Please join us for our next Phone Watch event in London. On the night, we'll be giving some short overview talks of the different mobile phone choices available for blind and partially sighted users and giving you the chance to get hands on with the latest handsets!
Event details
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Date: 23rd August 2011
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Time: 5.15 pm - 7.15 pm
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Location: RNIB, 105 Judd Street, London, WC1H 9NE
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Room: Meeting Room 5 (Lower Ground Floor)
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Cost: Free
Session agenda
We'll also have some Amazon Kindle devices which have low vision and text-to-speech features built-into them available on the night for people to try if interested!
How to book
To book your place, please contact the event organiser, Andrew Ronksley, by phone or email.
Places are limited so please book as soon as possible!
Background to RNIB's Phone Watch events
The accessibility of mobile phones and devices has generated a lot of interest amongst blind and partially sighted users in recent times. Compared to 5 or 6 years ago, the choice of accessible phones has now significantly improved.
As we stand in 2011, there are now more mobile phones in the UK than there are people. The range of handsets, talk plans and downloadable applications available is quite staggering. Today, many people are now using their mobile phones for much more than just calls and texts. Surfing the internet, reading eBooks, playing music, keeping track of calendars and tasks and satellite navigation are just some of the various uses now commonplace.
In addition to 3rd party screen reading and screen magnification solutions for Symbian based Nokia phones, we now have the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 from Apple which have screen reader and screen magnification software built-in, thereby providing access straight out of the box at no extra cost. There are also accessibility solutions available and others in development for Google Android based smartphones and Blackberry devices from Research In Motion. With all these options and mobile technology evolving continuously at a rapid pace, it is extremely important for blind and partially sighted users to understand all the alternatives available to them to make an informed choice.
Phone Watch is an initiative from RNIB which aims to share developments in mobile technology with blind and partially sighted users. A highly interactive, hands on experience with the latest mobile devices and accessibility software is a key element of these sessions. Industry experts are also invited to attend and speak about forthcoming innovations in mobile accessibility. We'll also aim to provide useful information and tips on how to make the most of your current phone's capabilities. Since the sessions are highly interactive, participants are also encouraged to exchange ideas and information which could perhaps be documented to benefit other users with visual impairments.
As part of our Inclusive Society Programme, we want more blind and partially sighted people to be able to confidently use mobile technology. To help us achieve this, we're currently working with manufacturers and software developers from across the mobile industry. Phone Watch is one way of allowing us to keep abreast of users' needs, enabling us to keep a finger on the pulse of current consumer experiences and gather important feedback for future developments.