Mobile Phone Software
There are 2 main options for accessing mobile phones if you have a serious vision impairment. Which way will suit you depends on what you want to do with the phone and how much you are prepared to spend.
Option 1
You want a mobile phone to just make and receive calls and don’t need to store more than 9 numbers (the cheaper option).
Get a basic mobile phone with tactile (easy to feel) buttons that has a speed dial feature. Selecting a clam shell style phone can also have its advantages as you can normally set them to answer a call when you open them and hang up when you close them. Although some phones have slightly larger text than others or large text when dialling a number this is not usually sufficient for people with low vision.
The idea is you operate the phone purely by touch. You may need some sighted assistance initially, particularly to store commonly dialled numbers to what’s know as the speed dial feature. Suitable phones are often at the cheaper end of the scale with most companies offering at least one model with easy to feel keys.
Option 2
You want access to all the phones features for example. text messaging, caller ID, contacts list, calendar etc. (the expensive option)
This option involves running special software on your phone that provides speech output and or magnification. There are a limited range of phones this type of software can be installed on. The software usually used is Talks/Zooms and MobileSpeak/MobileMagnifier. You can run magnification and speech software separately or together. This solution is being used successfully by a number of RSB clients and although it requires time to learn to use all the features of the phone it can be very effective. We have a phone set up to demonstrate this software at the Adaptive Technology Centre. If you are interested in seeing our accessible mobile phone please contact us for further information.