New Verizon Wireless app assists visually-impaired
Verizon Wireless this week announced a new service for blind and visually impaired customers. Talks will convert displayed text into speech for a variety of features including phone numbers on caller ID, text messages, e-mail, and notes. Using their voice, Talks users also will be able to:
- Dial a number from the phone's Contacts directory
- Add and edit entries in the Contacts directory
- Write text messages and e-mail
- Write documents using Mobile Office
- Access and compose multimedia message service (MMS) messages
- Use Mobile Internet Explorer to access the Internet
- Control speech volume and rate of speech
Initially Talks will be available only on the Motorola Q9c. A new Q9c with Talks will go on sale Sunday, March 15 for $249 with a service agreement, but existing Q9c users will be able to add Talks to their phone by contacting Verizon. Talks is powered by Nuance Communications.
