Full Transcript
Bari:
The phone is running on Android, behind the scenes
Pete:
Please welcome to our podcast, from BlindShell USA, president and CEO Bari Azman.
Bari:
It may not be your traditional smartphone, but the BlindShell Classic 2 is pretty intelligent.
Pete:
And senior program director Diane Ducharme.
Diane:
I think that is just so exciting, that people can improve themselves intellectually, physically, and emotionally, because it allows you to stay in contact with people.
Pete:
Presenting the latest product in the BlindShell accessible phone series, the BlindShell Classic 2. Expanding its features…
Bari:
Whether they want to communicate via phone call, email, SMS, WhatsApp, those are all built into the phone today.
Pete:
Increasing its power…
Diane:
There is a screen on BlindShell, however you do not need to see the screen to be able to use the phone. Somebody who is totally blind can use the BlindShell with no issues at all.
Pete:
A phone that brings together the best of two worlds: smartphone capabilities…
Bari:
We’re getting to a point where we are seeing people migrating over from a traditional smartphone to the BlindShell.
Pete:
And tactile buttons.
Bari:
For us at BlindShell, status quo is not the answer.
Pete:
And now join Jeff Thompson and myself as we explore the BlindShell Classic 2 accessible phone.
Diane:
It’s an incredible phone.
Jeff:
Welcome to Blind Abilities. I’m Jeff Thompson.
Pete:
And I’m Pete Lane.
Jeff:
Pete, it’s kind of exciting. Today we got something that’s brand new but it kind of brings back the past to me a little bit, it’s tactile keypad, it’s an accessible cell phone.
Pete:
Yes it is. And it’s called the BlindShell accessible phone, and it’s very exciting.
Jeff:
That’s the BlindShell Classic 2.
Pete:
Ah, yeah. The Classic 2, Jeffrey.
Jeff:
I’m excited about it. There’s a lot of features being added all the time to it, and we got two members of the team coming into the Blind Abilities studio. Pete, why don’t you bring them in?
Pete:
I sure will, Jeffrey. It’s my pleasure to introduce our two guests today. First of all, we have Bari Azman, who is the president and CEO of BlindShell USA. And Diane Ducharme, who is the senior program director of BlindShell USA. Welcome.
Bari:
Thank you so much. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you, Pete. It’s truly an honor to be here today.
Pete:
Tell us about the phone. Let’s get right to it, Bari.
Bari:
So I think you guys are both familiar with the original BlindShell Classic. The BlindShell Classic 2 was released in late 2021, and it’s our flagship phone today. It’s really become, you know, the center point of the BlindShell family. The phone has a physical keypad, tactile buttons. It’s got a new and improved and amplified speaker, really powerful volume. Everything is menu driven. It’s very similar as far as the actual software and the platform that it’s on to the original Classic. The phone’s got just a tremendous amount of incredible features that are packed into this small little device. It may not be your traditional smart. But the BlindShell Classic 2 is pretty intelligent. We’re very excited about it, because the phone is running on Android behind the scenes. And so it’s giving us a lot more opportunity to bring in practical applications that will assist individuals within the sight loss community to an even greater level. So, you know, today the phone has a lot of great features. It’s packed with, you know, outstanding options, not just the two colors that it comes in, Cardinal Red or Midnight Black. You know, we’re talking about communication here, right? Everyone’s looking to communicate in their preferred manner, whether they want to communicate via phone call, email, SMS, WhatsApp, those are all built into the phone today. You know, the platform itself offers a diverse range of opportunities and abilities for people to get their message out there at whatever medium they choose to communicate.
Jeff:
Diane, I was excited about the BlindShell Classic 2 accessible cell phone. I heard Aira announce that they were going to be able to be on that phone. And then I saw Be My Eyes, WhatsApp, weather reports and FM radio. It’s like, this is all the stuff that a smartphone offers. It’s not just a cell phone. It’s actually got features in there that people are looking for when they’re going to look for any type of phone. And this with the tactile really brings it to blind users, newly blind users that are familiar with the keypad.
Diane:
Yeah, absolutely. There is a screen on BlindShell. However, you do not need to see the screen to be able to use the phone. So if you are a partial, you can still see the screen. That’s just a little added beni- for you, but somebody who is totally blind can use the BlindShell with no issues at all because of the tactile screen. It reminds me of like calculator buttons, those kind of buttons with a big, pronounced dot on the number five. So, yeah, it’s more than just a communication device. It has become a piece of technology that is state of the art, really.
Pete:
So you have the emphasis on “smart” in accessible smartphone.
Diane:
Yes, but I always say that the phone is never as smart as the user.
