[gui-talk] Fwd: Dial Me In: The Latest on Off-the-Shelf Cell PhoneAccessibility

[Steve Pattison]

>From: John Rae thepenguin at rogers.com
>To: AEBC aebc at blindcanadians.ca
>
>Dial Me In: The Latest on Off-the-Shelf Cell Phone Accessibility
>
>By Darren Burton
>AFB Accessworld, American Foundation for the Blind, September 14, 2006
>
>NB: Visit the latest publication of AFB Accessworld at http://www.afb.org/aw
>
>Our product evaluation lab at AFB TECH in Huntington, West Virginia, was
>back at it again this summer, investigating the latest in cell phone
>accessibility. Readers who have followed our cell phone articles in
>AccessWorld will know that we have defined two categories of cell phones:
>off-the-shelf cell phones that are designed with a degree of built-in
>speech-output capability and cell phones with the Symbian operating system
>that is compatible with third-party screen-reading and screen-magnification
>software programs. This article looks at the state of affairs in the
>off-the-shelf category. You can look forward to a future article evaluating
>Symbian phones with the latest versions of the Mobile Speak and TALKS screen
>readers, as well as the Mobile Magnifier and ZOOMS screen-magnifier
>products.
>
>In this article, I examine eight off-the-shelf telephones that are produced
>by four manufacturers and are available from seven national service
>providers. Here is a list of the cell phones, followed by a detailed
>description of each one.
>
>LG VX 4650, available from Verizon Wireless LG AX 4750, available from
>Alltel LG UX 4750, available from US Cellular Motorola i355, available from
>Nextel Wireless Motorola i580, available from Nextel Wireless Owasys 22C,
>from Capital Accessibility, LLC Samsung SGH D-357, available from Cingular
>Wireless Samsung SGH A-920, available from Sprint PCS
>
>LG Electronics VX 4650, AX 4750, and UX 4750
>
>We at AFB TECH chose to evaluate three cell phones manufactured by LG
>Electronics--the VX 4650, AX 4750, and UX 4750--because they have the same
>Voice Command features as the LG VX 4500 that we evaluated in the May 2005
>issue of AccessWorld. The Voice Command feature combines voice input and
>output to provide access to much of the phones' screen information and menu
>systems. Although much of the information provided here about these three
>telephones and the Voice Command feature is the same as that provided in the
>May 2005 issue, we include it here to compare them to the other phones that
>are evaluated in this article. These three phones are nearly identical to
>one another. They are simply carried by different service providers, with
>the letters in their names providing a clue to their respective carriers.
>The VX 4650 is carried by Verizon Wireless, the AX 4750 is carried by
>Alltel, and the UX 4750 is carried by US Cellular.
>
>They are all small clamshell-style cell phones, weighing 3.7 ounces and
>measuring 1.9 by 0.9 by 3.5 inches when folded up. On the inside, there is a
>1.1-by-1.5-inch high-resolution display screen with 6,500 colors that can be
>viewed when the phone is flipped open. There is a smaller 0.9-by-0.5-inch
>monochrome display on the outside that can be viewed when the phone is
>flipped closed. These phones feature a keypad with the 12 dialing keys
>arranged in the standard 3-by-4 grid. Above the 12 keys are 6 more keys in
>two rows of 3 each. On the outside of the top row are 2 "soft" keys, whose
>function depends on the icon adjacent to them on the display screen. Between
>these keys is a circular, four-way Navigation key surrounding an OK button.
>Below that row are the Send, Cancel, and End keys. On the left side panel,
>there are 2 control keys. On the top is an up/down rocker-style button that
>is used to control the volume. Below that button is the Voice button, which
>is used to activate the voice input and output functionality.
>
>Caption: The three LG phones are nearly identical clamshell-style phones.
>Left, the Alltel LG AX 4750; center, the US Cellular LG UX 4750; and right,
>the Verizon Wireless LG VX 4650.
>
>These phones are considered midrange phones by today's standards, without
>some advanced features, such as a digital video camera or multimedia
>messaging. They do, however, feature a web browser, speaker phone, text
>messaging, and a Contacts application. The VX 4650 from Verizon also has a
>Push-to-Talk feature that is used to connect instantly to other Verizon
>customers.
>
>The LG Voice Command Feature
>
>LG's Voice Command allows you to use your voice to control many, but not
>all, aspects of the phone. It is speaker independent, meaning that it
>recognizes any voice, so you do not have to train it to understand your
>voice. The speech-recognition quality is robust, even in some noisy
>situations. To access LG's Voice Command function, you press the Voice
>button on the bottom of the left side panel, and a recorded human voice
>responds, "Please say a command." You then respond with 1 of the 10 commands
>that the phone recognizes. For example, you could say, "Voicemail," and the
>phone will respond, "You have one new voicemail message; call voicemail
>now?" You then respond, "yes" or "no." Here is the list of the voice
>commands that are available, along with a short description of what they do:
>
>
>Call someone. The phone responds, "Please say a name," and you speak the
>name of a person you have entered into your Contacts application.
