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Mobile Geo User StoriesName: Shane Jackson Profession: Information Technology Manager at Solid Ground Christian Books Country: United States Story: I have been using Mobile Speak since May of 2007, and it has revolutionized my life in many ways. I am able to conduct business at home, in the office and on the road with my AT&T 8525, use the PDA with my portable BrailleConnect Braille display to utilize Excel spreadsheets, e-mails, word documents, and many other things that I would normally do on my PC at home or in the hotel room. I also use the PDA and Mobile Speak to stream online audio and video, attend online classes, download user information for our shop, record notes when necessary, and on and on. I trust that Mobile Speak will continue to grow and gain more support as the months go by, and I look forward to finding more uses for it. Thanks to the wonderful folks at Code Factory, we now have a viable and enjoyable mobile solution that puts us on the same footing as our sighted counterparts! Name: Mike Calvo Profession: Chief Executive Officer of Serotek Corporation Country: United States Story: I have been using Code Factory products since 2005. As an executive of an adaptive technology company I can't imagine how I ever got along without Mobile Speak for my PDA and now for my cell phone. Keeping up with employees, customers, and personal contacts, not to mention entertainment is effortless with these products. Oh yeah, and the pricing is actually reasonable. Keep up the great work guys! Name: Mark Taylor Country: United States Story: This past Saturday night, at approximately 11pm, I received a call from an old buddy of mine who asked me if I would like to go grab a cup of coffee at The International House of Pancakes (iHOP). Since my wife had already retired for the evening and my two feline owners of 15 years, Amy and Rosalie were clearly finding me annoying, I accepted his invitation. Don't worry ladies, I asked my wife if I could go and she sleepily approved. Believe me, I know the pecking order in this house; my wife, then Rosalie (who adopted me first), then Amy, and finally at the very bottom of the totem pole, me. (Smile). But I digress ... Anyway, after he picked me up, he received a call from some friends inviting us over to a popular Los Angeles pub. Being an old man of 42 and rarely venturing out into the Los Angeles nightlife in favor of staying in and enjoying my comfortable home, I reluctantly agreed. Remembering how irked my wife had been when I woke her to ask if I could go out, in the first place, I decided to make an actual unilateral decision all on my own, a risk to be sure. Further, I wanted to spare myself the embarrassment of having to ask her in front of my buddy, a confirmed bachelor who, rightly or wrongly, believes that all married men are spineless jellyfish. Hmm, I'm starting to believe that, myself. I'll tell you the truth, the real reason I was so very reluctant to go to the pub was because I was all set to enjoy a big warm plate of hot blueberry pancakes drowned in sweet soothing syrup with a side of crispy bacon and a tall cold glass of orange juice, nah, probably cranberry juice, yes, definitely cranberry juice. I will not bore you with the details of my two hours of torture in a dark, loud, smelly, drunkard infested tavern of hell in which I swore I would never frequent again. Instead I will fast forward to when my friend and I found ourselves driving up and down mostly dark and deserted Long Beach boulevards desperately searching for some place, no, any place to eat. Did I mention that neither he nor I live in Long Beach? Fighting the urge to reach over and thump my friend on his big bulbous shaven head for having ever called me in the first place (after all, it's always someone else's fault), I remembered that I had my beloved Samsung Epix SGH-i907 Smartphone complete with Mobile Geo in my Bat Belt. Oh yeah! I also had to fight the urge to call my wife and say, "HELP!!!!! Come and get me!!!" (Smile) By this time, it must have been around 1:30am, we were totally lost in some big condo development. I told my friend to stop the car and just wait. "Wait for what?" he asked, impatiently. "Just wait," I replied as I launched Mobile Geo. Because I did not have my external Bluetooth GPS receiver, I set Mobile Geo to use the phone's internal GPS receiver, instead. I was absolutely astonished when, in less than 40 seconds, Geo informed me that it was tracking 9 satellites with an accuracy rating within 15 feet. God! I love my Epix! It is an amazing device, worthy of Mobile Geo, to be sure. With my hands shaking, (for this was a real situation, not a trial test) I decided to search for a Del Taco 24-hour restaurant near my house. Sensing that my apple-headed friend was about to ask me a banana-brained question, I quickly said, "Just a minute, man; I can do this; this is going to work." In the edit field of the Advanced Search Dialog Box, I entered "Del Taco" and chose to search by name. Within seconds, Geo informed me of the distance and direction to the Del Taco restaurant near my house, two cities away. With a feeling of complete triumph I looked over at my friend and said excitedly, "Got it. We're n business, brother!" "Great," he replied. "Which way do we go?" "One more minute, all I have