VODAFONE has worked in partnership with the Royal National Institute
of Blind People, to introduce mobile phones for blind people, writes Elaine Stevens.

It has text-to-speech facility, which reads aloud the information
that appears on the screen, allowing a person with visual difficulty to
use a mobile phone. 

Kerry Doyle (20) has been blind from birth. She has ‘Talk’
software in her phone Nokia 6630, which was a present from her parents
for achieving good leaving cert results.

Kerry is a member of the National Counsel for the Blind, and has the
software since 2005, but it is now available at all Vodafone stores.

“It gave and has given me freedom. No longer do I need to rely on
family and friends to read text messages or put numbers in my phone
book for me. It continues to this day to be my lifeline”.