Feature: Which Smartphone is smart for me?
Which Smartphone is smart for me?
by Ted Mc, from BlindMind.net
This is a very importantsubject for blind and visually-impaired people. Because of the cost,buying the wrong Smartphone is a bad thing, and may haunt you forseveral years, depending on your budget for buying new phones. Whileit won't be the last phone you own, obviously you want to make thesmartest choice possible and get it right the first time. Today,there's a handset for every whim and fancy. What do YOU need to knowas a blind or visually impaired person, in terms of narrowing yourfield? How do you know what NOT to choose?
What enables the fancy features of Smartphones is an operating systemcalled Symbian. the S60 3rd edition OS runs on phones such as the N95,N96, E71. It allows installation of third party applications such asNuance Software's "Talks and Zooms", a mobile magnifier and/or screenreader, or Code Factory's Mobile Speak. But this operating system cando so much more.
Schedule alarms or change of profile to occur at specific times onworkdays, vs different settings for the weekend. Change to silentprofile automatically if you have a meeting in your calendar. UseSkype to talk to friends/family overseas cheaper than the cost of amobile phone call. Manually or automatically record calls, and uploadthe output to an email address.
All these things are possible and much more, but first narrow down yourhandset list by going through the processes described below. You willquickly narrow your list to just a few devices, and be playing withyour new toy in no time!
It's very easy to become mesmerized by lists of phone features, andtend to only look at the most cutting-edge devices available at thetime. That's definitely a mistake as far as accessibility isconcerned. The most bells & whistles does NOT equal easiest touse. In fact, often times, it's the opposite.
When looking at phones, always be thinking:
1. What is my technical level? If your answer is 'poor', then youprobably should stop looking at the models with the longest featurelists. Your technical aptitude has a lot to do with which path you godown. If you don't really use computers or enjoy technology, you maywish to purposely get a model that's a bit out-dated. The features youwouldn't use anyway are not there to clutter everything up.
2. How big/agile are your fingers? Sending a text message is long workif the keypad keys are too small for your fingers. Once you get yourshortlist, it's important to go somewhere wher eyou can feel the phonein your hands or demo it. Will you be able to send a text messagequickly, and press the navigation keys easily? If you don't orwouldn't send text messages even if you could, or if you're blessedwith little fingers, then maybe you'd look at the super-small,super-sleek models. Just remember, the navigation keys on the phoneare going to be used by you ALL the time. Even if you don't send muchin the way of SMS, you still constantly have to type in text-basedanswers to things, as well as dialing telephone numbers.
Keypad size was definitely an issue for me. I'm quite tall and havelargish fingers. Small keypads like you'd find on the E61 or E71 wouldnever work for me, and I was able to rule out certain models straightaway, to whittle down my short list.
3. There's no reason not to use review or ratings sites when comparingdevices. While we hope you'll read our reviews about various handsets,check out other sites, too. CNET is a useful place to get basic &quick info on pretty much any handset. While they aren't takingaccessibility into consideration, you will certainly get a feel forwhich phones are just not that great in the mind of the generalpublic. For instance, if a review site talks about how poorly thebattery performs on a particular device, and it seems to be a commonlymentioned problem, then you can easily rule out more devices beforeeven checking them for accessibility concerns for the simple reasonthat, if a battery is said to perform poorly on a regular review site,think how poorly it would perform with the added strain of screenmagnification and/or screen reading, which is MUCH more demanding on abattery than most standard applications. For example, the N95 had aslightly deficient battery to power the number of features it packs. Nokia corrected this on the N958GB, but then repeated the problem withthe N96! Fortunately, once again, the newest model, N97 seems to havea sufficient battery, even with a screen reader running. I learned ofthe N95 battery issue before I bought it, and waited a few months forthe N958GB at the time, because I had done my research.
4. Another perfectly good way of arriving at a shortlist, is to breakdown the various mobile ranges by speciality. For example, ifSMS/Email/Document writing is what you'll do most, you'd probably wantto look at the E61, E71, E90 Communicator, and the N97 (though screenreading software for the N97 is still several months away).
If music is your main concern, then you could look at anything withsay, 8GB or more of mass storage to keep your songs on. You'd probablywant to look at the N958GB, which has dedicated music control keys, orthe new 5800 XpressMusic, though again, screen reading support is notquite ready for it. You'd probably also want to know whether there's acard slot to add more memory.