>Digit dial. The phone prompts you to speak a phone number into the phone and
>then dials it.
>Service alerts. The phone tells you how many missed calls, new voicemails,
>and new text messages you have.
>Missed calls. The phone tells you how many new missed calls you have. You
>can then scroll through the list and hear the phone read you the time, date,
>and number of each missed call.
>Contacts. The phone asks if you would like to read, create, or erase a
>contact. After you respond, it follows with more prompts to guide you in
>completing each task.
>Announce. This command toggles Announce Mode on and off. With it on, you are
>prompted for a command by simply flipping the phone open, and it activates
>the speaking of caller ID information and some menu items.
>Driving. This command toggles the hands-free mode on and off. With it on,
>the speaker phone is on, and as with Announce Mode, you are prompted for a
>command by flipping the phone open.
>Time and date. The phone announces the current time and date.
>Phone status. The phone announces the battery strength and signal strength
>and indicates if you are roaming and if your global positioning system (GPS)
>location feature is active.
>Voicemail. The phone tells you how many voicemail messages you have and asks
>if you want to call voicemail.
>
>If you forget any of the voice commands that are available, or if you simply
>do not want to talk to your phone, you can press the Voice button, and a
>recorded human voice will speak the name of each command as you scroll
>through the list using the Up and Down arrows of the five-way Navigation
>key. You then just press the OK button when you land on the item that you
>want to activate.
>
>Motorola i355 and i580
>
>We chose to evaluate these two Motorola phones, which are available from
>Nextel Wireless, because Motorola has developed its iDEN Text-to-Speech
>(TTS) Software, which provides access to some of the screen information on
>these two phones. Users must download the i355's TTS software from the
>Motorola web site and install it on the phone, but the software is already
>built into the i580, which is a newer phone. We are happy to see Motorola
>begin to provide some accessibility for its customers who are blind or have
>low vision. We found little accessibility when evaluating the Motorola T720
>in the July 2003 issue of AccessWorld, and we really took Motorola and Apple
>to task in our January 2006 evaluation of their inaccessible ROKR phone and
>iTunes software.
>
>The i355 is a large block- or candy-bar-style phone weighing 7 ounces and
>measuring 5.1 by 2.4 by 1.4 inches. It has a 1.25-inch-by-1.25-inch color
>screen and hemispherical control buttons with the dialing keys arranged in
>the familiar 3-by-4 grid. Above these keys are the other keys that have
>become familiar on cell phones, including soft keys on the top left and
>right corners, the Send and End keys, a group of 5-way Navigation buttons,
>and the Menu, Cancel, and End keys. The left side panel features a rocker
>switch for controlling volume on the top and a button that is used for the
>walkie-talkie feature on the bottom.
>
>Caption: The Nextel Motorola i355 is a large candy-bar-style cell phone.
>
>The i580 is a smaller clamshell-style phone weighing 5.1 ounces and
>measuring 3.8 by 2.2 by 1.1 inches when closed. It has a 1.5-by-1.25-inch
>color display screen when closed, and a 1-inch-by-0.5-inch monochrome screen
>on the outside. It has the same general button arrangement as the i355, but
>the keys are flat instead of hemispherical. It also has two buttons on the
>top outside panel for accessing the walkie-talkie feature and for hearing
>phone-status information when it is flipped closed.
>
>Caption: The Nextel Motorola i580 is a small clamshell-style phone.
>
>The main marketing feature of these phones is their ruggedness. They adhere
>to military standards for dust, shock, vibration, and extreme temperatures
>and are rainproof. One of our AFB TECH lab technicians referred to them as
>the "sports utility phones" and said they would be good phones for a
>construction site. The marketing literature also promotes the web and e-mail
>features, as well as the GPS and the walkie-talkie feature, which allows
>users to connect instantly to other Nextel customers who have been entered
>into the phone's Contacts application.
