The other problem with all this is that with the market changing, how long will this product work before you need to spend more money on upgrades or, god forbid, an s.m.a.
This will win one prize though, it will be the most expensive android app you can buy, congratulations.
On 14/07/2012 15:49, Mobeen Iqbal wrote:
£300? or £150 or what ever it is for a download? have they actually written any applications? the article doesn't say if we can download a demo of the programs available. What if you don't like it once you've bought it? with mobile accessibility, its obvious what the app does and you can try it out. And its cheaper. fair enough people have to make some money, but Android is open source and most apps are free and the ones that aren't are low cost and affordable. I thought that, for that price we'd have something more than an app that tells us bus times. And as this phone is marketed at everyone, why don't they provide an overlay if its exclusively touch screen? Maybe they're hoping that we all use our handset of choice and by their software but android is totally accessible as it is! there are plenty of apps to choose from. I have one my self, if 1 app doesn't work for me i find another one or contact the developer and most times they can make it accessible. what's special about this software? in business terms, the unique selling point? Yes they provide OCR functions, but you could use google goggles for that to an extent. and how good is the OCR? again noone can comment because a trial isn't available! It will have to ad a lot of bells and wistles to an already accessible product to warrant me spending any more money than i already have on mobile accessibility etc. If they have indeed written a screen reader from scratch, we've already got a choice of 3 screen readers spiel, google talkback, and mobile accessibility. From the following page, it seems that many functions may already have an accessible app available free of charge. These guys are charging to set the phone up for you remotely, provide access to specific apps they've either written or gotten from the android market, and provide a simpler home screen as well as standard functions, calling, texting contacts etc. Remote control of a handset could be seen as a privacy risk for some. This product aims to have a 5 button approach to simplify things, where are the buttons? the phones offered seem to be mainly touch screen, i personally find it slower to use a touch screen as many people i know do. if i can make a call to a contact from the stock android app by holding my finger over the contact, why would i need this app? Yes we need phones set up for us, but honestly its not hard at all! there are plenty of online guides and sometimes you can even have the people in the shop set it up for you. I bought my android handset for £120, i had someone sighted go in to settings and tick accessibility and after that it was plain sailing. Here is the sight and sound link for anyone that's interested, but this reminds me strongly of the owasys handset or how ever you spell it. I'm very glad i didn't buy it when it was released. i crashed it the first time i used it just by flicking through ringtones too fast! luckily symbian handsets came a long soon after and it was a pleasure to switch. the link is: http://www.sightandsound.co.uk/shop/products.php?product=GEORGIE The product makes no mention of providing functionality to do the following: changing phone settings other than WiFi. email functionality. browsing the android market. access to a web browser. an alarm clock or clock of some kind. a calendar. You may as well buy mobile accessibility, download google maps, download colour recogniser, perhaps download google goggles and have done with it. I've been setting up handsets for people for years and haven't charged anything for doing it if its a quick job which most of the time it is. Mo. On 14/07/2012 15:24, Eleanor Burke wrote:Maybe your friends at Sight & sound, are't they marketing it? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 3:10 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: New Accessible Phone for Blind PeopleHi Eleanor Ah, yes, the Owasys! I do remember it. I have to say it's easily forgetable too, a complete rip-off in terms of value for money. I was just curious about the new handset though as, no matter how much voice assistance there is, you are still using a touch-screen from what the article says, and this is the stumbling block for those with dexterity problems, and for those who simply don't want to use a touch-screen. I was really wondering if anyone had come across it so they could say. If it has a place that bridges the gap for some folk, then fine, but it just made me wonder why. I am sure that if anyone is visiting Sight Village, it will be on display at least. Perhaps someone could report back? Kind Regards, Jackie Cairns -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Eleanor Burke Sent: 14 July 2012 14:59 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Re: New Accessible Phone for Blind People Well Jackie I don't know any more than yourself but do you recall that dreaded Oasis or something or other from RNIB. I nearly bought it as my first phone with speech, thank Heavens I didn't. Maybe someone has decided that blind people again need something basic. I have to say I love the Symbian Nokia phones. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 2:52 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: New Accessible Phone for Blind PeopleForgive me, but having read the article via the link Tom posted, is this not reinventing the wheel, or have I missed something? Why have a Smartphone touch-screen mobile for blind and visually impaired people with specific apps when you can already access either Apple or Android handsets? Hoping someone might clarify the point of having such a phone in addition to what is already out there. Kind Regards, Jackie Cairns -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tom Lorimer Sent: 14 July 2012 11:43 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Re: New Accessible Phone for Blind People Hi Jeff, Try this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18818279 Tom. ----- Original Message ----- From: jeff flint <mailto:jeffflint15@xxxxxxxxx> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 10:54 AM Subject: [access-uk] New Accessible Phone for Blind People My brother in Australia heard a report from England that a new mobile phone, with lots of bells an whistles, was launched last Thursday in London. Does anybody know anything about it? 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