Date
1 - 15 of 15
tracfone
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Don H
OK so I am from the world where a phone is used to make phone calls. Have no interest in a smart phone.
What I need help on if finding a tracfone flip phone that has some voicing features where the menues and num pad are voiced. Does anyone have such a phone? I currently have the DORO 7050 with a issue of repeating keys thus making it difficult to enter a phone number. One phone I see on line is the Nokia 2760 but can't find any info whether it has a voicing feature. Any suggestions for a Tracfone would be appreciated. Thanks |
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Don,
If you are a current Tracfone customer, I'd strongly suggest you contact their customer service if you absolutely, positively want to stay with a flip phone and need accessibility features. They've got several, and most of them are "hybrid" phones that clearly run some sort of Android with the screen being on the earpiece side of the flip and the keypad on the mouthpiece side. Whether those have a functioning TalkBack is an open question. The Alcatel My Flip 2 is available, these two pages relate to accessibility for the device: https://support.tracfone.com/tutorials/accessibility/accessibility-features?device=alcatel-myflip-2-a406dl and https://support.tracfone.com/faqs/what-accessibility-features-are-available-for-my-phone?device=alcatel-myflip-2-a406dl For myself, even for those who only use the phone to make phone calls, I still recommend a smartphone (the lowest end one) these days because of the amount of accessibility support that comes with "real" Android. It's easy to "get rid of the garbage" you don't need or want on your home screen. In addition, if you happen to have a Google Account already and use Gmail and Google Contacts, the contacts will automatically sync with an Android-powered device. This makes making phone calls to most people you call routinely insanely simple because you can say something like, "OK, Google, call John Doe," or "OK Google, call Missy, mobile," if you have a home phone number and a mobile phone number for the same individual. Dialing becomes a thing of the past (for the most part) and you can call other numbers by voice, too, by giving Google Assistant the number, in digits. I've dealt with the accessibility-focused flip devices for several clients over the years, and no matter what they do it's just not as accessibility friendly (at least it isn't in my opinion) as a low-end smartphone is. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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Brian's Mail list account
A lot of people seem happy with the blindshell 2, but if you really want the flip phone design, then I guess what Brian mentions is as good as any. There do seem to be an increasing number of phones based on Android but having keypads as well. These of course are not as cheap as the Doro type phone only hardware can be.
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Brian -- bglists@... Sent via blueyonder.(Virgin media) Please address personal E-mail to:- briang1@..., putting 'Brian Gaff' in the display name field. ----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Vogel" <britechguy@...> To: <chat@nvda.groups.io> Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 10:36 PM Subject: Re: [chat] tracfone Don, If you are a current Tracfone customer, I'd strongly suggest you contact their customer service if you absolutely, positively want to stay with a flip phone and need accessibility features. They've got several, and most of them are "hybrid" phones that clearly run some sort of Android with the screen being on the earpiece side of the flip and the keypad on the mouthpiece side. Whether those have a functioning TalkBack is an open question. The Alcatel My Flip 2 is available, these two pages relate to accessibility for the device: https://support.tracfone.com/tutorials/accessibility/accessibility-features?device=alcatel-myflip-2-a406dl and https://support.tracfone.com/faqs/what-accessibility-features-are-available-for-my-phone?device=alcatel-myflip-2-a406dl For myself, even for those who only use the phone to make phone calls, I still recommend a smartphone (the lowest end one) these days because of the amount of accessibility support that comes with "real" Android. It's easy to "get rid of the garbage" you don't need or want on your home screen. In addition, if you happen to have a Google Account already and use Gmail and Google Contacts, the contacts will automatically sync with an Android-powered device. This makes making phone calls to most people you call routinely insanely simple because you can say something like, "OK, Google, call John Doe," or "OK Google, call Missy, mobile," if you have a home phone number and a mobile phone number for the same individual. Dialing becomes a thing of the past (for the most part) and you can call other numbers by voice, too, by giving Google Assistant the number, in digits. I've dealt with the accessibility-focused flip devices for several clients over the years, and no matter what they do it's just not as accessibility friendly (at least it isn't in my opinion) as a low-end smartphone is. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 *Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.* ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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On Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 04:56 AM, Brian's Mail list account wrote:
These of course are not as cheap as the Doro type phone only hardware can be.- They are still mighty cheap, though. Even though a post was made about the Doro, that is a brand/model with which I have zero familiarity. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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Don H
So here is what I found out about replacing my Tracfone. Chatting with Tracfone according to my zip code they had no phone that would work in my area. Having said that they would sell me a phone that may work. I would have to purchase the phone find out the serial number and maybe that phone would work. If the phone would not work for my zip code I could not return the phone for a refund. Almost sounds like a scam. They also said my current phone that is still working despite its dialing issues, may lose service at any time.