Pete:
With the exception of a couple of people right here on this side of the table.
Jeff:
Hey, hey, hey, hey. I really like that people can use audio book speech control, I saw on there. Voice control, I believe you call it. Yeah, one button. Explain that to us.
Diane:
So there is a button on the side of the phone that will allow you to dictate to the phone. So if you press it, it says, listen after the beep and then you can say “Call Bob” if Bob is in your contacts or “Call” and you can give it a phone number, you can also do that with a text as well. And then once you are in your edit box, you can also dictate to it.
Pete:
Very nice. I think some of our listeners are probably wondering about the form factor. How big is it? How thick is it? And you said that there’s a screen on there. I assume the screen is on the front of the phone, along with the keypad. How are those proportioned? Tell us a little bit about how it feels and how it looks.
Bari:
I would say the screen takes up about half, maybe a little bit more than half the face of the phone. I’m gonna look up the actual length of the phone. The screen takes up quite a bit of the phone, but then you have tactile buttons below the screen. And then you have the physical keypad with, you know, really nice size numbers that are spread out nicely.
Jeff:
So when someone’s using the tactile buttons, I know with the glass screen, there’s a learning curve of learning gestures and all sorts of other things that people have never done, but with tactile it’s pushing buttons. How is the menu structure built? Is it user friendly?
Diane:
It’s very user friendly. So you would use the navigation bars that are in the center of the phone. I call it an equal sign. So it reminds me of- so you scroll up, you scroll down and then once you choose the menu you would like to go into, then you just hit the okay button, which is above the number one. And then to back out of anything, there’s a diagonal slash, which is above the number three.
Pete:
Very nice.
Bari:
I just wanna say the phone is about 5.19 inches, as far as, you know, the actual length of the phone.
Diane:
Yeah. And it’s a very sturdy phone. You do not have to baby it like you do with a smartphone.
Pete:
Pretty lightweight.
Bari:
It is. It’s a hundred grams, which translates into just under a quarter of a pound.
Jeff:
So when someone receives the BlindShell Classic Two phone, how do they start? How do they take it out of the box and how do they get connected?
Diane:
So they’d have to first peel off the back of the phone and there’s a little groove on the back that you could stick your nail in there, peel off the back, stick the battery in. It only goes in one way, and then charge up your phone before you even take it somewhere to get activated. And then once your phone is charged, you can go to T-Mobile and they can activate your phone. Or if getting to T-Mobile is an issue you can always email accessibilitystore@tmobile.com and they can help you with sending you a SIM card, or you can also call me and I can help you get connected with T-Mobile.
Pete:
Now, currently I understand that T-Mobile is essentially the only carrier in the US?
Bari:
You can purchase the phone through a host of fine authorized resellers. As far as to actual cellular networks that are supporting the phone, T-Mobile today is the only carrier that we can guarantee that a person will have continued service on. There are talks about other carriers coming on board, but that’s something maybe down the road.
Jeff:
I looked up the phone online and I got whole bunch of assorted places that are selling the phone. It’s available. It’s out on Amazon. And if they got it, everyone’s got it. It was really neat to see that this isn’t just something that’s hidden in a back room somewhere. This is a public, available phone.
Diane:
So, unfortunately at this time you cannot go into a T-Mobile store and purchase it. However, if you go on our website, blindshellusa.com, there’s a link “where to buy” and you could click on that, find many distributors.
Jeff:
The other thing that really I mentioned before was Aira. And that was kind of exciting because they’re even offering, what is it a couple months?
Bari:
Yes, that is correct. For all BlindShell users, they will be able to receive three free months of Aira service.
Jeff:
Oh, that’s awesome.
Pete:
Is that indefinite at this point or is it limited?
Bari:
To be determined. There are some additional details that will be released in the coming days further outlining that, but for now safe to say that for the near future, any new BlindShell users will be able to receive three free months, free.
Pete:
And you don’t wanna break the news right here on Blind Abilities with us?
Bari:
Maybe we’ll do that together with Aira.
Jeff:
There you go.
Diane:
And I just want to let people know if you already have the BlindShell and you’re like, I don’t have Aira, you’ll get a push, a notification push of when it’s gonna be available in the app catalog.
Jeff:
So if someone wanted to put Be My Eyes on their phone, do they hook up to the WiFi and download it? I read somewhere that the BlindShell has its own app catalog.
Diane:
Yes. So they would go into the app catalog, then they could select, I believe at this point we have 33 apps you can download, and it’s very easy. You just click on it. It asks you if you wanna install it, click the okay button. It automatically downloads it, installs it, and then you’re good to go.