5. A word about non-Nokia phones running the Symbian S60 operatingsystem. People often ask me about less mainstream Smartphones such asSharp and Fujitsu. There are so many reasons you shouldn't from anaccessibility point of view, and so few reasons why one would evenconsider it.
The way software development is generally done is this. First, you getthe application working from an operating system point of view. Thensecond, you have to incorporate all sorts of handset-specific fixes orworkarounds for little bugs that exist only in handset A, but not in B,C, or D. Because of budget and time considerations, generally only themost mainstream handsets are tested. This means you are way morelikely to have some weird unfixable issue with using not onlyaccessibility software like screen reading and magnification software,but also any other software you may wish to install. And howresponsive do you think a software developer is going to be if youwrite to them to say "umm, your ____ software doesn't seem to work onmy Fujitsu flip-top Symbian phone". They're not going to fix a problemthat one user with a non-mainstream phone is having. Compatibility isimportant. No offense to the good folks at Fujitsu and Sharp, but it'sjust not worth the gamble even if you're saving a few bucks. Personally, I shy away from Samsung, Sony, and Motorola S60 devices forthe same reason. Every handset has problems unique to itself, and themajority of companies are only going to test S60 software on Nokia's.
6. What about the iPhone? Well, the iPhone seems to be sort of in acategory of its own. Think of the difference between iPhones andNokia's, as the same difference between a Mac and a PC. If you're notone who likes to tinker, are never going to try installing software,and don't want to know how your phone works, but just want IT to work,then an iPhone could be for you. There's a lot fewer 3rd-party appsavailable for the iPhone, which it compensates for by having more appsinstalled.
For the purposes of this article, I'm going to stick to Nokia's, but Iwill say this about iPhone. Every single person, blind,visually-impaired, or fully-sighted who has an iPhone, tells me theyabsolutely love it. It has built-in magnification software, screenreader, and the letters come up large when you put your finger over itwhile keying in a text message on the touchscreen. I can't say I'drule it out if you're looking for a new accessible phone, but again,the vast majority of visually impaired users use Nokia Symbiandevices. I'm not saying you should try and be like everyone else, butlet's say you want to use an Instant Messaging program (chatsoftware). Anyone using any of the S60 Nokia's (there are about 30)could use that IM software to talk to each other, but there's noguarantee you'll be able to get it for the iPhone. I'm just saying,yes, again, that there is strong benefit in using the same platform asothers, even if the handset is different. If it's still a Symbiandevice, you'll be able to run the same software as your friends. (i.e.I still say generally, stick to Nokia. There are exceptions to everyrule, of course....such as, if all your friends have iPhones!)
7. Ok, so what accessibility software do I buy? Well, we'll do anin-depth article on screen readers and screen reader/magnifiersseparately from this. Rest assured, there are multiple productsavailable to either magnify the screen, or to have nearly all screencontent announced by the phone on the Symbian platform. And there aregoing to be different sets of software that work well with eachdifferent package. There are also Windows Mobile platform handsetswith accessibility software available for them, but beware, similar toNokia, the touchscreen versions of Windows Mobile also do not havescreen readers and magnifiers on the market in wide release as yet. We're currently in process of putting together some 'Pre-Loaded' mobileofferings where you can buy a phone with software already on it that isknown to work well with whatever accessibility software we place on thephone. But don't just look at what we say, ours is just one voice andopinion amongst many, and I really feel it's important to almostover-research when it comes to choosing a phone.
That leads me right into the conclusion.
The bottom line is, there is no one simple premise to base your mobilepurchase on. In fact, I encourage you to make several shortlists, andthen compare them. Try this:
A. Make a list of all the S60 3rd edition devices that appeal to youstrictly on a features basis. The ones with the biggest megapixelcameras, or the biggest storage size, or the ones with dedicated keysfor whatever it is you want. This is your 'dream list'. The phonesyou'd pick from if cost and useability weren't factors.
B. On a separate sheet, make a list of the devices based on reviews andconsumer ratings. You don't have to start over with the entirelist...obviously there are some you can rule out straight away fromhaving done the first exercise. Just go through the ones you didn'trule out.
