Updated: The 10 Most Useful iPhone Apps for the Deaf

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14 Comments

Updated: The 10 Most Useful iPhone Apps for the Deaf:

On August 12, 2010, I had guest blogger Andrew Hall, who also has guest blogged for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on online schools for Guide to Online Schools, write a post on The 10 Most Useful iPhone Apps for the Deaf. This post was extremely popular and has gotten the most pageviews on this blog. I decided that we needed an update since it has been a year since the last post! 

The iPhone has been hugely useful for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. As a smartphone with an enormous library of applications, a number exist to better facilitate communication and make it possible to place and receive audio and/or video calls, among other things. As such, here are the latest ten apps to enhance one's iPhone experience and life in general.

1. Purple Communications: Unlike TTY or TDD systems, Purple Communications allows you to make phone calls and even better, video phone calls. You have the option to be connected to an operator who then reads your messages to the recipient and transcribes their messages back to you. Or better, you can video call your friends/families yourself and communicate via sign and if they’re not there, you can leave a video message in ASL.

2. Clear Captions: Clear Captions transcribes phone calls, as they happen, in English or in Spanish. Using a headset, Clear Captions allows you to see the text of a phone call in real-time while hearing it, making it much easier to understand conversations. ClearCaptions is a free captioning service that works together with your phone and your Internet-connected computer. ClearCaptions on your phone call is similar to closed captions on your TV; you can hear AND read what’s being said. This takes the frustration out of hearing on the phone. Instead of asking people to repeat themselves or guessing at what was said, you can read the person’s words which display during your call.

3. Z4 Mobile: Z4 Mobile allows you to make both point-to-point and VRS calls on your iPhone 4 or iPod Touch (4th Generation). It turns iPhone 4 or iPod Touch into a mobile videophone.

4. Sorenson Video Center: The Sorenson Video Center allows users of Sorenson Video Relay Service to take videos from a videophone and view them on an iPhone or an iPod Touch. It connects to one's Sorenson account, which it uses to access videos, IP Relay services, and provide easy ways to respond to SignMail videos. It also interfaces with the iPhone's contacts system and many instant messaging services.Significant improvement since the last post.

5. iASL: iASL is a comprehensive American Sign Language application. It includes a video dictionary, translators, automatic spelling correction, and a number of resources for study. At 403 megabytes, it's a large application, but as an ASL teaching resource, it's highly valuable. Given its large quantity of video content, it's one application that could be better on the iPad's huge screen. Again, significant improvement since the last post and greatly expanding.

6. TED+SUB: You can watch TED talks with subtitle in your language, watch TED talks that 'Best of the Web', and you can search using both English and your language. This app also gives you the ability to downl TED talks and watch later without WiFi connection. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. - (http://www.ted.com)

7. Tout: Something of like Twitter, but should be taken advantage by deaf/hard of hearing people! Launched in mid-April as a free iPhone app. (The Android version is due late this summer.) Tout allows a user to record a 15-second video from their iOS device, and then post it to their Facebook or Twitter account. While it is a third-party app, the video will also post on a user’s Tout account at the Tout webpage. Even Shaq is doing it ;-)

8. eBuddy: a multi-function messaging application that makes it possible to make free calls as well as live IM chats from an iPhone or iPod touch over either a WiFi connection or a 3G one. It interfaces to many services, like MSN Messenger, Google Talk, Twitter, and AOL Instant Messenger, and for consolidating all of these into a single application, it could be quite useful.

9. Captionfish: Historic mobile application is the first to offer streaming captioned movie trailers for the deaf and hard of hearing community on the iPhone. Here are some of the great features you can enjoy on this app: Effortless search, ability to find all the accessible show times playing at theaters within 60 miles of the selected area. You can watch movies trailers with captions as well as get the synopses for all current and upcoming movies. Lastly, you can find theater addresses and view their upcoming schedules!

10. Dragon Dictation: The Dragon Dictation app is a voice to text app. It's made by Dragon Naturally speaking and it's free. Dragon Dictation  turns spoken speech into text. There are several advantages for using this app, first, if you’re having a hard time understanding what your friend is saying, they can say it again using this app and bingo, you know exactly what they said. Secondly, if you’re hard of hearing, you can use it to practice your speech.


About Thomsen Young

Professional. Educator. Loves waterpolo. Cribbage. West Wing. Love. Laugh. Live.

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14 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 21, 2011 at 4:33 AM

    I just downloaded Ted+Sub! Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 21, 2011 at 7:16 AM

    My favorite is the Subtitles app. It provides subtitles for many movies, even new releases, so that I can enjoy going to the movies with friends!

    I also like using Skype for free video calls with friends.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJune 22, 2011 at 12:31 AM

    Awesome! Please do provide any additional feedback or if you know of an app that is better, I'd like to know about it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 23, 2011 at 7:44 AM

    Hello,

    I would love to see a similar list for those who have android smart phones, such as HTC and Epic 4G, as some of us do not have iPhones.

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownJune 30, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Excellent idea. I will look into and have something for you this week. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJuly 15, 2011 at 12:22 AM

    I would like to thank ATC (Accessible Technology Coalition) for referring for this post! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Susan NelsonFebruary 20, 2012 at 4:45 AM

    This is something really interesting, deaf people should also get chance to use some of the amazing iPhone application. All of these are fabulous app that are quite useful as well as entertains deaf people. I think now there should be something to blind people too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownFebruary 20, 2012 at 2:21 PM

    @Susan: What do you suggest would be useful apps for people who are blind?

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownSeptember 3, 2012 at 4:13 AM

    soundAmp R

    IPhone's microphone catches all surrounding sounds. Those sounds are amplified by this app and then passed on to the earphones. Plug the earphone and hear clearly with amplified volume what people around you are saying.

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownSeptember 3, 2012 at 1:46 PM

    To Unknown: Thanks for your suggestion!

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownSeptember 11, 2012 at 4:39 AM

    I would like to suggest VOICY for this list. It's a new breed of eMail and communications application that allows you to reply to and send emails using your own voice. No need to text, you send an email from your iPhone with just 2 clicks. You can download VOICY directly from the iTunes Store.

    ReplyDelete
  12. UnknownMarch 3, 2013 at 2:16 AM

    What's about blind people, are they allowed to use smart phones?

    excellent post, thank you

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousOctober 31, 2013 at 12:53 AM

    shaz

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousJanuary 29, 2014 at 10:35 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

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