Jeff:
You know, this reminds me, there’s a lot of people that use the Victor Stream for reading books or other things, you know, people like that, that they could just hit the buttons, they got total control over it, there’s no questions asked. They just hit the okay button and they’re off and running. So this is something that I believe a lot of people will be familiar with right out of the box.
Diane:
You know, it’s very similar in size to the Victor Stream as well. Maybe a little taller and it’s not as wide, but it is very similar to the Victor Stream. It’s got the headphone jack and the way to charge it is on the bottom. The port’s on the bottom. So it’s kind of laid out similar to the Victor Stream.
Pete:
Oh, that’s a good point you just made, Diane, that it has the headphone jack, which frankly out there in the blind community is still a point of contention with Apple, that they’ve removed the headphone jack. So this definitely has a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack. Let’s talk a little bit about, since Jeff asked the question a moment ago, about how to get started. What comes in the box when you receive the Classic 2?
Bari:
So what’s inside the box is you have a replaceable lithium ion battery. It comes with a BlindShell desktop charging cradle. You have three BlindShell NFC tags for personal customization, earbud style headphones, USBC charging cable with wall outlet adaptor. You have a BlindShell branded lanyard. You have the BlindShell Classic 2 quick start guide, the user manual. And of course the actual phone.
Jeff:
Let’s go back to the NFC tags. You got my interest there.
Pete:
Yeah.
Bari:
Okay. Diane, enlighten.
Diane:
Okay. So the tags are very similar to the way, the way around tags use, if you’re familiar with those. You would pair a tag to the phone, use your voice to label what the item is, and then use the phone to figure out what’s in the box that you label.
Jeff:
Oh, nice.
Pete:
That is nice. And you mentioned that it has USBC charging capability. Is that a new format?
Diane:
Yeah.
Bari:
The BlindShell Classic 2 straight outta the box was designed with the USBC port. And so I have to say it’s really a game changer. A lot of people are surprised to see, and pleasantly surprised to see the USBC port there because it’s added quite a bit.
Diane:
And one thing that BlindShell has that Victor Stream does not, BlindShell has Bluetooth.
Jeff:
Ah, there you go.
Pete:
Excellent. I want to talk about the charging a little longer. I think you mentioned, Bari, did you not, that it has a USBC charging cable and wall outlet and a charging cradle.
Bari:
Yes.
Pete:
Can you use either/or, the cradle, is that a separate device?
Bari:
Yeah, the cradle is a separate standalone unit, obviously it’s USBC as well. So you can go from wall outlet adapter, USBC cable, right into the cradle. So if you wanted your phone on the cradle by your bedside or wherever you prefer, in the kitchen, wherever it may be, you have that option where you can just literally put it down, charge, pick it up and go, or you have the option to go straight in, wall adaptor, USBC cable, straight into the phone. So you do have that flexibility.
Pete:
Nice.
Jeff:
I like the lanyard that comes with it too, because people that are using Aira are familiar with that form factor to actually maneuver the phone while you have your cane or something like that too.
Bari:
Yeah. So it gives you that hands free option when you are using a service Aira, that is correct.
Pete:
I was reading about a couple of very cool kind of shortcut, but they’re buttons on the actual physical phone, the side button is a programmable button. Talk about that and the SOS button if you don’t mind.
Diane:
So the button on the side that I referred to before, that you can use to dictate. If you just tap it, you can program favorites into there, so you don’t have to go into the menu to find Google Lookout or Aira. You can just tap your button on the side, get a list of your favorites. And then the SOS button is on the back of the phone, and it’s indented so it’s very easy to find, and you would program either 911 or a family member, and then you would be able to contact them. So you would hit that button, it would say, are you sure you want to call your emergency contact? You would hit the okay button and then it would dial it. And the reason it does the verification is so that you don’t accidentally dial that number when you didn’t want to.
Jeff:
I really like that. You got my attention again with the Google Lookout app.
Diane:
Google Lookout is so awesome. And I was an iPhone user, so I didn’t even know it existed until I was on the BlindShell. And I was like, oh, what’s this?
Jeff:
I saw them at the conference and they were talking about it, but it was on Android. So I feigned interest for a while, and I thought they had a good product there. And this is like, oh, there it is. Oh, that’s right. It’s Android based, so good job.
Diane:
I have a favorite Google Lookout story. I was in the office one day and I dropped my ID and I couldn’t find it. I was getting so annoyed and I pulled out the BlindShell and I opened up Google Lookout to the explore mode, and I scanned the camera on the floor. And as soon as it started to read my ID, I reached down and there it was.
Pete:
How about that.
Jeff:
Wow.
Diane:
Awesome.