C. On a separate sheet, write down devices you have heard of, but don'tknow anything about. Add to that devices that your friends say theylike. If you haven't already, include the top couple of most advanceddevices available on the market.
D. Whittle down each list by individually researching each device. Yes, this will take some time, but I promise it's worth it. Cross outdevices that you have ruled out due to a non-negotiable drawback, suchas battery life, or keypad size, or what you read in multiple reviews. You should now be left with no more than 2-3 devices on each list. Useyour common sense from this point. Obviously the device(s) that appearon multiple, or all lists you create, should be treated as thefront-runners. Now with your final list of 3-10 handsets, take yourfinal list to several cellular phone shops to put them to the 'feel'test. Does it feel durable? Keys easily discernable from the onesadjacent? Acceptable weight to carry around in a shirt or jeanspocket? (bearing in mind that the majority of retail mobile phoneshops actually use replicas for in-store demonstration, and do NOTusually take into consideration the weight of the device once a batteryis placed in it. In other words, the device is almost always heavierthan the display models. Ask the store if they have actual workingmodels of the phone to demo to interested customers).
You should find very quickly that you are down to a list of only a couple of remaining devices.
For myself, once I put the various challengers through my different'filters' to narrow the shortlists, I only had to go and check out 3 or4 handsets in person. And once I got them in my hand, the choice waspretty much clear right away. In my particular circumstance, and withwhat was available at the time, the right choice was the N958GB. Butthat's a very individual choice based on hard work ruling out others,and certainly doesn't mean that's right for you.
If you have questions, or would like assistance in choosing a handsetthat's right for your requirements, feel free to email us on the Contact Us page.
RELATED LINKS
www.nokia.com
www.iphone.com
www.nuance.com
www.codefactory.com
www.symbian.org
www.cnet.com
by Ted Mc, from BlindMind.net
This is a very importantsubject for blind and visually-impaired people. Because of the cost,buying the wrong Smartphone is a bad thing, and may haunt you forseveral years, depending on your budget for buying new phones. Whileit won't be the last phone you own, obviously you want to make thesmartest choice possible and get it right the first time. Today,there's a handset for every whim and fancy. What do YOU need to knowas a blind or visually impaired person, in terms of narrowing yourfield? How do you know what NOT to choose?
What enables the fancy features of Smartphones is an operating systemcalled Symbian. the S60 3rd edition OS runs on phones such as the N95,N96, E71. It allows installation of third party applications such asNuance Software's "Talks and Zooms", a mobile magnifier and/or screenreader, or Code Factory's Mobile Speak. But this operating system cando so much more.
Schedule alarms or change of profile to occur at specific times onworkdays, vs different settings for the weekend. Change to silentprofile automatically if you have a meeting in your calendar. UseSkype to talk to friends/family overseas cheaper than the cost of amobile phone call. Manually or automatically record calls, and uploadthe output to an email address.
All these things are possible and much more, but first narrow down yourhandset list by going through the processes described below. You willquickly narrow your list to just a few devices, and be playing withyour new toy in no time!
It's very easy to become mesmerized by lists of phone features, andtend to only look at the most cutting-edge devices available at thetime. That's definitely a mistake as far as accessibility isconcerned. The most bells & whistles does NOT equal easiest touse. In fact, often times, it's the opposite.
When looking at phones, always be thinking:
1. What is my technical level? If your answer is 'poor', then youprobably should stop looking at the models with the longest featurelists. Your technical aptitude has a lot to do with which path you godown. If you don't really use computers or enjoy technology, you maywish to purposely get a model that's a bit out-dated. The features youwouldn't use anyway are not there to clutter everything up.
2. How big/agile are your fingers? Sending a text message is long workif the keypad keys are too small for your fingers. Once you get yourshortlist, it's important to go somewhere wher eyou can feel the phonein your hands or demo it. Will you be able to send a text messagequickly, and press the navigation keys easily? If you don't orwouldn't send text messages even if you could, or if you're blessedwith little fingers, then maybe you'd look at the super-small,super-sleek models. Just remember, the navigation keys on the phoneare going to be used by you ALL the time. Even if you don't send muchin the way of SMS, you still constantly have to type in text-basedanswers to things, as well as dialing telephone numbers.
