Hearing Words and pictures Mobiles are changing the way people who are deaf communicate *US sign language For people who are deaf or have moderate to profound hearing loss some 278 million worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation the telephone has traditionally been one of the most difficult communications technologies to use. The mobile phone revolution has changed all that. Communicating using mobile devices is now as much about text messaging, email and rich formats like video as it is about voice. Text-based communication on mobile phones began with SMS, and Australians still send billions of short, 160-character messages to each other every year. Email and instant messaging are now making text even more popular ensuring that people who are deaf or hard of hearing have a wide selection of devices to choose from. Every Nokia phone can send and receive SMS messages, and an increasing number can handle email. The best email devices are those 10

Hearing Buzz off, interference Get your hearing aid and phone on speaking terms According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, over 450,000 Australians who are deaf or hard of hearing make use of a hearing aid. Hearing aids help to amplify sound and make speech more intelligible, but many are not shielded from the signals produced by mobile phones, resulting in a digital buzz of interference. A number of Nokia phones meet US standards for hearing aid compatibility (HAC) which helps to significantly reduce the level of interference. Devices that meet these standards receive a rating: M3 or M4 for phones that connect to a hearing aid in microphone mode, and T3 or T4 for those that use telecoil coupling. The telecoil setting has the advantage of reducing the volume of sounds around the hearing aid user, which makes it easier to hear the caller, so using the T-coil option is recommended if your phone and hearing aid are equipped with this function. Hearing aids have different levels of immunity to interference, however, so you should always try out a new phone and hearing aid together before you buy either. The good news is that phones made for newer 3G networks usually cause less interference. But you don t have to buy a new 3G handset. The Nokia Inductive Loopset LPS-4 is compatible with many Nokia devices and largely eliminates interference with T-coil hearing aids. 12

Cognition Helping handsets Mobile phones hold plenty of promise for people with cognitive or intellectual disabilities An estimated 400 million people worldwide have cognitive impairment that affects their ability to use a mobile phone. Causes vary widely and include people born with intellectual disabilities and those who have had a brain injury or stroke. The accessibility barriers they face are similar to the usability issues encountered by the general population, only more severe. By removing these barriers, Nokia hopes to create devices everybody, including the elderly, will find easier to use. The goal is simplicity in design, but not the creation of a simple phone. Simplicity as a design principle can be applied equally to both entry level and advanced handsets. While more advanced handsets may have some features that people with cognitive limitations do not need, their multimedia capabilities can be a boon. There has been a lot of interesting work done with video phones, says Gunela Astbrink of TEDICORE. If a person with an intellectual disability is able to see the person they re talking to, they understand that the person is on the phone that it s not just a disembodied voice. Software again holds much promise, from photo-based phonebooks to specialist programs that might help people carry out everyday tasks or in communicating without speech. 30

Buying a phone Retail therapy How retailers and consumers can work together for a better shopping experience Buying a mobile phone can sometimes be a difficult experience for both the disabled consumer and the person serving them, but it needn t be so. The important thing is for the shop assistant to actually discuss with the person what it is that they need, rather than assume they know, says Bruce Maguire of the Human Rights & Equal Opportunities Commission. Someone with a disability is probably going to take longer and need more individual consultation with the retail staff in order to find a phone. The key to a smooth shopping experience is for the retailer to remember that while customers are the experts on their disability, they may need to be the expert when it comes to mobile phones. We re talking about a diverse group of people. Some are very technically savvy they know that they need to have particular software for the S60 operating system for example but some don t know exactly how a feature will work for them, says TEDICORE s Gunela Astbrink. Nokia puts information about each model s accessibility features on the Nokia Accessibility website for both retailers and consumers to consult. Advocacy groups can also help customers shortlist suitable models. Making a final selection often comes down to getting hands-on experience. For practical and financial reasons, not every store will carry 32