Bari:
It’s one of my favorite stories as well.
Pete:
Life is getting so simple these days. That’s great.
Jeff:
And the BlindShell Classic 2 accessible cell phone is helping us get there.
Pete:
Definitely moving us forward.
Bari:
Absolutely.
Diane:
I think that the BlindShell Classic 2 really enhances somebody’s quality of life because you have all these features on there. You have Audible, you have a step counter and you know, sometimes that’s an issue in the blindness community, exercise and physical fitness. So if the BlindShell 2 has a step counter and people are actually having contests now with each other, oh, how many steps did you walk today? I love it. I think that is just so exciting that people can improve themselves intellectually, physically and emotionally, because it allows you to stay in contact with people.
Pete:
That’s great. The Classic 2 has got a lot of new features, but some of them are kind of flying under the radar. For example, there’s an automatic night mode or something similar to a do not disturb feature. Talk about that.
Diane:
Yeah. So that’s fairly new and it’s exactly what you said. It’s a do not disturb feature and people seem to be enjoying that, because otherwise you would have to turn your phone off to not get a notification at night.
Jeff:
You know, listening to all these features that are just coming out. This is growing and growing. I mean, I saw color detection, I mentioned that FM radio earlier, this is a device that feels like regular smartphone, but it has the tactile to it. So it seems like it has everything we wanted before when we feared the glass, and yet you guys are building it and making it grow, so it seems like a viable option especially to someone that’s probably newly blind or someone that’s older and not familiar with the glass.
Diane:
Yes. It truly is expanding, and I always call it a hybrid phone because of what it can do. So it has this amazing podcast reader that is so easy to use and it has Amazon and it has Audible and it’s just packed with features.
Pete:
And all of these are available through the app catalog right there on the device.
Diane:
Yes.
Pete:
That’s really cool. I think hybrid is an excellent term, Diane, ‘cause it’s kind of blending the best of both worlds. And again, as Jeff mentioned a moment ago, the flat glass screen scares people, especially those who are new to blindness, and that would be the seniors and the folks who are just newly blind. That they still have access to a tactile button to navigate menus, something with which they’re very familiar, probably having gotten a taste of those through even their computer keyboard, you know, just pressing on a button to get to a menu-
Jeff:
Remote control.
Pete:
Up and down, remote control, that kind of thing. Is there a new capability now with a keyboard on the BlindShell accessible phone?
Diane:
Yes. So if your keyboard has the USBC into the BlindShell, then you can use it.
Jeff:
Wow. Where’s it stop, Diane? Where’s it stop.
Diane:
It doesn’t! It’ll never stop. One thing that I didn’t mention is the battery lasts 96 hours, which is insane.
Jeff:
Whoa! 96 hours. I’ll be old by then.
Pete:
I don’t know if I can wait that long.
Bari:
You know, if you were to purchase the phone today, right, it’s packed with all these amazing features. And for us at BlindShell as a whole, status quo is not the answer. We are continuously pushing the boundaries and we have plans that are in place to bring a lot of practical applications that people use on a daily basis to bring that to the BlindShell Classic 2 platform. So there is a lot of exciting things in the pipeline that I really think would just- yeah, the phone’s great today, but just to take it to a whole ‘’nother level in the very near future.
Jeff:
Well, I’m really excited to be part of helping get the word out there. I was talking to Pete about it and he was, he was more cautious than me and I just look at the big picture, and then Pete started looking it up and he came on board more and more with it.
Pete:
Very excited. And you touched on it, Bari, you’ve got some certainty here that this phone will appeal to existing smartphone users that have the flat glass screen and switch.
Bari:
Yeah, I mentioned before, BlindShell runs on Android, but it’s a closed ecosystem, right? You can’t just go and start downloading applications. And the reason for that is that, you know, the phone is a hundred percent accessible. And if we would allow users just to start downloading applications, probably they’re gonna run into some serious issues from an accessibility standpoint, so we’ve limited that. We are working to open up the floodgates per se, and to integrate applications that people need to use on a daily basis, right, to provide and continue to provide independence. And that’s where we’re focused on bringing those types of applications onto the phone. We’re getting to a point where we are seeing, continuously, people migrating over from a traditional smartphone to the BlindShell. It’s really encouraging to see it through the various channels which we receive feedback. It’s an incredible day today, you know, as far as technology, where technology sits, to be able to provide all these features to individuals living with sight loss, to be able to enhance quality of life. It’s ongoing. Technology is endless. And we see great things on the horizon.
Jeff:
I really like that you said the stuff that you used on a daily basis, because I have 14 pages of apps on my phone. And to tell you the truth, I might use seven on a daily basis. When I go and look at what I have open and stuff like that, there might be seven on a daily basis. So I think this is a great opportunity for people to jump on right now.