>
>The Motorola iDEN TTS Software
>
>The Motorola TTS software provides access to fewer features than does the LG
>Voice Command feature. With the iDEN TTS feature, you can hear the following
>as you use your phone:
>
>the number keys you have pressed
>the names, phone numbers, and types of contacts as you scroll through
>Contacts the status information on the home screen, including the time and
>date, if you have voicemail, the battery level, and the signal strength the
>word "home" when you return to the main screen a prompt indicating that you
>have started or ended a call the names, phone numbers, and types of contacts
>as you scroll through recent calls the menu options as you scroll through
>the main menu only notices, such as "low battery" and "keypad locked"
>pop-ups, such as "new voicemail" and new text message"
>
>The speech also supports adjusting the voice-playback settings of the TTS
>software to control and adjust how it provides voice feedback. You can turn
>the voice on or off, as well as the speaking of caller ID information. You
>can also set the speaker and earpiece volume and choose between male and
>female voices. The i355 has four voices, two female and two male, but the
>i580 has only two voices, one male and one female. The i355 also has a
>convenient way to access these settings by simply pressing the OK button in
>the middle of the five-way Navigation control, but you have to go through
>the menus to reach these settings on the i580. You have to go to the menu
>and choose settings, but that is where the speech output stops briefly. You
>have to then scroll down five times and press OK to activate the
>voice-playback settings, where the speech support returns.
>
>Software Snafu
>
>Before I move on to the other phones and the Results section, the Motorola
>situation needs a bit more explanation. When we purchased the i355 in May
>2006, Motorola had actually released a second version of the i355, which we
>discovered was not compatible with its iDEN TTS software. After many phone
>calls and web searches investigating the matter, we finally found the right
>person to explain the situation. We reached Motorola's product manager for
>the iDEN phones, and she told us that Motorola is working to fix the
>problem. She sent us a properly working i355 to evaluate, as well as the new
>i580. The bottom line is that the i580 is available and in stores now, but
>the i355 software is not currently working. Readers who are interested in
>the i355 should call the phone numbers for Motorola and Nextel listed in the
>Product Information section of this article to learn when the problem will
>be fixed.
>
>Owasys 22C
>
>We originally evaluated this cell phone in the July 2004 issue of
>AccessWorld. We chose to include it in this article as well because its U.S.
>marketing partner, Capital Accessibility, now has an agreement with T-Mobile
>to provide service for the Owasys 22C in the United States and Canada and
>because it has also undergone some improvements since our last evaluation.
>
>Manufactured by the Spanish company Owasys (pronounced "oasis"), the 22C is
>a "screenless" cell phone that is designed specifically for people who are
>blind or have low vision. The Owasys 22C is a "brick-" or "candy-bar-"style
>cell phone measuring 4.6 by 1.9 by 1.1 inches and weighing 4.5 ounces. On
>the front panel, there are 6 control buttons laid out in 2 rows of 3 each.
>Below these control buttons are the 12 dialing keys, arranged in the
>standard 3-by-4 grid, and the side panel has an Up key and a Down key that
>are used to adjust the volume. Although this telephone does not feature many
>of the extras that are found on today's cell phones, such as a camera, web
>access, or a video recorder, it comes equipped with speech-synthesis
>software from Babel Technologies to guide you through all the features that
>it does have, including a searchable phone book, SMS text messaging, and a
>vibrating ring feature. The software runs on the Linux operating platform,
>and the phone uses the GSM cellular network, which is the network used by
>T-Mobile, Cingular, and other smaller local carriers.
>
>Caption: The Owasys 22C is designed specifically for people who are blind or
>have low vision.
>
>The agreement between Capital Accessibility and T-Mobile is for a limited
>time only, and under this agreement, customers can purchase the phone for
>$199.95 with a two-year plan or $249.95 with a one-year plan. If you want to
>go with a different GSM provider, such as Cingular, you can purchase the
>phone for $499.95 and put the SIM card from your provider into your Owasys
>phone.
>
>Samsung SGH D-357 and SGH A-920
>
>We chose to evaluate the Samsung SGH D-357, carried by Cingular, and the
>Samsung A-920 (now called the MM-A920), carried by Sprint PCS, because we
>heard that Samsung had included a software program, called VSuite, that
>features voice input and output to provide access to some of the telephones'
>screen information and menu systems.
>
>The Samsung D-357 is a small clamshell-style phone weighing 3.5 ounces and
>measuring 3.4 by 1.8 by 1 inches when closed. Its inside screen is a
>1.5-by-1.25-inch color display, and the outside screen is a 0.75-by-0.6-inch
>monochrome screen. Its dialing keys are arranged in the familiar 3-by-4 grid
>with the outside columns curving up slightly. Above these keys are the same
>standard cell phone controls that the Motorola phones have. The left side
>panel has the Volume rocker switch, and on the bottom of the right side
>panel is a Push-to-Talk key for access to a feature similar to the
>Motorola's walkie-talkie feature. On the right side panel is a key that is
>used to activate the voice input and output functionality.
>
>Caption: The Samsung SGH D-357 is a small clamshell-style phone.