to do is create a route and ..." Tapping the [Enter] key to open the details screen, I tapped the Options button and selected to create a Motorized route to the restaurant. Geo instructed us to drive east and turn left. After I relayed these instructions to my friend, he asked, "Which way is east?" To which I replied, somewhat sharply, "I don't know. Just drive." He hit the gas and we took off. Frankly, it felt good to just be moving again; believe me, you don't want to sit still in the city they call Long Beach. Within 40 feet or so, Geo informed me that we were off-route and asked if I would like to recalculate. Feeling as though a guardian angel was watching over us, I tapped the "OK" button. Almost instantly, Geo recalculated the route and gave new driving instructions. From then on, it was smooth sailing all the way to that tantalizing tabernacle of tasty taco tummy temptations. My buddy, having never used a GPS navigation solution was quite literally beside himself with amazement. As my friend dropped me off, safe and sound, in front of my house in the cool crisp southern California Sunday morning sea breeze, all he wanted to know is from where he could purchase Mobile Geo. Too tired to explain, I said, "I'll tell you all about it, tomorrow, OK?" Revving the engine, he said, "You know, it was like magic, wasn't it?" Tapping a button in my shirt pocket, causing my garage door to open and hoping that my beloved wife would not be awakened by its familiar rattle, I said with a grin spreading across my face and joy flowing through my soul, "Hey! When you hang out with Mark Marcus, you're hanging out with magic." We both chuckled and with that, I shut his car door and walked into my house, closing my garage door afterwards. And that's what I mean when I say, "Mobile Geo is making mobile magic." Name: Tamas Geczy Profession: 10th-grade student (Class of 2010) at Orange High School Country: United States Story: Before immigrating to the USA from Hungary, I would never have thought talking cell phones existed. Today, Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile makes the difference: the user-friendly way it displays and speaks the information, its ease of use, and the unbeatable review cursor is a plus. It only took me 2 days to get used to my Motorola Q9M from Verizon Wireless, thanks to the easy - to - remember shortcut keys. In my mind, Mobile Speak is more than just a screen reader. It is an ultimate tool which I use to prove to my classmates that in deed, I can use a phone just like them without problems. It is there when I have to call my mom, text my friend or enter an important homework assignment into my calendar. Mobile Speak has made a dramatic impact on my everyday life, and I wish to extend all my gratitude to Code Factory for developing such a powerful, useful, and effective product. Name: Chris Hofstader Profession: Universal accessibility specialist, consultant to various projects developing new access technology solutions Country: United States Story: It is my firm belief that Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile from Code Factory provides the best combination of usability, flexibility and affordability available to blind people today. I've used this exciting program on my T-Mobile Dash for nearly two years now, and I find that I never turn my PAC Mate on anymore. Because Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile run on mainstream hardware platforms, they represent the first time blind consumers can enjoy the tremendously lower prices that come from mass production - a feature of pricing that sighted people take for granted. I highly recommend trying Mobile Speak before making an expensive AT purchasing decision. Name: Courtney Tater Profession: Network Administrator / ASP.net Web Applications Developer Country: United States Story: Built on top of the Sendero GPS engine, Mobile Geo is probably the most significant breakthrough in independent travel for a blind / deaf blind or visually impaired person to date. The vibratory alerts based on Morse code available with smart phones will even make it possible to be directed without having to rely on audio (a welcome addition I am sure that hearing impaired customers will appreciate). You could possibly create a route, place your phone on your belt and be notified on events with distinct vibrations while you travel hands free. I have always been fascinated with GPS technology since I was introduced to it a few years ago and I have explored a number of different GPS solutions. Mobile Geo is the most comprehensive, compact and flexible GPS tool available for the blind of all the various products I have come across. I no longer have to worry about always carrying around a number of fairly bulky devices by today's standard. By taking advantage of the Built in GPS on the Mogul, I have one device, only a few ounces to lug around. If I am traveling it is easy to quickly find a location such as a restaurant or store, create a route and even have the ability to call the business ahead of time all through the Mobile Geo interface. Launching Mobile Geo is as easy as pressing a hardware button mapped to it or even by using Microsoft's voice command. It is amazing how Code Factory was able to develop Mobile Geo so that I can still multitask and have access to geo directly from another