Re: [UACCESS-L] State of GSM mobile telephone accessibility?

["Jerry Weichbrodt" <gerald.g.weichbrodt@ived.gm.com>]

Hello Jason,
I know of three efforts in terms of mobile phone accessibility.  First is
the Alva Mobile Phone Organizer.  This is a mobile phone/organizer/notetaker
with a 20-cell Braille display and tri-band GSM capability.  This is
definitely a device designed specifically for blind users.  See
http://www.alvabraille.com/mpo/.  Then there's a software package called
"TALKS" that runs specifically on the Nokia Communicator 9200 series mobile
phone/organizers.  See http://www.talx.de/index_e.htm for more information.
Finally, there's another package called Mobile Accessibility that runs on a
few higher-end mobile phones.  This may be the least expensive of the
solutions currently available.  See http://www.mobileaccessibility.com/ for
more information.

Regards,
Jerry


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jason White" <jasonw@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au>
To: "uaccess-l" <uaccess-l@trace.wisc.edu>
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 5:19 AM
Subject: [UACCESS-L] State of GSM mobile telephone accessibility?


> I am asking this question for purely self-interested reasons: sooner or
> later I will need a mobile telephone, preferably one which is not only
> accessible, but also operates internationally in the various GSM bands
> used by different countries.
>
> What is the current state of development in speech output for mobile
> telephones? I am aware of the new device from Alva, which isn't what I
> need (although a PDA would be useful, I would really need a device
> with a 40-cell, not a 20-cell, braille display in order to work
> efficiently with the kind of material I read).
>
> I know there are research projects working on mobile telephone
> accessibility. There was also an interesting device demonstrated at
> CSUN: it was a mainstream product to which a speech output option
> had been added by a European developer. I can't remember the exact
> details.
>
> So, what is currently available, and what is known to be under
> development? I'm not in a great hurry, but I thought it time to find
> out where matters stand in this area.