Pete:
Yes, agreed.
Diane:
And one unexpected thing that we found is people who have a BlindShell, they’re showing it to somebody who’s sighted and the sighted person’s like, oh, I really love the simplicity of that phone, but I don’t need the talking. Well, in the latest update, now there’s an option to mute the speech. So it is now something that somebody who is sighted, who loves the simplicity of the menu and doesn’t have to swipe and tap, it’s becoming an option for them as well.
Pete:
That’s great. Why don’t you share with us how we might reach out and contact you guys, your contact information, emails, phone numbers, things along those lines.
Bari:
Yeah, absolutely. So BlindShell USA is our main website. On the website you can find all the information you need about the BlindShell Classic 2 and the original Classic. If you were to scroll down on the site, we have a section, where to buy. You can purchase BlindShell Classic 2 cell phones and accessories from a whole assortment of retailers throughout the country. One of the things that we are working on is to get physical demonstration units into a significant number of locations throughout the country. You know, people are always asking, well, where can I go ahead and get a demonstration? Where can I physically touch and feel the phone? So we’re working hard. But if anyone out there is interested in the phone, we suggest that you reach out to your local department of rehabilitation services or telecommunications equipment distribution to get the phone, because people do want to see it and people want to, you know, touch and feel, but it’s available. It’s out there. You can find all the retailers on our site under where to buy. We provide customer service and technical support as well. So individuals can reach out to info@blindshellusa for any customer service related issues. Or you could reach out to support@blindshellusa for any technical support, and we will do our best to respond in a very timely fashion. You know, sometimes people just have simple questions and again, we’re here and happy to support it. A lot of our retailers have a good knowledge about the phone, but if there’s something that they’re not familiar with, reach out to us, we’re happy to make that connection and to make sure that you are using your phone to its maximum capabilities.
Pete:
That’s great, ‘cause support and service are critical components of a good product these days. Bari and Diane, are there any other messages that you wanted to get out to our audience?
Diane
Well, I just want to say that you do not need to be afraid to dive into the BlindShell world, because as soon as you get your phone, you can always call me, and I will walk through all the features and get you going on this phone because it’s an incredible phone, and we are here definitely to provide you customer support. We’re not gonna let you flounder. That’s the difference between us and other phones out there. We make sure that you are proficient on your phone.
Bari:
Yep, and to start that conversation through contact us on the website, you can submit a request there, that is the best way to start the conversation. So we can, you know, properly manage incoming requests. You can, again, fill out a contact form on the website, or you can just straight up email info@blindshellusa. We will respond to you and we will provide you the necessary support that you need. We’ve seen a countless number of users who have spoken with us and it’s made a dramatic, dramatic difference in how they communicate today. And it’s nice to see that.
Pete:
Is there a newsletter or any type of vehicle through which you would communicate with folks on your website?
Bari:
Absolutely. So on the website, again on BlindShell USA, and it’s b-l-i-n-d-s-h-e-l-l-u-s-a.com. You can scroll to the bottom of the homepage, where you can choose the option to subscribe to our newsletter and put your email address in there, click on the subscribe button, and you will be included on our monthly or, you know, we send out emails from time to time with updates and news, as far as what’s going on, and definitely you want to register there to stay up to date with everything happening with BlindShell.
Pete:
Outstanding. Jeffrey, any other questions from you?
Jeff:
I just want to thank you, Bari and Diane, for coming on and sharing with us and the listeners everything about the BlindShell Classic 2accessible cell phone. Hey, I got that right now.
Bari:
You got it. You know what? There’s a lot of buzz around the country with BlindShell, and we’re really excited to be part of this, I don’t know if you wanna call it a revolution, but there’s a lot of momentum. There’s a great community out there, and it’s just great to see the continued success stories, how the BlindShell Classic 2 is making an impact on how people communicate. Very proud to be part of this.
Jeff:
Well, thank you very much.
Pete:
Thank you very much.
Bari:
Thank you, Jeff, thank you, Pete, as well, for giving us the opportunity to be here today.
Diane:
Thank you.
Pete:
We’d like to thank Bari and Diane from BlindShell USA for joining us on Blind Abilities today. Be sure to check out all the information on their website, www.blindshellusa.com and as usual, for more podcasts from a blindness perspective, check us out on our website at www.blindabilities.com. Thanks to Chee Chau for his beautiful music, and thanks so much for listening. Have a great day.
[Music] [Transition noise] -When we share
-What we see
-Through each other’s eyes…
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.
Jeff:
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