>
>The A-920 is a larger clamshell-style phone weighing 4.6 ounces and
>measuring 3.6 by 1.9 by 1 inches when closed. The inside screen is a
>1.5-by-1.25-inch color display, and the outside screen is a 1-inch-by-1-inch
>monochrome display. The keys are all similar to those on the D-357, except
>that the right side panel has just one button, used to operate the camera.
>Also, the key that is used to activate the voice input and output is on the
>main panel, just to the left of the End key. One other difference is that
>the controls for the MP3 player on the A-920 are on the outside of the
>phone, but no voice output supports using these keys.
>
>Caption: The Samsung A-920 is a larger clamshell-style phone.
>
>The D-357 is a midrange phone by today's standards. It does not have a still
>camera or a video camera, but it does have web browsing, instant messaging,
>text, and multimedia messaging capabilities. A higher-end phone, the A-920,
>is being touted for its multimedia capabilities. It has a built-in MP3
>player, and it can play streaming music, video, and sports news. It also has
>a still camera and video camera, web browsing, instant messaging, and text
>and multimedia messaging. The voice input and output functions of these two
>phones, however, do not provide access to any of these features. In fact,
>these phones provide the least amount of access of all the phones that are
>evaluated in this article.
>
>The following commands are available on the D-357:
>
>Call a name or number. You say, "Call," followed by a phone number or name
>of a person in your contacts list. The voice then responds with the
>confirming question, "Did you say . . . ?" followed by the person's name. If
>you say yes, the call is placed. However, adding names to your contacts is a
>completely visual process.
>Text messaging. You say, "Send text to," followed by a phone number or a
>name in your contacts list. The voice again asks the confirming question,
>but the rest of the process of composing and sending the message is not
>supported by voice output.
>Look up. You say, "Look up," followed by a name in your contacts list. The
>voice again responds with the confirming question, but then displays the
>contact information visually on the screen with no voice support.
>Go to. This is just a voice shortcut to access phone applications. For
>example, you can say, "Go to messaging," and it will open your messaging
>application. However, there is no voice support for any of the phone's
>applications that you may want to access.
>
>The A-920 has these commands and one additional command, which is one that
>is actually useful to a person who is blind or has low vision:
>
>Check. You say, "Check status," and the voice responds with the battery
>level, signal strength, the network you are connected to, and your phone
>number.
>
>Other than the Check command, the voice input and output features of these
>Samsung phones are of little or no use to a person who is blind. The
>features were designed as simple conveniences for sighted users, not with
>people who are blind or have low vision in mind. Therefore, we do not
>include information on these phones in our usual "Sweet 16" analysis. We
>would never recommend these phones to our readers, so we will not waste any
>more of your valuable reading time discussing them. We simply included them
>up to this point to squash rumors that we were hearing in the blindness
>community that these phones are accessible.
>
>The Sweet 16
>
>As we reported in our previous cell phone evaluations, before we began our
>reviews, we surveyed 40 cell phone users who are blind or have low vision to
>determine which features they would most like to have made accessible. The
>16 features that the respondents rated the highest became the now-famous
>basis of our evaluation, known as the Sweet 16. We looked at whether users
>would be able to access these features and noted the barriers to accessing
>them. The evaluation methods we used included these:
>
>measuring the ability to identify and use the keypad tactilely determining
>the ability to navigate menus noting auditory and vibratory feedback
>assessing the readability of the visual display
>
>The following analysis lists the 16 cell phone features that our survey
>determined to be the most important for accessibility and how these phones
>measured up on each feature.
>
>Keys Easily Identifiable by Touch
>
>The Owasys 22C has the best keypad design among the phones in this article.
>In fact, it has the most tactilely accessible keypad design of any phone we
>have ever evaluated at AFB TECH. The hemispherical-shaped keys protrude from
>the panel and are spaced sufficiently apart from each other so that it is
>easy to distinguish one key from another, and there is a properly designed
>nib on the 5 key. Our original evaluation of this phone found that because
>the Pound (#) key is also the Power key, it was easy to turn it on
>inadvertently if it was jostled in a pocket or purse. The manufacturer has
>since greatly decreased this possibility by requiring that the key be
>pressed and held longer to turn the phone on.
>
>The Motorola i355 phone's keys are nearly as tactilely friendly as the
>Owasys'. The hemispheric-shaped keys are also widely spaced with a proper
>nib on the 5 key, but the control buttons above the dialing grid are closer
>together and require a little more practice to get used to.
>
>The Motorola i580's keys are a bit less tactilely identifiable, but would be
>easy to get used to. There is a good nib on the 5 key, but the keys are
>flat, with little tactile differentiation when moving horizontally. However,
>our testers found the five-way control to be the easiest to use of all the
>ones we have ever tested. Its wide arrow keys make it easy to use.
