Free phone for deaf and hard of hearing from Caption Call

Quote from danawhite : only a tiny percentage is deaf. but 99.9% is ugly. the gov't can't work miracles.

lol, repped.

heh? .

Quote from thinkfire : . You can't flip them on eBay. When they installed mine, they had to activate it with my online account. There is an activation process involved and it has to be tied to your home phone number. The FCC tracks the minutes used on the phone and reimburses CaptionCall for it. Those taxes everyone pays on those phone bills are part of what funds these programs to allow equal access to telecommunications, whether it be that you are handicapped or live way out in a rural area.

So this needs the internet for the service or just for updates? Too bad if it needs it all the time, but seems like it would be helpful

Quote from howardmd : So this needs the internet for the service or just for updates? Too bad if it needs it all the time, but seems like it would be helpful

It needs to be on the internet, at least while you are captioning a phone call.

The way I understand it after digging around and watching network traffic. It works like this:

When someone calls you, you pick up, the phone relays their voice via VOIP packets back to their servers. Their servers analyze the voice (voice recognition) and then sends the captioning information back to your phone via UDP packets. There are sometimes green letters that change a few seconds into a conversation and it appears, that whenever the voice recognition isn't sure of a word or two, it flags it for the human operator (who must also be listening in) to check it and correct it based on what he/she heard. I believe they can also only hear the one side of the conversation coming from the other party that needs captioning.

There is also an answering machine function available, where it relays any voice heard through the mic part of the phone back to their servers and the same process takes place. This is where you hold the phone up to your answering machine and it captions your answer machine for you.

It's very handy and definately makes my phone calls much less stressful, for both parties involved. I love it. Had it about 3 months now and there is no catch.

The installer told me that the taxes everyone pays on their phone bills is what funds the program.

I am also able to login to my account online and add my contacts (like speed dial) along with a picture and the information is synced up with the phone's contact list along with the image you upload to that contact.

It has a capacitive touch screen, smooth/flick scrolling, allows me to save my conversations for future reference (I do this for Drs appointments and telephone numbers), recent calls list, caller id, LOUD LOUD ringer, LOUD handset, hearing aid compatible so it doesn't cause feedback, audiogram settings to fine tune it to your hearing loss, etc etc etc. This thing is one heck of a piece of specialized equipment.

Quote from thinkfire : It needs to be on the internet, at least while you are captioning a phone call. The way I understand it after digging around and watching network traffic. It works like this: When someone calls you, you pick up, the phone relays their voice via VOIP packets back to their servers. Their servers analyze the voice (voice recognition) and then sends the captioning information back to your phone. There are sometimes green letters that change a few seconds into a conversation and it appears, that whenever the voice recognition isn't sure of a word or two, it flags it for the human operator (who must also be listening in) to check it and correct it based on what he/she heard. I believe they can also only hear the one side of the conversation coming from the other party that needs captioning. There is also an answering machine function available, where it relays any voice heard through the mic part of the phone back to their servers and the same process takes place. This is where you hold the phone up to your answering machine and it captions your answer machine for you. It's very handy and definately makes my phone calls much less stressful, for both parties involved. I love it. Had it about 3 months now and there is no catch. The installer told me that the taxes everyone pays on their phone bills is what funds the program. I am also able to login to my account online and add my contacts (like speed dial) along with a picture and the information is synced up with the phone's contact list along with the image you upload to that contact. It has a capacitive touch screen, smooth/flick scrolling, allows me to save my conversations for future reference (I do this for Drs appointments and telephone numbers), recent calls list, caller id, LOUD LOUD ringer, LOUD handset, hearing aid compatible so it doesn't cause feedback, audiogram settings to fine tune it to your hearing loss, etc etc etc. This thing is one heck of a piece of specialized equipment.

Thank you for the reply! I was able to find out that it does need the internet, but you've added a lot more information. I really wish my family would pitch in to get a base level internet service in there to utilize this deal. It sounds like exactly what would do the most help and like you said be much less stressful. Thanks again!

Quote from howardmd : Thank you for the reply! I was able to find out that it does need the internet, but you've added a lot more information. I really wish my family would pitch in to get a base level internet service in there to utilize this deal. It sounds like exactly what would do the most help and like you said be much less stressful. Thanks again!

No problem. So many people could use this that don't know about it. I sing praise for it anytime i see or hear about it.

reminds me of the iprelay days.

Quote from TouchMint : reminds me of the iprelay days.

I had too much fun when I was younger with iprelay with AIM. lol.

Thanks OP! My husband is 100% deaf and this looks VERY cool! I just sent him the link to read about it!

A program similar to this or this exact one flies there installer to people's houses to "install" the device. That is a huge waste of tax dollars. It should be as easy as a voip device.

Interesting device but I was kind of shocked when I saw that it appears Caption Calls gets $1.76 per minute for the service!

Similar program from Sprint, called CapTel. Info about it is here [sprint800.com].

Quote from orphicdragon : To order a free* CaptionCall phone now, simply click on the green 'REQUEST INFO' button, complete the form with your contact information and the promo code referenced above, and click 'Submit'. Once your order is submitted, a CaptionCall Representative will contact you to answer your questions and to schedule the delivery and installation of a free CaptionCall phone.

Hello? Hello? I'm sorry, but I can't hear you. Can you call back later after I get my new CaptionCall phone?

Quote from infin8007 : holy crap that's a good idea, let me order 10 now! kidding. I am hard of hearing... but i'm not ordering any. too bad it doesn't come in a cell phone version. it's a waste of tax payer money if you ask me.. just cuz you're hard of hearing doesn't mean you're poor. I'm facially challenged, is the gov't going to give me plastic surgery?

Oh crap. Come to think of it, I am actually physically challenged. I am in need to be buff like those celebrities. Am I provided with free personal body builder?
I am not done! The amount of school work causes my eyes to deteriorate. I am now visually challenged as well! I am in need of free LASIK surgery!!!