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Customer Support: Consumer Information: Blind and Visually Impaired
Visual Aid Compatible Mobile Phones
Until recently, wireless technology offerings have been severely limited to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Cincinnati Bell wishes to make technology a part of everyday life for individuals with disabilities, therefore we are pleased to partner with The Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired to offer mobile solutions suitable for individuals with such disabilities. Cincinnati Bell and CABVI can offer various solutions based on individual needs. We've partnered with various third party software vendors to make the transition into new technology as simple as possible.
The Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI) is a private, not-for-profit organization with a long and respected tradition of offering comprehensive services to people who are blind or visually impaired. CABVI is not a state or federal agency.
Learn more about the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Additional Information about the American Foundation for the Blind
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that expands possibilities for the more than 25 million people with vision loss in the U.S. AFB's priorities include broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and promoting independent and healthy living for people with vision loss by providing them and their families with relevant and timely resources. AFB's work in these areas is supported by its strong presence in Washington, DC, ensuring the rights and interests of Americans with vision loss are represented in our nation's public policies.
Learn more about the American Foundation for the Blind
Third Party Software
There are various websites that provide support for wireless phone manufacturers, service providers & software devlopers. Below are a few examples:
| MANUFACTURER | PHONE MODEL |
FCC ID | Functionality Level |
Operating Frequency Bands |
Wi-Fi Interface |
3rd Party App Compatibility |
Phone Operating System |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pharos | Traveler 137 | DGIBC0338AAA000 | Best | 850-1900, 1700/2100 |
Yes | Mobilespeak | Windows Mobile 6.5 |
| HTC | Maple | NM8MAPL100 | Best | 850-1900 1700/2100 |
Yes | Mobilespeak | Windows Mobile 6.1 |
| HTC | Snap | NM8MAPL120 | Best | 850-1900 | Yes | Mobilespeak | Windows Mobile 6.1 |
| Nokia | 5230 | LJPRM-593 | Better | 850-1900 | No | TALKS&ZOOM | Symbian |
| Nokia | 5800 | LJPRM-428 | Better | 850-1900 | Yes | TALKS&ZOOM | Symbian |
| Nokia | 6790 | QMNRM-599 | Better | 850-1900 | No | TALKS&ZOOM | Symbian |
| RIM | 8220 | L6ARBY40GW | Better | 850-1900 | Yes | Oratio | BlackBerry OS 4.x |
| RIM | 8310 | L6ARBN40GW | Best | 850-1900 | No | Oratio | BlackBerry OS 4.x |
| RIM | 8320 | L6ARBJ40GW | Best | 850-1900 | Yes | Oratio | BlackBerry OS 4.x |
| RIM | 8900 | L6ARBZ40GW | Best | 850-1900 | Yes | Oratio | BlackBerry OS 4.x |
| RIM | 9100 | L6ARCX70UW | Best | 850-1900, 1700/2100 |
Yes | Oratio | BlackBerry OS 5.x |
| RIM | Onyx 9700 | L6ARCN70UW | Best | 850-1900, 1700/2100 |
Yes | Oratio | BlackBerry OS 5.x |
Nuance TALKS & ZOOMS
Running on Symbian(tm) Series 60 phones, Nuance TALKS converts the displayed text on the mobile handset into highly intelligible speech. With Nuance TALKS, blind and low-vision users can take advantage of most features, including contact directories, caller ID, text messages, help files, access to the htc or Nokia web browser, and other screen content, available on their mobile phones.
NEW! Now, TALKS&ZOOMS gives users more freedom, by offering SIM-based licensing. When TALKS&ZOOMS is registered to a SIM-card instead of being registered to a phone/IMEI, the user can move that SIM card from one phone to the other, as long as the SIM license is valid for the TALKS version installed to the new handset.
NEW! The Premium Edition of TALKS&ZOOMS includes Nuance Daisy2go, a DAISY text/audio book player for S60 3rd Edition.
NEW! ZOOMS is now a free component when purchasing TALKS Premium Edition. The user can decide which options (TALKS only, ZOOMS only, or both) should be visible, via a View option in the settings.
Learn More about TALKS & ZOOMS
Mobilespeak
There are two flavours of Mobile Speak: Mobile Speak for Symbian and Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile. Mobile Speak Smartphone and Mobile Speak Pocket have merged into Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile. This means that whatever supported Windows Mobile device you have, no matter whether it is a Smartphone or Pocket PC (touch screen devices), the Mobile Speak installation file is the same. Therefore there are 2 Mobile Speak installation files: Mobile Speak for Symbian (.sis) and Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile (.exe).
Main Product Highlights- Highly intelligible Text-to-speech voices from leading providers such as Acapela, Fonix and Loquendo.
- Support for more than 30 languages including English (US and UK), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Dutch (Netherlands and Belgium), Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Turkish, Polish, Czech, Icelandic, Greek, Russian, and Arabic.
- Compatibility with Mobile Magnifier product line.
- More than 60 user-configurable options.
- Keyboard shortcuts that allow changing of important settings on the fly and getting information with one press.
- Option to automatically mute speech.
- Command Help Mode available anywhere on the phone.
- Four accessible Games for free on Symbian: Mines, Spider, Fuse Mania and Tone
- Master.
- Support for built-in applications and 3rd-party programs designed to enhance the functionality of the mobile phone such as the KNFB Reader, the Magnilink Go from LVI, TweetS60, and Wayfinder Access on Symbian, or MSN Messenger, Skype and Microsoft Mobile office on Windows Mobile.
- Support for more than 20 Braille devices from Optelec, HumanWare, BAUM, Eurobraille, Handy Tech and ONCE.
Oratio™ for BlackBerry®
Oratio for BlackBerry® smartphones is a unique and innovative screen reader software that allows visually impaired users to access and operate BlackBerry smartphones using state of the art Text-To-Speech technology to convert the visual information displayed on the BlackBerry smartphone screen into a intuitive speech output. This enables its users to use BlackBerry smartphones to increase their independence and productivity in today's competitive world.
Whether you are at work, home or on the go, Oratio for BlackBerry is designed to support the core applications found on BlackBerry smarpthones and allow visually impaired user to:
- Manage instant messaging, emails, SMS and MMS
- Make and receive calls with access to caller ID on incoming calls
- Manage contact list
- Manage your call log
- Schedule appointments and tasks with alarms and reminders
- Access to the phone's settings, ring tones and speed dials
Learn More about Oratio™ for BlackBerry®