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A guide to buying a textphone, 2001 (view report contents)

Buying guide

Which type?

What textphone is best for you depends on the features you need, your preferences and on what other people in your household want. You may have to compromise. The summaries should help you make a shortlist

A textphone you can use as a telephone

If you want a textphone you can use as a telephone the Minicom Pro 400 and Textel 200 have a microphone and loudspeaker, so can be used as handsfree voice telephones. The Uniphone 1150 is the only model which has a handset and so works as a voice and as a text telephone. It does not have a printer and cannot be connected to one but has a good range of features. It has an inductive coupler for use with a hearing aid, and you can adjust the volume on the handset.

Small textphones

If you want a small textphone the Compact and the DTS Pocket both fold in half for carrying. The Minicom Pro 400, Pro 100 and Textlink are also relatively small. Mobile communicators are even smaller - see opposite and check with the RNID for latest details.

For printer records

If you want a printed record of your conversation, five models have built in printers. The Minicom Pro 8000 series has wide paper rolls (up to 82 characters a line) and the Dialogue IIIP and the Minicom 6000 use a narrow roll (up to 24 characters per line). Six textphones can be connected to a computer printer and the Textlink could also be supplied with a dedicated printer.

For large displays

If the size of the display is important to you, the Minicom Pro 8000 LVD displays characters (upper case only) 12mm high - at least twice as big as other textphones. If you can read smaller type and prefer a display with more text, go for a model which has a two line display and shows 40 characters on each line.
Otherwise consider connecting the Textlink to a computer, to give you much more control over how text is displayed.

 

 

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Report contents

What are textphones?
How to use
Some main features explained
The display
Printing
Accessories
Deafblind people
Buying Guide
Mobiles
Alternatives
Typetalk
How to get a textphone
Professional advice
Helpful organisations
Suppliers
Acknowledgements