application. I don't have to worry about loosing my place in an email or on a web page. I can just tap a zone on the screen to obtain my current position, find where my next turn is or check my destination to find out how much more time before my bus stops. Thanks to the Sendero Group's comprehensive points of interests I am able to hear where even the next bus stop is along with bus number and direction. Mobile Geo is also the first Blindness GPS product that can literally be installed on hundreds of device. I have the ability to change my device and not have to worry about losing Mobile Geo. I now have the flexibility to take my GPS with me in more ways than one. With the introduction of Mobile Geo the bar has been raised once again for the blind to have intuitive and convenient access to the nearby surroundings any time anywhere. I wasn't able to have an accessible GPS solution with me all the time but now I am able to take Mobile Geo with me everywhere I go. What better place for a GPS solution for the blind than on a cell phone? Current MSP users will come to appreciate the seamless integration with MSP type functionality. It is amazing how easy it is to find out where you are located by just touching the top left on the touch screen or by a single press of a number. My goal is to have an all in one solution where most of my daily tools are able to coexist in one convenient device. Mobile Geo has gone a long way to help me fulfill this dream. Name: Greg Rogers Profession: Intern, Sprint and Nextel Country: United States Story: Prior to being introduced to Mobile Geo I knew of several GPS solutions for the visually impaired but didn't pursue them for several reasons. Most, if not all of them were device specific as opposed to Mobile Geo which is not. If I had decided on another solution I would've had to purchase and carry an external receiver and I felt that was too combersom for my liking. That's what excited me the most about Mobile Geo. I could use my phone's internal receiver as well as all of the other notetaking functions that it does in one device. In addition, Code Factory and Sendero group have catored to the phone functionality by allowing the user to call Points of Interest of contacts right from the Mobile Geo Screen. They have also implemented vibratory feedback for Windows Mobile Smartphones like the Sprint Motorola q9c and the Samsung Black Jack line of phones. This is great as I can keep my phone and bluetooth handsfree in my pocket and the phone will give me haptic feedback grabbing my attention when the next turn is approaching in a route or when other important messages are announced. For these reasons, I believe that Mobile Geo is by far the best solution for individuals like myself who are visually impaired. Thanks again for your dilligent efforts on such a unique product! Name: Jeff Wheatley Profession: Software Developer / Enterprise Architect Country: United States Story: While I confess that I wrestled with using Geo for a while as we were heading out to pick up my daughter, once I finally got the hang of insuring I was in GPS mode and correctly defining a destination and source, the instructions provided were spot on. The ability to pull up the list of turns to 'look ahead' without impacting the announcements was extremely helpful. The smooth integration of clock-face, front-behind-left-right and even cardinal directions is very well blended to sound natural and be very clear. I had no issues setting up for the return and was able to easily recalculate the route when we chose an alternate path to the house. After each turn, Geo tells you about the next turn (distance, street and turn direction. As you approach the turn, it sounds an alert and speaks the turn info again. Just as you reach the intersection, it makes a blinker tick, tick sound and instructs you to turn left . After the turn, it makes another sound, tells you to go straight, then describes the next turn. I find the command structure to be relatively easy to remember, the accuracy information to be extremely helpful, the POI information to be low-key and less disruptive, the data entry for searches and the like to be easy and clean. It is very nice to simply have to grab my GPS receiver and head out (my phone is already in my pocket always). Within a couple of keystrokes and a few seconds, I am up and GPS running. My Trekker is very officially retired! Name: Stephen Clower Country: United States Story: I have never owned a blindness-specific GPS program before. Until Mobile Geo came along, all of my available options required separate, and sometimes very bulky hardware, and I had neither the money nor the desire to carry multiple, single-purpose devices around. I discovered the value of a Pocket PC phone two years ago, and Mobile Speak has enabled me to do more on this single device than I could with other blindness note takers. As a software-only product, Mobile Geo is unique in that aside from a GPS receiver, you don't need another piece of equipment to carry. What's more, the user centered licensing means that I can transfer my Mobile Speak and Mobile Geo licenses to the latest and greatest Pocket PC whenever I want. The same can't be said for other accessible GPS devices. I began using Mobile Geo while I was on vacation in the Midwestern United States. Having grown up in a different part