>
>The LG phones' keypads bring up the rear in this group, but they are still
>relatively easy to learn and use. You can also set the phones to announce
>the digits as you dial them. The Verizon and US Cellular versions have good
>nibs on the 5 key, as well as the Send and End keys, but for some reason,
>the Alltel version has no nib on the 5 key and barely noticeable nibs on the
>Send and End keys.
>
>Voice Output
>
>All these phones have voice output, but the Owasys voice provides access to
>the greatest number of features. In fact, it provides access to every
>feature on the phone because it is designed specifically for people who are
>blind or have low vision. The LG's voice provides the next-highest level of
>access, but considerably less than the Owasys'. We rank it higher than the
>Motorola because it provides a higher level of access to the phone's
>features. For privacy purposes, you can also accessibly set the Owasys and
>LG phones to speak only from the earpiece on the phone, but you have to have
>an external earpiece connected to turn off the speaker on the Motorola
>phones. The frustrating thing about both the LG and Motorola phones is that
>they take you to the brink of full access, but then pull you back. They
>provide speech output for reading the items on the main menu, but then the
>speech stops. Other than for contacts and some call-log information, none of
>the items that you can choose from the menu is supported by speech. It is
>much like a system that would guide you perfectly through your neighborhood
>to a bus stop, but then would refuse to allow you to board the bus.
>
>The voice quality is best on the LG because most of it is produced by
>digitally recorded human voice, but contact names are read with a
>poor-quality synthetic voice. Although the synthetic voices on the Motorola
>phones are not as high a quality as the voice on your favorite screen
>reader, they are better than the LG's synthetic voice, and all the voices
>are fine once you get used to them.
>
>Accessible Documentation
>
>The manual for the Owasys is available from the manufacturer via e-mail in
>accessible plain text and HTML (hypertext markup language) formats. Although
>it is the most accessible manual in this group and is sufficient to get you
>started using and learning about the phone, it does have minor drawbacks. It
>is a limited manual; it describes some features, such as the phone book, too
>briefly, and it does not describe the nonvoice feedback that the phone
>produces, such as low battery and message-indication tones. Captial
>Accessibility is extending the documentation through the FAQ section of the
><www.screenlessphone.com> web site. An "Audio Tour" is available both on the
>web site and by phone by calling 202-595-7777. Motorola does have a fully
>accessible manual in PDF (portable document format) on its web page for the
>text-to-speech functionality on the i355, but none is yet available for the
>i580. The full manuals for both Motorola phones in PDF format are also
>available, and although there is certainly room for improvement, the manuals
>are surprisingly accessible, with few of the common PDF access problems. The
>LG manuals have more of the familiar unlabeled graphics and other common PDF
>accessibility problems, but much of the text is accessible using a screen
>reader. However, the manual has no section covering the Voice Command
>functionality.
>
>Battery Level Indicator
>
>All these phones provide speech output for accessing your battery level, as
>well as a periodic tone indicating a critically low battery. The Motorola
>phones also say "low battery" in addition to their tone indication.
>
>Roaming Indicator
>
>All these phones are served by national service providers, so you should
>never be roaming and thus paying a higher price for your call. However, if
>you do by chance have a plan with roaming costs, the Owasys will speak the
>name of the carrier to which you are currently connected, so you will know
>if you are roaming. The LG phones also warn you if you are roaming and
>prompt you to press the 1 key to continue and accept the extra charges if
>you make or receive a call while roaming. The Motorola phones have no such
>feature.
>
>Message Indicator
>
>The Owasys again takes the lead in this category because you can access the
>status information for the voice to tell you if you have any voicemail or
>text messages. The voice also supports the process of writing and reading
>text messages, but with limitations. You have to read the entire message at
>once, so you cannot read word by word. Also, if you notice a mistake in a
>message you are writing on the Owasys, you have to delete the message all
>the way back to the mistake to edit it.
>
>On the LG phones, the Voicemail command causes the voice to tell you if you
>have any voicemail messages, and the Service Alerts command alerts you to
>voicemail, missed calls, and text messages. However, the text-messaging
>function is inaccessible because it does not feature speech output. The
>Motorola tells you if you have new voicemail, and how many messages, but it
>provides no access to text messages.
>
>Phone Book
>
>Again, the Owasys has the most accessible phone book, or contacts,
>application that you can use to add, delete, and search contacts and to make
>phone calls. The manufacturer has also eliminated a limitation that we
>discovered in our original evaluation: You can now add phone numbers from
>your missed and received calls directly to your contacts list. The LG phones
>come in second here, since they provide full access to creating, writing,
>editing, erasing, and calling contacts. With the Motorola phones, you can
>scroll through your list of contacts, and the voice will read you the name,
>phone number, and type of contact for each entry, but the voice does not
>support creating or editing contacts, which is a major shortcoming in these
>phones' accessibility.
