Top 5 Accessible Smart Phones for the Blind

Accessible smart phones mean the world to a blind person. Accessible smart phones enable blind people to have access to all of the cool things that everyone else does, such as texting, Internet surfing, all of the menus on the phone, and so much more. Though there are quite a few accessible smart phones on the market, not all of them are created equally. Some of them lack certain features, such as being able to hear Mobile Speak tell who is calling during a call or being able to text on the phone while on a phone call. If you are a blind individual who has thought about obtaining an accessible smart phone for yourself and want to avoid purchasing one of those smart phones that lack good features and that will more than likely cause grave disappointment, you'll want to check out these top five accessible smart phones.

1. Samsung Ace.

I'm the owner of the Samsung Ace, and I personally feel like this phone is a spectacular phone for a number of reasons. For one, this phone is a world phone, meaning that it can go overseas. This phone can go on two networks'"CDMA and GSM. Another cool thing about the Samsung Ace that I favor a whole lot is that Mobile Speak will speak who is calling while the user is on the phone, and the phone also facilitates the ability to text and access all menus while on calls. The Samsung Ace has a QWERTY keyboard with raised keys that make it easy to type quickly, and the battery life is pretty decent, as it allows for four hours of straight talk time (Samsung). The Samsung Ace can be purchased from Amazon and the CNET website for $500. Sprint offers this phone much cheaper when establishing a new service contract or getting an upgrade. Of course, if Sprint stops selling this phone, you can always find it other places cheaply. Just look around, and you will more than likely land on a deal. Not to mention, CNet and Amazon will always sell it.

2. Dash 3G

The Dash 3G is a phone offered by T-Mobile, and it is another one of the hottest accessible smart phones on the market among the blind. I know quite a few blind people who own this phone, and they absolutely love it. When a friend of mine allowed me to experiment with his Dash 3G, I saw why so many blind people felt this phone to be one of the greatest around. There are a number of reasons why the Dash 3G is popular among the blind. For one, text messages and all menus can be accessed while on a phone call once Mobile Speak is installed. Furthermore, the phone is not big and bulky, as it can be fit nicely into a pocket, pouch, or purse. In addition to that, the battery life is outstanding, more outstanding than the Samsung Ace in that it can go over a day without being charged. My friend has left his Dash 3G off the charger a number of times and was able to get a lot out of using his phone. The keyboard on this phone is great, too, in that the keys are designed for easy typing (Code Factory). This phone can be purchased for $300; however, GSM Monster offers the phone for $100, and it can also be purchased at a cheaper price when getting new service or an upgrade with T-mobile.

3. HTC Ozone.

One of my best friends purchased the HTC Ozone, and I had an opportunity to check it out and experiment with it to the fullest. . The HTC Ozone is a Verizon Wireless smart phone that has a QWERTY keyboard that has keys that are very easy to find and enable quick typing. In addition to this excellent keyboard, this phone has a capacity to run on a due network, which enables this phone to be used worldwide. The HTC Ozone runs on Windows Mobile 6.1, and it has a number of connection capabilities. This phone connects via blue tooth, WiFi, and USB. Other features that this phone has are a 2 megapixel camera and the capacity for the memory to be extended up to 16GB via an SD card. The battery life on this phone is fabulous. The battery allows for four and a half hours of talk time and over a day in standby time (Code Factory). The cost of the HTC Ozone is $590; however, it can be purchased for as low as $49 from Amazon. Because Verizon makes accessibility for the blind their number one priority, they offer a deal where the HTC Ozone is packaged with Talks and sold for $99, which is the deal that my friend took advantage of, but I have heard that many blind users report that Mobile Speak works better with this phone because it allows for a quicker response time than Talks.

4. Samsung Jack.

The Samsung Jack is a smart phone that works with AT&T, and it runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system. The Samsung Jack has a much more stylish appearance compared to its predecessor, which is the Samsung Blackjack. This phone offers excellent quality, GPS capability, and WiFi, USB, and Blue Tooth capability (Code Factory). The keyboard on this smart phone has a QWERTY keyboard that contains keys that are easy to feel and find, and this design facilitates quick and easy typing. The camera quality is the best compared to all of the other phones in the Samsung Jack series, according to some of my sighted friends who took part in experimenting with the phones with me, and the processor is fast, considering that I seemed to have a fabulous response time when operating the phone. I have also found that Mobile Speak works excellent with this phone, and incoming calls are announced during phone calls. Texting and menus can also be accessed while on calls, as well. The Samsung Jack costs $250; however, AT&T offers it cheaper when establishing new service or obtaining an upgrade. AT&T also offers a deal on Mobile Speak to its customer base in that Mobile Speak can be purchased for under $100. Should a user want to purchase this awesome phone but use it with a different service provider, this is possible, as the Samsung Jack is an unlocked smart phone.

5. Nokia N97 mini.

I'm not normally a fan of the Nokia line of phones, but this phone really won me over. The Nokia N97 mini is a touch screen slider phone that runs on the Symbian operating system, s60 9.4 to be exact. The design of this phone is sleek and thin, and it looks and feels quite stylish. The Nokia N97 mini has USB WiFi, and blue tooth connectivity, and SD card reader (Code Factory). According to some of my sighted friends who experimented with the visual aspects of the phone, the phone has a built in camera that takes nice pictures, should the user feel inclined to have pictures taken with the phone. The only downfall at present is that Mobile Speak does not support web browsing on this particular phone; however, when I inquired about this, I was told that the next update is supposed to fix this issue (Code Factory). This phone costs approximately $400, and it is an unlocked smart phone.

If you purchase any of these phones, you will not only have a smart phone that is one hundred percent accessible, you will have a smart phone that is in style. Not to mention, a whole new world of possibilities will be opened up to you. I guarantee you that once you purchase one of these accessible smart phones, you will never turn back.

Work Cited

Code Factory. "Most Popular Phones." Codefactory.es. N.p., 2010. Web. 18 June
2010. http://codefactory.es/en/phoneslist.asp?id=341.

Samsung. "ACE™ (SPH-i325)." Samsung.com. N.p., 1995-2010 . Web. 18 June 2010.
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/mobile/mobile-phones/sprint-phones/SPH-I325DLASPR/
index.idx? pagetype=prd_detail.