Question regarding Mobile Speak and Accessible phones

[VIRGIE UNDERWOOD]

Hi Brent,
I purchased the blackjack II phone and could not even get a demo of Mobile 
Speak to work on that phone.  Mobile Speak does work on the blackjack but 
not the blackjack II phone.
Virgie and Lady Hoshi
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brent Reynolds" <reynolds53 at bellsouth.net>
To: <blindphones at mosenexplosion.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 5:31 PM
Subject: Re: Question regarding Mobile Speak and Accessible phones


>
>
> Well, Steven, you are usually right and right-on with the information you
> post.  When you stated, though, that the N75 is the only accessible phone
> AT&T supports, you were not correct.
>
> As of about this time last week, AT&T was officially supporting five 
> phones
> to go with their $89-dollar license price for MobileSpeak.  These are the
> Nokia E62, which is no longer being sold by AT&T, but if you find one, or
> have one, they will allow you the MobileSpeak license for 89 dollars. 
> Next
> is the N75, which is being sold and supported, and is widely available at
> probably every AT&T store, either the company stores, or the contract
> stores.
>
> Then, there are the Pantech Duo; the Samsung Blackjack; and the Motorola 
> Q,
> which I believe is the version 9.something.  The Pantech, the Samsung, and
> the Motorola run on Microsoft Windows Mobile, either version 5 or 6, and
> would use MobileSpeak SmartPhone.  Whether your supported phone from AT&T
> uses MobileSpeak, or the smartphone version, the license from AT&T will
> still cost you only $89.
>
> I have a friend who acquired the Samsung Blackjack II, and said he was 
> able
> to convince the AT&T disability department to allow him the MobileSpeak
> SmartPhone license for the $89.  AT&T is no longer selling the original
> Samsung Blackjack, and you will most likely not find one in any of the 
> AT&T
> mobile phone stores.  The Blackjack has been replaced by the Blackjack II.
> The Blackjack runs on Windows Mobile 5 and the Blackjack II on Windows
> Mobile 6.
>
> Even though my friend in Florida said he was able to get the disability
> department folks to sell him the screen reader license for $89, they told 
> me
> that they were not currently (as of last week) supporting the Blackjack II
> for MobileSpeak, because they had not yet tested it and that, according to
> the info I was given, "some of the menus don't work propperly with the
> screen reader".
>
> There is another downside to AT&T's trying to tie the license deal with
> specific phones.  They should allow it at the subsidized price to any of
> their customers who have verified officially that they qualify based on a
> disability for the lcense, as long as they have a GSM phone that is
> supported by a version of the screen reader, and are using that phone 
> under
> a two-year AT&T service contract.
>
> I am quite sure that, since the E62 has basically gone away, and had done 
> so
> within at least two weeks of AT&T's original December 17, 2007 press puff
> piece about the MobileSpeak deal, and since the BlackJack has already been
> replaced by the Blackjack II, that leaves only three, and who knows how 
> long
> that will last, of the original phones supported under the deal still
> available, they should be soon announcing additional "supported devices".
>
> Of the smartphone models, I liked the keys on the Blackjack II best of the
> lot I saw at my local store last week, but will probably end up going with
> the N75, since I can't afford the N82, and the N73 might be somewhat
> difficult to come by.
>
> Brent Reynolds, Atlanta, GA  USA
> Email: reynolds53 at bellsouth.net  Phone: 1-404-814-0768
>
>
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