Again, I can choose to use a computer with a full-size keyboard.
I have no such option with a smart phone or tablet. The only
option for a keyboard is a blutoot keyboard whose keys are so
small that they cannot be labeled with tactile markers like a
full-size keyboard. I don't even understand how anyone can type
accurately on one of these things using conventional touch typing,
let alone using it in the street if your hands are preoccupied
with a cane or guide dog harness or package. For those of us who
are advancing in age and developing arthritis in the hands and
fingers, touchscreens and small blutoot keyboards are not really
practical options. For the record, I still use an LG 4650 cell
phone that is about 15 years old and will soon stop working
because it is not 5G compatible. Don't laugh. Because I find
using the small tactile keys difficult, I make calls using voice
commands. I keep this phone on hand mostly for emergencies, and
have only used it about a dozen times in the past ten years. I
would be interested in the Alcatel Flip Go as a replacement if it
had voice command capability, but it apparently does not.
Gerald
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
On 2/21/2020 10:40 AM, Monte Single
wrote:
Hundreds of
millions of computers no longer have tactile keyboards.
Your computer, and mine, have keyboards.
All the
tablets; windows, android and apple, do not come with a
physical keyboard, but they can be used with a physical
keyboard if the user so desires.
The humming
box on or near you with an attached keyboard is a remnant of
the last millennium.
Shake a leg
pilgrim; the world is movin on; for better or worse!!
The difference is that a computer has a tactile keyboard. A
smart phone doesn't, which makes it more difficult for a blind
consumer to resolve a problem without sighted help. Don't mix
Apples with oraanges. (pun intended)
Gerald
On 2/21/2020 8:41 AM, Gene wrote:
He
is not saying that. Your computer's mother board can
develop a problem and the computer won't function at
all. I don't see you begging the question about your
computer or implying that you shouldn't use a computer.
Sooner or later, it all comes down to this, no matter
how often you discuss such topics and ask such
questions, after a point, you are simply begging the
question and setting up straw men because you are
irremediably biased against smart phones.
Your
questions in the beginning of such discussions may serve
a useful purpose because there may be people who are
worried about trying such phones and people give answers
that may be reassuring. But beyond a point, you are
just indulging your antismart phone bias. No user who
knows something about computers or minicomputers, which
is what smart phones are, would say that loss of speech
is impossible, A component may fail, something may
become corrupted, and that is true of any computer or
minicomputer. That is no reason not to use one. The
brakes could fail when you are in a car, but do you ride
busses or cabs? assessing risk is a risk/benefit
evaluation. If the risk is low enough and the
benefitsworht the risk, people constantly do activities
with some risk. Almost any activity has at least a very
small amount of risk.
-----
Original Message -----
Sent:
Friday, February 21, 2020 6:15 AM
Subject: Re:
[TechTalk] New Smart Flip Phone?
So you are saying that IOS is such a wonderful OS that it
is impossible for anything to go wrong and cause complete
loss of speech that simple fixes like the ones you suggest
won't resolve? And is it not true that the latest IPhone
models have no physical buttons of any kind? If so, how do
you locate the volume and home keys if you have no speech in
the first place?
Gerald
On 2/21/2020 7:03 AM, chris judge
wrote:
Yes,
but once you learn the device you will learn that loss
of speech is usually caused by:
- Speech
being muted. Solved by a 3 finger double tap.
- Voice
over being turned off. Solved by either asking siri to
turn it on, or pressing the home key 3 times quickly.
In the case of the iPhone 10 or above, press the power
button 3 times.
- Voice
over volume being turned down. Solved by invoking a
gesture, then pressing up on the volume button.
It’s
like any other technology, Once you learn it, things are
much simpler than they seem when the device is new to
you.
Okay, let's suppose you turn on your IPhone, and there is
no speech? Then what? How do you restore Voice Over
without sighted help if you have no idea what's causing
the problem in the first place? No operating system, not
even IOS, is immune from problems that could cause loss of
speech.
Gerald
On 2/21/2020 5:10 AM, chris judge
wrote:
That’s ridiculous.
I’ve been totally blind since birth and have used an
IPhone since 2009. Give it a try.
Gerald,
I can assure you that I am really blind, and I think I
take exception to the suggestion that I’m not!
On
20 Feb 2020, at 15:01, Gerald Levy via Groups.Io
<bwaylimited@...>
wrote:
I suspect that many "blind" consumers who use smart
phones that are completely devoid of tactile buttons
are not really "blind" at all, but visually impaired
and retain some funtional vision to navigate around
a touchscreen. Those who are totally blind and
purport to use a touchscreen smart phone probably
had a lot of sighted help. Which is why smart phones
with tactile keypads like the BlindShell and Smart
Vision have been introduced. So I'm looking forward
to hearing about the experiences of a totally blind
consumer using the new Samsung smart flip phone.
Gerald
On 2/20/2020 9:41 AM, Gene
wrote:
Your
statement about buttons is inaccurate based on
discussions I've seen on this topic before.
Most smart phones already had very few
buttons, and, as for the elimination of the
home button on the I-Phone, while I can't
speak from personal experience, I've seen
enough comments on lists like this that the
button's elimination doesn't mean blind people
can't use the phone. Evidently, the screen
simulates the presence of a button by
vibrating. I'm not saying I definitely
understand the situation and I await other
comments but how many people have you seen say
they stopped using an I-Phone because of
elimination of the home button?
You
often state the worst case interpretation of
situations.
-----
Origial Message -----
Sent:
Thursday, February 20, 2020 5:22 AM
Subject: Re:
[TechTalk] New Smart Flip Phone?
According to Consumer Reports, this Samsung smart
flip phone employs a new touchscreen technology
that allows it to be thin and flexible enough to
be folded in half like a wallet. But in tests, it
proved to be very fragile, and CR did not
recommend it, especially in view of its very high
price tag. And it would probably not be a good
choice for a blind consumer because even unfolded
the touchscreen is relatively small and has no
tactile buttons. This seems to be a growing trend
in smart phones: eliminating all physical buttons,
making it virtually impossible for a blind
consumer to use the phone without some sighted
help or a lot of hands-on training.
Gerald
On 2/19/2020 9:20 PM, Mike B
wrote:
I
heard about a phone like you're describing
just the other day and I think they said
that Samsung was the company producing it.
From the way the guy was describing the way
it works, it sounds like it'll be a really
cool phone, but for $1300 it damn well otta
be! LOL LOL Check out the link below for
a review.
Take care. Mike. Sent
from my iBarstool.
-----
Original Message -----
Sent:
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 5:02 PM
Subject:
[TechTalk] New Smart Flip Phone?
Hi,
all.
My semi-techno-phobic dad is going to trade in
his old flip phone soon.
He said he saw something on TV advertising a
smart flip phone, he means
a phone with the same body style as a feature
flip phone but with the
capability of a modern iPhone or Android Smart
phone. I haven't heard
anything about this. Does anyone here have any
info about this type of
phone? Brand, Wireless carrier, etc?
TIA
Lisa
--
Lisa Belville
missktlab1217@...
|
