CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
REVIEWS
» Cell phones
» Cameras
» Camcorders
» Archive » Resource Center
» Compare » Expert guides
» RSS & Alerts » Ask The Editors
Home / Cell phones
Mobile phone for the deaf from VodafoneBy Anthony Newman, Monday 15 March 2004
The mobile textphone is born, and available from Vodafone UK to enable nine million UK people with hearing impairment to communicate on the move.

A mobile phone has just been launched which allows deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired people to hold real-time, interactive conversations whilst on the move.

The mobile textphone is being marketed by Vodafone UK with software developed by RNID, the charity representing the nine million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK. This service improves deaf people’s ability to make any call, from something as crucial as contacting the emergency services to making a simple enquiry about goods or services. It also allows interactive text conversation similar to speaking on the telephone, where users can interrupt and enjoy the immediacy of dialogue.

The new mobile textphone allows two people to communicate by phone using text in real time. The textphone has a keyboard and display screen, and instead of speaking into a mouthpiece the user can type what they want to say and read the reply from the screen. A deaf person can communicate with a hearing person using any ordinary landline or mobile with the help of RNID Typetalk. Any Vodafone UK customer can now call textphones on any UK network using the BT TextDirect pre-fix 18002, or access a range of other services with the 18001 prefix. Realtime interpretation between text and voice is provided by the national Relay service RNID Typetalk, whose opeators translate between voice and text.

The service is available both on pay-as-you-go and pay monthly plans, and costs the same as a standard voice call. The service works across networks and landlines.

The phone itself is a Nokia 9210i, specially customized. The phone will cost between 240 GBP and 380 GBP depending on the price plan selected by the customer.
Best Cell phones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
Nokia N95 8GB NAM 85% $450Unlocked
Apple iPhone 3G 81% $200AT&T
Nokia N95 80% $350Unlocked
RIM BlackBerry Storm 9530 80% $200Verizon Wireless
T-Mobile G1 79% $180T-Mobile
HTC Touch Pro (Sprint) 77% $400Sprint
HTC Fuze 77% $300AT&T
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 76% $800Unlocked
Nokia N78 76% $300Unlocked
HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint) 76% $350Sprint
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
NEW IN-DEPTH REVIEWS
Cell Phones & Smartphones
 
Digital Cameras
 
Camcorders
HOTTEST
Smartphones
 
Cell Phones
 
Touch Phones
TOP STORIES
Samsung Jet
 
Samsung Omnia 2
 
Nokia N86
Nokia E72
 
Sony Ericsson Yari
 
Sony Ericsson Satio
HTC Hero runs Google Android with new HTC Sense interface
 
HTC Firestone with Snapdragon Technology on Its Way
 
iPhone 3GS review
NEW CELL PHONE RELEASES
RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip
Apple iPhone 3GS
Nokia 5630 XpressMusic
HTC Touch Pro 2
Samsung Omnia HD
HTC Snap
Sony Ericsson T707
LG enV Touch
LG enV3
Nokia N86
Casio Exilim C721
Nokia N97
UPCOMING CELL PHONES
Samsung i7500
LG Viewty Smart
LG GD910
Sony Ericsson C903
Sony Ericsson W995
RIM BlackBerry Tour
Samsung Pixon12 M8910
HTC Hero
T-Mobile Dash 3G
CELL PHONE RESOURCE CENTER
Best phones
 
Expert guides
 
Ask the Editors
3+ inch screen phones
 
Wi-Fi phones
 
Concept phones
» Feature Search & Compare
» Side-By-Side Comparison
» Upcoming Releases
» Carriers
Unlocked, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, More...
» Brands
Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, BlackBerry, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Palm, More...
» User Types
Average Joe, Business users, Calling addicts, Fashion conscious users, Globetrotters, High-res addicts, Internet addicts, Multimedia enthusiasts, Music aficionados, Outdoor enthusiasts, TV addicts, Video lovers, More...
NOW IN PHONES
BlackBerry Pearl Flip review
 
Samsung Jet
 
Casio Exilim C721 review
 
Sprint HTC Snap review
 
BlackBerry Tour takes Verizon Wireless global
Samsung Omnia 2
Nokia N86
Nokia E72
Next 25 stories
MUST READ
CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
MP3 players
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
INTERNET TABLETS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
GPS NAVIGATORS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
HDTVs
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMCORDERS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
About us | Site map | How to advertise | Feedback | RSS Feeds | | Archive
Copyright 1999-2009 © infoSync World