Keypad size was definitely an issue for me. I'm quite tall and havelargish fingers. Small keypads like you'd find on the E61 or E71 wouldnever work for me, and I was able to rule out certain models straightaway, to whittle down my short list.
3. There's no reason not to use review or ratings sites when comparingdevices. While we hope you'll read our reviews about various handsets,check out other sites, too. CNET is a useful place to get basic &quick info on pretty much any handset. While they aren't takingaccessibility into consideration, you will certainly get a feel forwhich phones are just not that great in the mind of the generalpublic. For instance, if a review site talks about how poorly thebattery performs on a particular device, and it seems to be a commonlymentioned problem, then you can easily rule out more devices beforeeven checking them for accessibility concerns for the simple reasonthat, if a battery is said to perform poorly on a regular review site,think how poorly it would perform with the added strain of screenmagnification and/or screen reading, which is MUCH more demanding on abattery than most standard applications. For example, the N95 had aslightly deficient battery to power the number of features it packs. Nokia corrected this on the N958GB, but then repeated the problem withthe N96! Fortunately, once again, the newest model, N97 seems to havea sufficient battery, even with a screen reader running. I learned ofthe N95 battery issue before I bought it, and waited a few months forthe N958GB at the time, because I had done my research.
4. Another perfectly good way of arriving at a shortlist, is to breakdown the various mobile ranges by speciality. For example, ifSMS/Email/Document writing is what you'll do most, you'd probably wantto look at the E61, E71, E90 Communicator, and the N97 (though screenreading software for the N97 is still several months away).
If music is your main concern, then you could look at anything withsay, 8GB or more of mass storage to keep your songs on. You'd probablywant to look at the N958GB, which has dedicated music control keys, orthe new 5800 XpressMusic, though again, screen reading support is notquite ready for it. You'd probably also want to know whether there's acard slot to add more memory.
5. A word about non-Nokia phones running the Symbian S60 operatingsystem. People often ask me about less mainstream Smartphones such asSharp and Fujitsu. There are so many reasons you shouldn't from anaccessibility point of view, and so few reasons why one would evenconsider it.
The way software development is generally done is this. First, you getthe application working from an operating system point of view. Thensecond, you have to incorporate all sorts of handset-specific fixes orworkarounds for little bugs that exist only in handset A, but not in B,C, or D. Because of budget and time considerations, generally only themost mainstream handsets are tested. This means you are way morelikely to have some weird unfixable issue with using not onlyaccessibility software like screen reading and magnification software,but also any other software you may wish to install. And howresponsive do you think a software developer is going to be if youwrite to them to say "umm, your ____ software doesn't seem to work onmy Fujitsu flip-top Symbian phone". They're not going to fix a problemthat one user with a non-mainstream phone is having. Compatibility isimportant. No offense to the good folks at Fujitsu and Sharp, but it'sjust not worth the gamble even if you're saving a few bucks. Personally, I shy away from Samsung, Sony, and Motorola S60 devices forthe same reason. Every handset has problems unique to itself, and themajority of companies are only going to test S60 software on Nokia's.
6. What about the iPhone? Well, the iPhone seems to be sort of in acategory of its own. Think of the difference between iPhones andNokia's, as the same difference between a Mac and a PC. If you're notone who likes to tinker, are never going to try installing software,and don't want to know how your phone works, but just want IT to work,then an iPhone could be for you. There's a lot fewer 3rd-party appsavailable for the iPhone, which it compensates for by having more appsinstalled.
For the purposes of this article, I'm going to stick to Nokia's, but Iwill say this about iPhone. Every single person, blind,visually-impaired, or fully-sighted who has an iPhone, tells me theyabsolutely love it. It has built-in magnification software, screenreader, and the letters come up large when you put your finger over itwhile keying in a text message on the touchscreen. I can't say I'drule it out if you're looking for a new accessible phone, but again,the vast majority of visually impaired users use Nokia Symbiandevices. I'm not saying you should try and be like everyone else, butlet's say you want to use an Instant Messaging program (chatsoftware). Anyone using any of the S60 Nokia's (there are about 30)could use that IM software to talk to each other, but there's noguarantee you'll be able to get it for the iPhone. I'm just saying,yes, again, that there is strong benefit in using the same platform asothers, even if the handset is different. If it's still a Symbiandevice, you'll be able to run the same software as your friends. (i.e.I still say generally, stick to Nokia. There are exceptions to everyrule, of course....such as, if all your friends have iPhones!)
