Programming Accessible Software on Java Phones? 35
LostSinner asks: "My mother, who is blind, called me recently and asked if I'd be up for a challenge. She is supremely fed up with trying to use her current cellphone (a StarTAC) and is looking for a new one. Recently, she has heard about the newer Java-enabled phones. She wants me to write a Java program which will allow her to navigate the menus, place calls, and generally use everything available to us sighted folks that she can't currently use. Though there are a few aftermarket pieces of software somewhat geared towards this, the price and the functionality (or lack thereof) are both sticking points... and what's the use of having a geek son if you don't get any benefits, right? I plan to release the code and either give the software away for free or charge a nominal fee for it. It's new ground for me, but I love a challenge. So, is a Java enabled phone the best way to go? Are there already phones out there with this functionality built in? If Java is the best way to go, what service provider and/or phones does Slashdot recommend? Thanks."
I'm not sure MIDP is the way to go. (Score:3, Interesting)
However, I would think that this would prevent you from replacing all the menus with your own code. Instead, you might want to get her something like this [cellular.co.za]
Re:I'm not sure MIDP is the way to go. (Score:2, Informative)
A) Are fast growing out of date with newer systems
B) Aren't in implemented in Java, rather their OS is a flavor of the Symbian OS called Series 80.
Personally, I think that a Symbian OS based phone would be the way to go. What you would have to do is record audio bits ( rather compressed I'm sure ), that would correspond to the most commonly used features of the particular phone that you're implementing
Re:I'm not sure MIDP is the way to go. (Score:2)
I agree. Most phones (apart from the very newest) don't have a java api for makings calls, sending sms, looking up things in the address book, things like that. You'd also have to implement your own menus if you ever got that far.
I don't know Symbian, but judging from the parent it seems like a much better fit.
Re:I'm not sure MIDP is the way to go. (Score:1)
Harder than it sounds (Score:3, Informative)
What, exactly, could you do that makes it easier for a blind person to use? Every phone function is already accessed with a sequence of button presses. Type a phone number, hit talk. Memorize the order of people in your phone directory. On my phone, I can access nearly every function in one to three button presses, and seldom actually look at the screen. I can't see how your Java software would be able to do better.
Re:Harder than it sounds (Score:2, Interesting)
Basically this guy wants JAWS [freedomscientific.com] for his mother's cellphone. Which would be really usefull should anyone ever put something
Short term solution (Score:3, Informative)
However, you can get pretty close to what you want in many current phones. They are designed to be used without requiring users to keep their eyes fixed on the screen -- since that tends to cause more car crashes.
The features you want aren't far off, though. I currently have a Motorola V60. No camera, no multiphonic ringtones... but it has voice recognition for the numbers in my phone book. I just press a button on
I doubt it. (Score:4, Informative)
That being said, if there is a way to do it, you'd want to look for documentation here:
http://java.sun.com/j2me/docs/
and here:
http://java.sun.com/api/index.html#j2me
Erlang (Score:2)
Re:Erlang (Score:2)
Call me nuts, but I'm taking matters into my own hands by developing Dynapad. It's Smalltalk- not Erlang- but it's still better than Java, although Java isn't hard to beat. (provided you're not talking about the number of millions of US dollars spent promoting and hyping it) I don't run Dynapad myself on any phones, just PDAs- but if I had a fancy smartphone- or one of those woefully crappy and
Phone/PDA for the blind... (Score:5, Informative)
Again, this is just a tad bit overkill if all she needs is a phone. However, if she's looking for something more than a phone, this might be an option.
Moderators, heads up. Informative!! (Score:1)
Re:Moderators, heads up. Informative!! (Score:2)
Re:Phone/PDA for the blind... (Score:1)
Try a Treo600 instead (Score:3, Informative)
It's not out yet, but will be "soon", and you can start writing code today....
http://www.handspring.com/developers/index.jhtml [handspring.com]
Or rather, try this general advice - try to get developer information for a bunch of handsets. See which one gives you the most. Make sure you can do what you want (e.g. dial, which I don't think you can from java phones due to the security model) and then go with that phone.
