Stay in touch - A guide to telephones and services for older and disabled people 2004 (view report contents)
What else?- other telephone equipment
For people who have difficulty using a voice phone, there are several alternatives.
Textphone
The Minicom Pro 8000 LVD textphone
A textphone is designed for people who have impaired hearing or speech. It has a keyboard to type messages and a small screen to display what you type and text written by the other person. Depending on your keying speed, you can have an almost instantaneous (real time) conversation with another textphone user. Textphones cost from around £100 to £400.
Ricability has a guide to choosing a textphone (see A guide to buying a textphone). RNID Typetalk is a BT funded service run by RNID in which specially trained operators relay messages between textphone and voice phone users. It is often accessed through BT TextDirect - you key 18001 before the telephone number if you are calling from a textphone and 18002 if you are using a voice phone. If only one of the callers is using a textphone a Typetalk operator is brought in. You pay less for TextDirect calls (with some exceptions, which include premium rate calls, directory services and international calls) because they take longer.
You can also get help from a Typetalk operator through Relay Assist (0870 240 95 98 from a textphone; 0870 240 51 52 from a voice phone). With some phone companies (see Operator summaries) you cannot currently call BT TextDirect, so Relay Assist is the only option.
A Mobile Textphone service, based on the Nokia 9210i Communicator, is available from Vodafone. It provides real-time text conversation as well as access to a Typetalk operator through BT TextDirect – contact Vodafone for details. You can also set up your home computer to use it to communicate with a textphone – contact RNID Typetalk for information.
Videophone
The Samsung Z105 video mobile
Some of the new 3G mobile phones allow two-way video calls (rather than just sending still pictures or video clips as messages). This assumes of course that both you and the other person have one. But calls are expensive and the picture is unlikely to be big and clear enough for signing, let alone lip-reading. Larger fixed-line videophones which show enough detail and movement for you to use sign language are available, but they are expensive (from around £650), and need a special high-speed ISDN phone line costing more than an ordinary line. If both you and the other person have a computer and internet connection, a web-cam would be a much cheaper way of having visual contact with them - while using a keyboard-based text system for conversation.
Computer email
If you have a computer, email is an easy way of sending messages to anyone who has an email address. This is useful for deaf people, and if your sight is poor, some email systems (with appropriate software) can read incoming messages to you over the phone or your computer’s speaker, using a synthesised voice.
Report Contents
Telephones
- types (fixed & mobiles)
- useful features if your hearing is poor
- useful features - if your sight is poor
- useful features if you have limited mobility
- useful features for other difficulties
Other equipment
- answering machines, fax machines & computer equipment
- textphones, videophones & computer email
- accessories & adaptors
Buying a phone & phone services
- where to go
- companies & deals
- services for older or disabled people
- scam calls & cold calling - what to do
Useful contacts
Fixed line Operators
- BT
- Homecall
- Kingston communications
- NTL
- One.Tel
- Sainsbury's Homephone
- Skytalk
- TalkTalk
- Tele2
- Tesco home phone
- Telewest broadband
- Tiscali.smart talk
- Toucan
Mobile Operators