>
>Phone Lock Mode
>
>The Owasys again comes out on top in this category, in that its voice
>supports the process of locking the phone with password protection to
>prevent unauthorized use. To lock the LG phones to prevent unauthorized use,
>you press the Pound key for three seconds. You unlock it by pressing the
>right soft key, followed by your four-digit password, which is the last four
>digits of your phone number. The phone emits a beep to indicate that the
>phone is locked, but there is no speech output to support this process.
>Also, there is no speech support if you want to change your password. The
>phone-lock process is inaccessible on the Motorola phones because the speech
>output does not support the process.
>
>Keypad Lock
>
>To prevent the keys from being activated while in a pocket or purse, you can
>lock the keys on the Motorola and Owasys phones, and the speech output
>supports the process on each phone. On the Owasys, you press and hold the
>Star (*) key for three seconds, and the voice says, "Keypad locked." You
>repeat the process to unlock the phone. On the Motorola phones, you press
>the Menu key, followed by the Star key, and the voice confirms that the keys
>have been locked. If you later try to use the phone and you press a key, the
>voice reminds you to press the Menu key, followed by the Star key, to unlock
>the keypad. Even the i580, which is a clamshell-style phone with most of its
>keys protected, has this accessible feature because the key to activate the
>instantly connected walkie-talkie feature is on the outside of the phone.
>There is no Keypad Lock feature on the LG phones because they are also
>clamshell-style phones, and no dialing keys are exposed.
>
>Power Indicator
>
>Visually, power is indicated on the Owasys by a red light in the middle of
>the Navigation key, and it is indicated on the Motorola and LG phones simply
>by the display screen being on. Nonvisually, you can simply press a key and
>listen for tone feedback or speech output, and you will know that either of
>these phones is on.
>
>Ringing or Vibrating Mode Indicator
>
>All these phones have an accessible way to change between the ringing and
>vibrate modes. On the Owasys, it is done via the menu system, and the speech
>output supports the entire process. The LG phones have a feature called
>Manner mode for use in public places, which silences all key tones and sets
>the phone to vibrate mode. You set Manner mode by pressing and holding the
>Star key for three seconds. The phone will briefly vibrate, and a Vibrate
>icon appears on the display. To get out of Manner mode, you press the Star
>key for three seconds; a beep sounds, and the Vibrate icon disappears. On
>the Motorola phones, the rocker button on the left side panel is used to
>adjust the volume, and if you turn it all the way down past the last volume
>setting, the phone will be in vibrate mode, and it vibrates to indicate that
>is so. To return to ringing mode, you simply use the up side of the Volume
>button, and the phone will beep to indicate that it is now in ringing mode,
>and you can then adjust the volume as you like.
>
>GPS Feature
>
>Many of today's cell phones have a GPS feature using global positioning
>satellites to help emergency services locate you if you make a 911 call, but
>your local emergency system must be equipped to use the satellite systems.
>The Owasys phone does not have this GPS feature; the LG and Motorola phones
>do. In addition, the Motorola phones that use the Nextel network are able to
>access driving directions and other advanced GPS capabilities. However, the
>speech output does not support these features.
>
>Signal Strength Indicator
>
>The speech output on all these phones tells you your signal strength, so you
>will know whether or not you are able to make or receive a call. Also, in
>another move to improve its phone since we last evaluated it, the
>manufacturer of the Owasys phone has quieted the once painfully loud tone
>indicating that you have moved in or out of range of a signal.
>
>Ringer Volume Control
>
>The Owasys gives you the ability to adjust the ringer volume by navigating
>through the accessible menu system to the Ringer Volume setting and choosing
>the desired volume level. This control is also accessible and a bit quicker
>on the LG and Motorola i355 phones, since you simply adjust the volume with
>the rocker switch on the left side, and a ring tone indicates the changing
>volume as you increase or decrease it. There is also a rocker Volume
>Adjustment switch on the side of the Motorola i580, but there is no tone to
>indicate the volume level as you adjust it.
>
>Caller Identification
>
>All these phones speak the number of an incoming caller or the name of the
>caller if he or she is in your contacts list. For privacy purposes, each
>phone also has an accessible way to control whether or not that information
>is spoken through the speaker.
>
>Speed Dial
>
>On the LG and Motorola phones, there is no speech output to assist you in
>setting up speed dialing. But, if you get assistance from a sighted user to
>associate certain contacts with speed-dial numbers, you simply press a
>number between 2 and 9 to call the contact associated with that number.