of the country, I was unfamiliar with the city's local road geography. I knew enough to give a cab driver directions to go from point A to point B, but that was it. Without being able to look at a map, I had no real sense of the city's layout or how my position fit into the picture. The instant I stepped outside with Mobile Geo, though, the confusing fog was lifted. For the first time, I knew exactly where I was, what businesses and streets were nearby, and how to find my way around the area. I could finally, with absolute confidence, explore the unfamiliar city and know that I could always find my way back home. What's more, I was able to virtually explore the city before I embarked on trips if I didn't feel like walking the route. By being able to set landmarks, check my position, and look around, it's hard to get lost while Mobile Geo is running. Aside from the intuitive interface and feature set, Mobile Geo adds something which I find to be uniquely beneficial to users of Windows Mobile phones. If I look up a business inside Mobile Geo, it won't only tell me how to get there, but I can even call the company directly from Mobile Geo before I even start the trip. Similarly, Mobile Geo integrates with my contact list. With only a few keystrokes, Mobile Geo can plot routes to take me from my position to a contact's address, and I can even save the route for later review. These two functions have proven to be tremendous time savers. Finally, I can still be productive on the go while Mobile Geo is running. Like any other Windows Mobile application, Mobile Geo can be minimized to the background while still providing all of the feedback I want. I can, for instance, respond to E-mail, browse the Web, listen to music, or edit documents while Mobile Geo tracks my position on the bus. If a route is active, for example, Mobile Geo will tell me what's happening regardless of what else I may be doing at the time. The Mobile Geo command layout also allows me to query the program from within any application; Mobile Geo doesn't need to be focused to be used. And that's just the beginning. The ability to be on such a more equal footing with my sighted peers has made this program utterly invaluable. I don't have to ask others where I am, what's near me, or ask for directions anymore. For the first time, I can freely navigate on my own terms. The CodeFactory team has created an excellent product, and I know it can only get better from here. Name: Loreal Lavigna Country: United States Story: I have been using Mobile Geo in conjunction with Mobile Speak for Windows Mobile for about three months now. Having used several types of assistive technology over the years, I have quickly come to realize not only its innovation, but also just how reliant I have become on this product! Mobile Geo is a product that not only is new and innovative due to its ease of use, extreme portability, and accessibility. But it is also an extremely useful tool which has enabled me to find and travel to locations both known to me as well as unknown easily and efficiently! I have successfully used this always in conjunction with my cane or in a vehicle. Everytime I have used the product I have been able to map out and travel to any number of destinations. The interface of this product just as the other Code Factory products are, is extremely easy to navigate and just as easy to understand. I would highly recommend this product for anyone who does any sort of traveling be it for business or pleasure. I have used this for both personal as well as professional traveling, and the results of all of my travels with the use of this product are unanimous. I would highly recommend, both on a personal as well as professional level, that one does not travel without the aid or use of this product again! This, however, is stated with the stipulation that this product by no means is any sort of replacement for the use of either a cane or guide dog. In my professional opinion, this product can be a highly useful tool to aid anyone with travel by making it more independent and self-sufficient. Having the ability to know such things as location, estimated time of arrival, and landmarks among other things is something I believe paramount for anyone whether they have sight or not. Name: Doug Langley Country: United States Story: I have found the ability to know where you are without carrying big bulky devices invaluable. While I never carry my 3 pound notetaker around, my phone goes with me everywhere because of its weight and size. Given the small size of the phone, when I use Mobile Geo with a Bluetooth headset, I can use mobile geo without 300 people asking, "what is that?" Since I have started using Mobile Geo, the phone has become more than just a phone. No matter if I'm walking, or in a vehicle, Mobile Geo provides me with instant information about my surroundings. With a press of a button I can find out my current location, nearest intersection or, nearest local business. When on a bus, I don't worry as much about drivers calling stops as this info is now provided by Mobile geo's current position and next intersection commands. When in a taxi, I always know if the driver is going the right direction because of the getting warmer feature and Mobile Geo's route building capabilities. |
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