I wish all off the shelf products were accessible but I will use "blindness" products if they meet my needs. The iPhone took me a couple of weeks to get used to and there are still a few things I don't do well but there are a lot of things I never thought I do two years ago that I am doing today.
I find copying and pasting a total pain without the Bluetooth keyboard for example, and I don't do anything photographic well except take pictures of the clip on my Otter Box or my fingers, those all seem to look just fine, however, I don't want to keep them for posterity. I don't do social networking, partly because of the complexities but partly because at this point I don't have the time. That said, I figured out the things I can do by either this list, reading, experimenting and very occasionally asking a sighted person to assist, my husband who is legally blind, and in the past year I have taught him more about the iPhone than I thought I knew. That said, I do have a couple of blind friends who would never grasp the touch screen with no buttons, a concept I had problems with at first but got over fairly quickly. Some just would never intuitively manage to tap on the right part of the screen, flick and dial a phone without a keypad would be impossible. I prefer to have my numbers in contacts but there have been times when that was not possible and using the onscreen keypad has been the only way to accomplish what I needed. I know a few people who no matter how much time passed would not progress and would need a product more suited to their needs. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris H Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2013 12:09 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: new accessible phone for the blind. Ditto and I haven't even read the article. I am in the belief that I should use off the shelf products, not products specifically for the blind and visually impaired. Chris On 06/06/2013 19:13, Chuck Dean wrote: > No thanks, I am happy with my iPhone, an odd the shelf device that does everything this phone claims to do... And much more. > > Chuck (mobile) > Pleez x cuze any tie ping or spelin airors. > > On Jun 6, 2013, at 11:09 AM, Fred Olver <[email protected]> wrote: > >> America's First Mobile Smartphone & Service for The Blind and Visually Impaired. >> >> PRNewswire. >> June 5, 2013. >> >> Project RAY Ltd., developer of the first smartphone specially designed for eye-free operation, and Odin Mobile, the nationwide provider of cellular service dedicated to providing mobile communication services to the blind and visually impaired, today announced America's first full mobile service for the blind and visually impaired. >> >> "This collaboration will provide the blind the ability to access smartphone technology through a unique user interface that emphasizes simplicity and ease of use," said Robert Felgar , general manager of Odin Mobile. "Odin Mobile is excited to partner with Project RAY to make advanced mobile technology more accessible to the blind." >> >> Features of America's first full mobile service include: >> >> . Odin Mobile's full telephone service including voice, text and data, with customized eye-free setup and services. >> >> . Affordable smartphone developed by Project RAY specially for the blind, from its unique operating system & eye-free operation to specialized built-in apps and content. >> >> . Multiple built-in services for the blind and visually impaired within a single affordable device and one unified user experience - including voice calls, email, messaging contact list services, calendar, GPS, advanced WEB remote assistance, voice recorder, panic and emergency services, color identification, pictures transcription, banknote recognition, and more. >> >> . Advanced communication and lifestyle services such as book and magazine subscriptions built into the off-the-shelf device. >> >> . Unique operating system and user interface specially developed for eye-free operation including single gesture access to frequently used numbers and functions, one-hand operation, homogeneous interface across multiple system functions and services. >> >> "Together with Odin Mobile, and with the initial and invaluable support of Qualcomm's Wireless Reach program, we are excited to bring the affordable, lifestyle changing benefits of smartphone technology and services to millions of blind and visually impaired people throughout the United States," said Boaz Zilberman , Founder & CEO of Project RAY. "Our RAY smartphone combined with Odin Mobile's full-cellular services for the blind and visually impaired, will finally bring to this important community the same services available to the mainstream full-sighted community." >> >> Project RAY and Qualcomm Wireless Reach collaborated on the first trial and commercial launch of the RAY device in Israel in early 2013. As one of the project's primary funders, Qualcomm provided technical advice, support, funding and in-kind contributions in support of the development of a device that successfully promotes independence and social inclusion for people with disabilities. >> >> "We are proud to work with Project RAY and support their objective of bringing a mobile device to market that supports blind and visually impaired people so they can access resources and information independently," said Kristin Atkins , Senior Director of Government Affairs for Qualcomm. "Our team at Qualcomm Israel worked closely with Project RAY on the operational and product efforts of the first RAY device enabling independence and a richer social life for users by providing an all-in-one, independent-living companion capable of eye-free input, text-to-speech, access to content, navigation, label recognition, augmented reality and integration with social networks. This is a great example of how working with partners, we can help improve people's lives with the latest technology." >> >> America's first full mobile service provided by Odin Mobile, including RAY, the world's first mobile device specially developed for the blind and visually impaired, will be officially launched at the 2013 M-Enabling Global Summit organized in cooperation with FCC and ITU on June 6-7 in Washington. >> >> About Odin Mobile: >> Based in Rockville, Maryland, Odin Mobile is a T-Mobile MVNO focused on providing unparalleled mobile service to the visually impaired. Every aspect of its innovative service is designed to make it easier for the visually impaired to take full advantage of mobile technology. Its mission is to narrow the gap between the extent to which the visually impaired and general populations use mobile services. For more information, please visit www.odinmobile.com. >> >> About Project RAY: >> Project RAY Ltd. develop and market breakthrough accessibility >> solutions for blind and visually impaired people. The flagship >> product, the RAY smartphone, is an integrated mobile device developed >> especially for eye-free usage. It features a common user interface >> across all system functions, apps and services including voice calls, >> email, messaging, calendar, GPS, advanced WEB remote assistance, >> voice recorder, panic and emergency services, and more. RAY leverages >> cutting edge mobile technologies to afford all blind and visually >> impaired people the lifestyle improvements we all take for granted in >> today's smartphone world: greater independence, spontaneity and >> mobile accessibility to services we use daily. For more information, >> please visit www.project-ray.com >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. >> To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. 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