>There is no specific speed-dialing feature on the Owasys phone, but you can
>easily use the phone book to call a person in your contacts list.
>
>Low Vision Accessibility
>
>Because there is no screen on the Owasys, there is nothing to say about the
>accessibility of a visual display. All users, whether they have vision or
>not, use the same auditory interface to use this telephone. The labels for
>the keys are large, and their black color contrasts well with the light blue
>background on the panel. Also, as was stated earlier, the keys are easy to
>identify by touch if your vision is not sufficient to see them.
>
>The LG phones have a high-resolution color display, but most of the text and
>icons that appear are in font sizes of about 10 point, which is too small
>for most people with low vision to see clearly. These phones do have a
>setting to adjust font sizes from normal to large, but the setting only
>adjusts the size of the digits that appear on screen when you dial a number
>or enter text into a contact or text message. Glare was not a problem with
>these phones, and brightness and contrast can be adjusted to improve
>viewability. The labels on the buttons are too small to accommodate users
>with low vision, so tactile methods must be used.
>
>Although the size of the display information on the Motorola phones can be
>adjusted, the information is still too small for people with low vision to
>read. At the highest setting, the text is still only about a 10-point font
>size. The phones do have a backlight, and the contrast can be adjusted.
>However, although the contrast adjustment helps, larger display information
>is still necessary. One positive feature for people with low vision is that
>as you dial, each digit is briefly displayed on the screen in 72-point font,
>taking up nearly the entire screen. The buttons on the Motorola phones are
>backlit and have white labels that contrast well with the buttons, but the
>labels would require magnification for a person with low vision to read.
>
>The Bottom Line
>
>We hope this review has given you something to work with when choosing a
>cell phone. If you want access to all the bells and whistles of today's cell
>phones, then you will want to use one of the Symbian phones with one of the
>third-party screen reader and/or screen magnifier products. However, if you
>just want a simpler phone that provides access to some basic but important
>screen information, then one of these off-the-shelf phones may be for you.
>
>The Owasys 22C provides the most access of any of these phones. However, it
>is available only on GSM networks. If you cannot reach a GSM network, such
>as T-Mobile or Cingular, or if you prefer a clamshell-style phone and/or
>robust speech-input functionality, then the LG phones would provide the most
>accessibility for you. If easily identifiable tactile keys are the most
>important to you, and you can live with a slightly lower degree of
>speech-output functionality, then the Motorola phones should interest you.
>
>As was stated earlier, we would never recommend either of the Samsung
>phones. If you want to use the Sprint PCS network, then we suggest that you
>purchase the Toshiba VM 4050 phone that we evaluated in the May 2004 issue
>of AccessWorld. It is still available online, but you will not be able to
>find it in your local store. You could also search for a phone at your local
>store without any speech output but with easy-to-use tactile buttons for
>placing and receiving calls. If Cingular is your network of choice, then we
>suggest that you call its National Center for Customers with Disabilities at
>866-241-6568 and order the Nokia 6620 Symbian phone with the TALKS software.
>Cingular still has plenty of these phones left, and it is still offering the
>rebate of the full cost of the TALKS software.
>
>The continuing and rapid evolution of the cell phone market is certainly
>encouraging, but it also necessitates a warning that the information that is
>provided herein, especially the information on prices in the Product
>Information section, may not be entirely up to date by the time it reaches
>you. It may be helpful to use the contact information provided in the
>Product Information section of this article, but that can also be a
>frustrating process because the technicians who answer calls to those phone
>numbers do not know about the availability or accessibility of their
>companies' phones. We often get conflicting answers to our questions, and we
>often have to dig deep to get to the right person. Adding to the confusion,
>Nextel and Sprint have recently merged, but they seem to be keeping their
>individual brand names. Also, with the creation of the "new" AT&T, it is
>possible that the Cingular brand will no longer exist, since Cingular is now
>owned by AT&T. Patience is still a virtue when you search for an accessible
>phone.
>
>On the Horizon
>
>We have not heard a great deal of positive information about new accessible
>cell phones that will be offered in the off-the-shelf market. LG seems to be
>including its Voice Command functionality on more and more phones from more
>and more providers, and Alltel just announced that this functionality will
>be on its new AX 5000. However, LG has not upgraded the Voice Command
>functionality in nearly two years. It is encouraging that Motorola has begun
>to enter the world of cell phone access. Motorola is obviously working to
>fix the bugs in its current systems, and we hope that it will work to expand
>the speech output to cover more of its phones' functions. However, we are
>concerned that the access provided was better on the older i355 than on the
>newer i580. The Owasys 22C phone has been improved since we previously
>evaluated it, and the manufacturer has told us that it is working on a new
>phone that is aimed at users with cognitive disabilities. Stay tuned to
>AccessWorld for our upcoming evaluations of the latest Symbian phones with
>the latest versions of the third-party screen-reader and screen-magnifier
>software products.