7. Ok, so what accessibility software do I buy? Well, we'll do anin-depth article on screen readers and screen reader/magnifiersseparately from this. Rest assured, there are multiple productsavailable to either magnify the screen, or to have nearly all screencontent announced by the phone on the Symbian platform. And there aregoing to be different sets of software that work well with eachdifferent package. There are also Windows Mobile platform handsetswith accessibility software available for them, but beware, similar toNokia, the touchscreen versions of Windows Mobile also do not havescreen readers and magnifiers on the market in wide release as yet. We're currently in process of putting together some 'Pre-Loaded' mobileofferings where you can buy a phone with software already on it that isknown to work well with whatever accessibility software we place on thephone. But don't just look at what we say, ours is just one voice andopinion amongst many, and I really feel it's important to almostover-research when it comes to choosing a phone.
That leads me right into the conclusion.
The bottom line is, there is no one simple premise to base your mobilepurchase on. In fact, I encourage you to make several shortlists, andthen compare them. Try this:
A. Make a list of all the S60 3rd edition devices that appeal to youstrictly on a features basis. The ones with the biggest megapixelcameras, or the biggest storage size, or the ones with dedicated keysfor whatever it is you want. This is your 'dream list'. The phonesyou'd pick from if cost and useability weren't factors.
B. On a separate sheet, make a list of the devices based on reviews andconsumer ratings. You don't have to start over with the entirelist...obviously there are some you can rule out straight away fromhaving done the first exercise. Just go through the ones you didn'trule out.
C. On a separate sheet, write down devices you have heard of, but don'tknow anything about. Add to that devices that your friends say theylike. If you haven't already, include the top couple of most advanceddevices available on the market.
D. Whittle down each list by individually researching each device. Yes, this will take some time, but I promise it's worth it. Cross outdevices that you have ruled out due to a non-negotiable drawback, suchas battery life, or keypad size, or what you read in multiple reviews. You should now be left with no more than 2-3 devices on each list. Useyour common sense from this point. Obviously the device(s) that appearon multiple, or all lists you create, should be treated as thefront-runners. Now with your final list of 3-10 handsets, take yourfinal list to several cellular phone shops to put them to the 'feel'test. Does it feel durable? Keys easily discernable from the onesadjacent? Acceptable weight to carry around in a shirt or jeanspocket? (bearing in mind that the majority of retail mobile phoneshops actually use replicas for in-store demonstration, and do NOTusually take into consideration the weight of the device once a batteryis placed in it. In other words, the device is almost always heavierthan the display models. Ask the store if they have actual workingmodels of the phone to demo to interested customers).
You should find very quickly that you are down to a list of only a couple of remaining devices.
For myself, once I put the various challengers through my different'filters' to narrow the shortlists, I only had to go and check out 3 or4 handsets in person. And once I got them in my hand, the choice waspretty much clear right away. In my particular circumstance, and withwhat was available at the time, the right choice was the N958GB. Butthat's a very individual choice based on hard work ruling out others,and certainly doesn't mean that's right for you.
If you have questions, or would like assistance in choosing a handsetthat's right for your requirements, feel free to email us on the Contact Us page.
RELATED LINKS
www.nokia.com
www.iphone.com
www.nuance.com
www.codefactory.com
www.symbian.org
www.cnet.com
Posted by Ted Mc at 10 Dec 2009, 5:38 PM 
Categories: Feature, Blind, Samsung, iPhone, Mobile Speak, Accessibility, S60 3rd Edition, Motorola, Symbian, S60 5th Edition, HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Visual Impairment, LG, Apple, Nuance Talks/Zooms
Tags: symbian visually impaired accessibility Mobile Phones Windows Mobile smartphones Screen Reader blind
Categories: Feature, Blind, Samsung, iPhone, Mobile Speak, Accessibility, S60 3rd Edition, Motorola, Symbian, S60 5th Edition, HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Visual Impairment, LG, Apple, Nuance Talks/Zooms
Tags: symbian visually impaired accessibility Mobile Phones Windows Mobile smartphones Screen Reader blind
thanks for the infoo....
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