
Why yes, I *AM* new here. Why?
Why does he want a cellphone if he's blind? I mean, he won't be able to use the camera. He can't send text messages. Can't use it for games or videos. I suppose he could listen to mp3s. What? He wants to make phone calls. Good luck finding a cell phone that's good at that....
This guy's the limit!
Some phones have voice recognition. I have an older LG VX5200 on Verison that has this feature, I press a button easily found on the side, and it asks for a command. The phone itself is otherwise not fat-thumb friendly. Lookup "Voice Dialing (Speaker-independent (automatic))" http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/
There is no Kitsune in Kitsune Udon
A couple of weeks ago I helped a blind guy, with a service dog, board a commuter train. I watched as, later, he whipped out a phone and called his party to let them know that he's on the way.
I don't remember what model it was, but it looked like a fairly recent phone, with all the usual bells and whistles on it. So, even though I don't know the model, there are definitely some out there which blind people can easily use.
Blind people often have a heightened sense of touch. I'd say you're probably looking for a phone that's on the larger side, not a tiny crumb with teeny keys; but rather something substantial, with individual dial keys that are slightly raised, and can be easily felt, by touch.
The blind person might need some initial help to set up speed dial keys, but once that's done 99% of the time he'll need to press only a couple of keys to do the desired function.
If he didn't like any phones in one AT&T store, he should go to another. Different stores have different phones. Or, if living in a large city, try independent stores that sell unlocked GSM phones (that can be used with AT&T or T-Mobile, here in the US). That's going to be a slightly larger hit in the pocket, but you'll have a larger selection of phones to try out.
Hands down the best voice commands I've ever used in a phone is Voice Commander for Windows Mobile 5. (I believe it's now included with WM6 as standard.) Not only does it do voice dialling of your contacts and numbers by simply saying "Dial 555 1234" but it also gives you control over the launching apps, mp3 playback, reading SMS messages, signal status and time and appointments.
For a full list take a look at the Microsoft website.
It also doesn't need any training or any setup you just press and speak and it works surprisingly well.
As for hardware that'll depend on your budget and availability but there are lots of options for Windows Mobile powered phones including candy bars and and flip phones.
I have the RAZR2 (V8). You can operate the phone entirely through voice commands, including dialing people in the phonebook and just dialing phone numbers. You can set "Talking Phone" mode so that it reads each menu item as you go over it. The keys are not physically separated but there are ridges between the rows of keys, and the imprinting is raised so you can tell by feel when you're on a key. The phone has audible caller-ID, but for some stupid reason T-Mobile disables that on their phones. If you look into the RAZR2, be sure that features is enabled or get an unlocked phone.
Too late to be known as Bush the First, he's sure to be known as Bush the Worst.
Get a phone from this list: http://www.nuance.com/talks/phones.asp Then buy this software: http://www.nuance.com/talks/ It's a screen reader for Nokia S60 phones. It is perfect for blind and visually impaired persons. My dad is blind and he's used it for quite a few years now. The supported phones are top of the line. My dad has a Nokia N95, I think, and he really likes that the Talks screen reader is compatible with most of the phone, including email, web browsing, media player, calendar, address book, and the amazing voice commands, which provide a great shortcut for blind users. I highly recommend it. And Nokia phones are the best, IMO.
Just got my dad a Pantech Breeze from AT&T. It's quad-band GSM, nop gadgety features (like media/mp3/etc), does voice tags, has large buttons, has 3 dedicated speed-dial buttons (actual buttons, not softkeys), has good battery life, and does bluetooth.
It's designed for old people, not blind people, but it has everything you described.
http://www.wireless.att.com/about/disability-resources/mobile-speak-magnifier.jsp "AT&T now offers the latest in screen reader and screen magnifier software from Code Factory. This software works to enhance the functionality of some of our most popular wireless devices for those who have low vision or are blind. The screen reader and screen magnifier software is available for both Symbian and Windows Mobile Smartphone devices."
There are too many touch screen phones on the market these days.
If you're blind and looking for a good phone look at the Nokia 6810... it has a good screen reader and an open source GPS system for navigation called Loadstone (which I did some work on).
For a blind user, bluetooth is a must as it lets you keep a headset with a reader for interfacing. I walked around for a while with the phone talking to me and it freaked people out.
Good luck on the search and message me if you want some more info...
I do not at all make claims to understand a blind person's needs, but I have spent some time trying to understand a blind person's requirements as part of working for a company that makes products for blind people - a highly successful company that must be doing a few things right.
One big thing I noticed is that most blind people are highly motivated to adapt to existing technology and generally don't need a big helping hand (unless they became blind very late in life). One blind guy I spoke to can Braille faster than I can type (ok not such a big challenge as I'm not a fast typer). This guy would learn how to use a candy-bar phone pretty quickly, but would likely prefer some special bumps/touch on some of the more important keys [5 to locate center of number pad, dial/hangip keys etc].
Most voice feedback is pretty crappy for blind people. Most blind people don't care for high quality spoken sound. What they want is fast. Most blind people will crank up the speed on their text to speech devices to full speed and at those speeds Joe Average non-blind person will not be able to understand.
What would be very interesting would be a blind person's special interest group adopting an open (eg OpenMoko) or semi-open (eg. Android) phone and seeing what sorts of UI design etc come out of that.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Very good mobile products for the blind, though not cheap: http://www.knfbreader.com/
My Grandmother is legally blind.
She LOVES her Jitterbug flip phone because she can open it, hit one button (which is easy to find by feel) & tell the Jitterbug Operator which of her contacts she wants to call.
The phone can be programmed with contacts in a "Speed Dial" arrangement, so she can do it herself, but if she can't remember which Speed Dial Number someone is, it's literally one button to get that info read to her by someone who seems to enjoy being a help.
As she put it, it is THE best birthday present she's ever gotten.
It allows her to keep in touch with her family & friends, even as her glaucoma gets worse, and all for a monthly charge that she can afford while living on her Retirement Funds.
If you have a blind family member, friend, relative, or coworker who wants a cell phone that works well, suggest a Jitterbug phone.
I don't work for them, I have no association with the company, other than as the Grandson of a very happy Grandmother who enjoys her new phone.
=)