>
>
>Note: Pricing may vary, so check with your service provider
>
>Product: Motorola i355 and i580.
>
>Manufacturer: Motorola: 8000 West Sunrise Boulevard, Plantation, FL 33322;
>phone: Customer Service: 866-289-6686;
>
>web site:
>www.motorola.com
>
>Price: i355: $90 with service plan; i580: $280 with service plan.
>
>Service Provider: Nextel Wireless, phone: Customer Care: 800-639-6111;
>Customer Care team for braille and large-print invoices: 888-211-4727;
>
>web site: Accessibility for All
>www2.sprint.com/mr/news_dtl.do?id=5060
>e-mail: accessibility at mail.sprint.com
>web site:
>www.nextel.com
>
>Product: LG VX 4650.
>
>Manufacturer: LG Electronics, MobileComm U.S.A., 10225 Willow Creek Road,
>San Diego, CA 92131; phone: 800-793-8896;
>
>e-mail:
>customerservice at lge.com
>web site:
>http://us.lge.com
>
>Price: $69.99 with a two-year service plan.
>
>Service Provider: Verizon Wireless: phone: 800-256-4646; web site:
>www.verizonwireless.com
>
>Product: LG UX 4750.
>
>Manufacturer: LG Electronics, MobileComm U.S.A., 10225 Willow Creek Road,
>San Diego, CA 92131; phone: 800-793-8896;
>
>e-mail: customerservice at lge.com
>web site:
>http://us.lge.com
>
>Price: $99.95 with a two-year service plan.
>
>Service Provider: US Cellular, phone: 888-944-9400; web site:
>www.uscc.com/uscellular/SilverStream/Pages/uscellular.html
>
>Product: LG AX 4750.
>
>Manufacturer: LG Electronics, MobileComm U.S.A., 10225 Willow Creek Road,
>San Diego, CA 92131; phone: 800-793-8896;
>e-mail:
>customerservice at lge.com
>web site:
>http://us.lge.com
>
>Price: $74.95 with a two-year service plan.
>
>Service provider: Alltel, phone: 866-alltel7 or 866-255-8357, disability
>coordinator: 800-579-9778;
>
>web site:
>www.alltel.com
>
>Product: Owasys 22C.
>
>Manufacturer: Owasys, Parque Tecnolsgico, 207-B, E-48170 Zamudio, Vizcaya,
>Spain; phone: 34 946 025 328; web site:
>www.screenlessphone.com
>or
>www.owasys.com
>
>U.S. and Canadian Distributor: Capital Accessibility, phone: 202-595-7777 or
>877-292-2747.
>
>Price: $199.95 with two-year service plan with T-Mobile, $249.95 with a
>one-year service plan, $499.95 without a service plan.
>
>Service Provider: T-Mobile, phone: 800-T-MOBILE or 888-537-4242; web site:
>www.t-mobile.com
>Note: You must purchase the cell phone and service through Capital
>Accessibility, not through T-Mobile.
>
>Product: Samsung SGH D-357.
>
>Manufacturer: Samsung Electronics America, 105 Challenger Road No. 1,
>Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660; phone: 201-229-4000, Customer Service:
>800-726-7864; web site:
>www.samsung.com
>
>Price: $147.95 with a one-year service plan.
>
>Service Provider: Cingular Wireless, phone: 800-331-0500; web site:
>www.cingular.com
>or Cingular National Center for Customers with Disabilities,
>phone: 866-241-6568;
>web site:
>www.cingular.com/about/disability_resources
>
>Product: Samsung SGH A-920.
>
>Manufacturer: Samsung Electronics America, 105 Challenger Road No.1,
>Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660; phone: 201-229-4000, Customer Service:
>800-726-7864; web site:
>www.samsung.com
>
>Price: $149.99 with a one-year service plan.
>
>Service Provider: Sprint PCS, phone: 888-253-1315; Customer Service:
>888-211-4727; web site:
>www.sprintpcs.com
>
>Funding for this product evaluation was provided by the Teubert Foundation,
>Huntington, West Virginia. We also acknowledge the assistance provided by
>Marshall University intern Trenton Sturgill.
>
>Copyright ) 2006 American Foundation for the Blind.
>
>www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw070503

Regards Steve
Email:  srp at internode.on.net
Skype:  steve1963
MSN Messenger:  internetuser383 at hotmail.com 
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