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On Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 11:40 AM, Don H wrote:
They also said my current phone that is still working despite its dialing issues, may lose service at any time.- Just looked up the Doro 7050 and since it's a 4G LTE device I don't know how it could be kicked off anyone's network where it's currently supported at any point in the immediately foreseeable future. 4G regular and LTE, along with 5G, all appear to still have many years of network service life. Does this device have a replaceable SIM card? The DORO 7050 is still made, and if the issue is that your keypad is going wonky, and the SIM card is replaceable, you could just snag another one, pop in your SIM card, and go (at least in all likelihood, a bit of checking should be done first). By the way, nothing about what customer service tells me surprises me anymore. I will try them simply because you do sometimes get someone who actually knows what they're talking about. But it seems that many times you get someone who is working only from a script, and even then they don't know the script well. Sadly, it seems like you encountered the latter. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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Don,
By the way, most Walmarts in my area offer Tracfone devices and recharge cards, and that includes at least one of the flip phones, generally. And since Walmart will take returns on these, no questions asked, within 30 days if you do need to try a different Tracfone flip phone I'd look in to buying one at a local retailer, whether it's Walmart or not, and seeing if it will suit your needs. When it comes to mobile phones, regardless of the format, models come and go for each service provider and have, at times, gone and then come back later. It's whoever is making a specific type, at the least cost, that can supply the number needed during a given purchasing cycle. And I'm not pushing you, but this does need to be said for other readers: This is why I encourage going to smartphones. Even as Android has evolved over the years, everything one knows about accessibility under Android proper has marched on. TalkBack/Android Accessibility Suite has gotten more and more bells and whistles, while eliminating very little of what ever came before. So even as you have to (or wish to) change devices most of what you know or all of what you know still applies. The same cannot be said for the various flip devices, most of which seem to be moving to semi-smart functionality these days but have the hard keypad. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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Don H
I really appreciate your inf. You have to also keep in mind there some
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old farts like me that just don't want to carry some big smart cell phone around. I just want a phone to make calls and leave all my other communication needs to my laptop at home. On 9/28/2022 11:06 AM, Brian Vogel wrote:
Don, |
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Don,
I'm 60 myself, so I do understand where you're coming from. A lot of my clients are "more senior" than I am. That being said, my position is that it's best to take an approach where the skill set acquired does not "go stale" or require major revision when a new device is needed. And because of that, I just will not recommend flip phones. That's not to say that you must follow my advice, either, just to explain where it's rooted. And having been a flip phone user myself for many years, including after the smartphone had been around for a number of years, you've either got "thickness bulk" or "dimensional bulk," but you've still got bulk. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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Gene
You said you just want to make calls. Do you want to use contacts and text? If really all you want to do is make calls, you don't need speech and you may save a lot of money when buying a phone.
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Gene On 9/28/2022 11:20 AM, Don H wrote:
I really appreciate your inf. You have to also keep in mind there some |
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On Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 12:33 PM, Gene wrote:
If really all you want to do is make calls, you don't need speech and you may save a lot of money when buying a phone.- Gene, I have to argue this, and I'm not going to go out and research all carriers, I'll stick with Tracfone. All of their available flip phones, save one, are $19.99, and the exception model is $39.99. The low end smartphones start at $29.99, the next one up is $39.99, and there are others under $50. All of those are brand new. If you're willing to go with refurbished, and Tracfone offers these devices (probably returns that are reboxed), you can get prices on the lower end smartphones that are less than a brand new flip phone, and some low-mid-range/high-lower-range devices for barely more than a new flip phone. Flip phones are cheap, absolutely speaking, but not relatively speaking, because they have become a niche market. Cheap smartphones for very basic needs are still very inexpensive, and have gotten more so over time (like most computer technology, and lets face it, a smartphone is a true microcomputer that has a phone feature). -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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Don H
That brings to mind, When was the last time you ever heard a ad for a
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new smart phone that mentioned anything about making great calls. On 9/28/2022 11:44 AM, Brian Vogel wrote:
On Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 12:33 PM, Gene wrote: |
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On Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 12:52 PM, Don H wrote:
When was the last time you ever heard a ad for a new smart phone that mentioned anything about making great calls.- I honestly don't know that I ever have. Call quality was "a thing" early in the days of the mobile phone revolution. By the time smartphones appeared, that mountain had pretty much been scaled. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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Gene
I don't know anything about Tracfone.
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My impression, and its an impression, is that often, Flip Phones you purchase through a phone company are considerably more expensive than phones without speech but others who know the situation may comment. Gene On 9/28/2022 11:44 AM, Brian Vogel
wrote:
On Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 12:33 PM, Gene wrote: |
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Dave Grossoehme
The Track phone is charged for 2500 minutes of calling and a certain number of texting. As of the 16 of September if you have your own phone it is from $23 to $25 according to docdocgo and track phones information. With all the advertising that is going on now you can get unlimited minutes with full service on a smart phone for $30, possibly less if you shop around. Dave
On 9/28/2022 1:21 PM, Gene wrote:
I don't know anything about Tracfone. |
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