Re:Try a Treo600 instead (Score:1)
I'm not sure if the phone's speakers can be used to play audio from software, or if the Treo 600 includes a "real" speaker; if not, sound effects/messages are pretty much out of the question, since on most Palm devices (other than a Handera and the newer Clies) the speaker is a simple tone-based one, akin to a PC speaker. Apps have been written to play sound, just like Microsoft wrote a PC Speaker Wave Driver, but the quality of both are horrible.
can't do with j2me, go with symbian. (Score:4, Interesting)
however, symbian allows for much lower level access of the device. sure the developing is a bit harder but that's the price you have to pay(it's not _that_ hard if you're familiar with c++ and the community is building up nicely so help is available).
symbian phones include series60 from nokia(7650,3650,6650&etc) and s-e p800 there may be others as well.
of these i'd recommend the 3650(even though she might not have use for the mmc card), the 'weird' number pad isn't that hard to use, don't know how adapting it is for the blind(i would guess pretty well adapting, should she want to train on it few hours, actually it should go pretty well, and the buttons with different functions are laid away from each other)
Re:can't do with j2me, go with symbian. (Score:2)
You can't do much with Java on mobile phones - you can't even access the filesystem, as far as I know. I've been using a Java web browser and a Java e-mail client on my Nokia 3650, and in response to my requests for more features (like attchments), the developer has told me that Java's security model prevents any significant access to the phone.
Symbian would definitely be the way, especially on a Nokia phone. SonyEricsson has been uncooperative with releasing specs on their
Ask Sun (Score:3, Informative)
There may well be someone who already thought about that. And even if not, your mothers case might just be what it takes to make them think about it.
The trick is, of course, how to find the right person to contact. I don't really have a good idea about that. One approach would be to find a generic Sun accessibility person (for example on the related Gnome mailing list) that seems to be a nice guy, and politely ask them for a tip on who to contact.
Re:Ask Sun (Score:2)
Why the hell would Sun be interested in helping you write software for a phone that let your blind mum make cell calls? Yes, it's in Java, but that's about where Sun's interest would stop. And a lot of people use Java, and most of them don't get hand-holding from Sun. At best, Java will say "umm, get the phone's SDK and some J2ME docs. Oh, and what you want to do really isn't possible within the confined environments available on cell
Reconfigurable Physical Controls (Score:1)
Talk about braille outputs on Pocket PC's reminded me of a slightly Offtopic but very Interesting idea I thought of.
I've always wondered if it's possible to make a side panel of a PDA (for example, the left side of a Clie, like the Jog Dial) have maybe a hundred little actuators and sensors that can make virtual controls like switches, dials, and sliders... it would be interesting...
Any ideas?
what does she want? (Score:5, Insightful)
If she wants to dial the numbers, just get her a cheap Nokia "candy bar"-style phone and ensure that one or two of the keys are textured (I recommend "5" as one of them) for easy location.
If she wants to "look up" numbers, see about one of the voice-activated phones. Sprint definitely offers them, and probably other companies. With these phones, you press a button and say "Call Bob", and it calls bob's number. Programming's a bit tricky, but that's what sons are for, right?
Pay attention, too, to "handsfree" models. There's pressure on the cell phone companies to make models that are usable by drivers. That means simple, and usable without looking at the keypad. Sounds kind of like what you want.
Re:what does she want? (Score:1)
an old Sprint PCS phone (Score:2)
Last I saw them in stores, they were like $20-30.
How to make Accessible Java (Score:2)
Jython [jython.com]
Welcome to the Jython homepage. Jython is an implementation of the high-level, dynamic, object-oriented language Python written in 100% Pure Java, and seamlessly integrated with the Java platform. It thus allows you to run Python on any Java platform.
How to make Accessible Java (Score:2)
Jython [jython.org]
Welcome to the Jython homepage. Jython is an implementation of the high-level, dynamic, object-oriented language Python written in 100% Pure Java, and seamlessly integrated with the Java platform. It thus allows you to run Python on any Java platform.
[I even previewed it, saw that the url was wrong but pressed submit without changing it!]
Nokia sdk (Score:1)
I'm not sure if Java applications will have access to items like the phonebook, or if they would be able to dial calls. I seem to remember they won't, its a security measure to make sure applications don't dial calls which could be cha
very last post (Score:1)