News from Insight
Trouble using your mobile phone?
Accessible touch screen’s – Synaptic software at Insight
I think I may have found the answer!
Chances are you would have heard
about smartphones and tablet
computers. If you haven’t, they are
touch screen mobile devices. You
may think that you wouldn’t be able
to use them, but you can!
You only have to sit on a bus
or a train to hear numerous
conversations, on a variety of
subjects, all going on at the same
time, to realise that nowadays
everyone has a mobile phone! Not
that I listen to any of them!
As these devices have become
more popular, the features on
them have been made more and
more accessible, allowing visually
impaired people to use them. In
our Resource Centre we now have
a range of smart devices which
have been made fully accessible by
using a system called Synapptic. It’s
simple, affordable, and gives you a
Time to upgrade your IT skills?
Our computer training classes are
ongoing throughout the school term
times and are now held twice a
week. We offer training on Dolphin
Guide or Supernova or just using
Microsoft with some helpful hints
and tips. The lessons are tailored to
what you want to learn, so whether
you are a beginner or you just need
some further assistance to get back
on your computer, give us a call on
01242 22 11 70.
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2014 · Issue 11
whole new mobile communication
experience. You are able to make
calls, send text messages and
emails, listen to your audio books
and talking newspapers, and much
more with its easy-to-use and
spoken-aloud menus. Read Steve’s
review on the opposite page.
I’ve been severely sight
impaired since 1991, and
during this time I’ve used
a variety of hi-tech devices
to help me do everyday
tasks. Some have worked,
but many haven’t. I’ve
had a number of mobile
phones and have ended
up struggling to use
most of them. One of the
latest phones I used was
designed for sight impaired
people, but I struggled to
see any text messages and
could only use the keypad because
I had remembered where the keys
were. I ended up using a magnifier
a lot of the time, but this proved to
cause some eyestrain.
Both my wife, who’s not sight
impaired, and I were due to have an
upgrade with our phones, so we took
the plunge and had Galaxy S3 minis.
These are touch screen phones so I
knew I would be in trouble!
My wife coped easily, texting,
e-mailing, on the internet, and
sometimes even using it as a
telephone! I struggled, so much so
that I nearly gave up. All I wanted to
do was use it as a phone and send
the occasional text message. The
keypad was too small
and the buttons were too
close together. Then I
remembered that at our
recent exhibition there was
a stand with Synapptic
on it. This is software that
you load on to your phone
and which enlarges and
supplies speech.
Marc, our Resource
Centre Co-ordinator
loaded it on for me, and
I haven’t looked back
since. It’s brilliant. I can
access my phone book, send texts
and e-mails, voice record memos,
use a calendar – loads and loads of
easy-to-use applications. Making a
phone call is a pleasure now instead
of a chore. In fact I’ve never used
any mobile phone so much!
The touch screen is locked, so you
can’t accidently phone anyone, but
just one swipe of the finger opens the
main menu. Easy to understand, easy
2014 · Issue 11
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