Usability vs. Accessability: babbling about cell phone access again

The cell phone dilemma for our blind teen has yet to reach a satisfactory conclusion. Amigo, age 17, is away at camp now, but we'd really like to buy and try out a cell phone between his return and the start of school. That leaves us three weeks or less to get it done.

We're having trouble justifying the expense of a cell phone over $200 with gobs of features he’ll never use, plus the $89 monthly service fee to adapt it plus the addition to the normal monthly costs on our family plan. Is this really ADA compliant if we have to buy the entire plan, despite portions of it being inaccessible? The Lion's Club might help with the money (they've been very generous in the past), but that's beside the point. Why should the disabled user have to pay for more than he needs to make the phone accessible?

There's the rub. Usability means one thing: being able to use the phone. Accessibility is another; a fully accessible phone would make all features accessible to Amigo, despite his blindness. Many cellular phones could be usable. Most have buttons arranged in a certain, usually predictable way, for making calls, adjusting the volume, or performing other common tasks. Many of today's phones, however, have a flat keypad that is so smooth that finding the correct number on the keypad is difficult or near impossible. But the main issue remains: if we are going to pay money for a phone and service, it would be much more convenient if Amigo could actually take full advantage of all its features.

We feel as though we’re expecting the former (usability), but being pushed to buy more, and more doesn't necessarily mean full accessibility. If the teen isn't likely to use the camera, doesn't need the email and Internet access, just needs a way to call home or take a call, the costs are not reasonable. But at this stage, we don't have a choice. Buy it all, or don't get the kid a phone.

But wait - there's more! A rival cell phone company has a simpler phone that is usable! Amigo tried it out in the store and liked it. It has voice options, including the possibility to read text messages, an important feature for communication between the blind teen and his hearing impaired mother. We could buy that one for him, put it through its paces for the 30 day trial period, and then make the final decision.  Unfortunately, this plan has limited coverage in our fair state of Wisconsin. La Petite's college campus, for example, has poor coverage under this plan. Roaming charges start as soon as we cross the state line, another negative aspect to moving the family to the other provider. The best possible case might be keeping our family plan and buying his from an entirely different provider.

Think, think, think....is that the best option? Is it the only option? Weigh in, readers, especially those with teens and phones.  We're still uncertain.

Comments

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[Ali]

I wish I had worthwhile suggestions to contribute, but ah, I'm out of them just now. It seems ridiculous that options a blind person couldn't use are non-optional inclusions on the visually impaired phones! When they know you have no options they'll really go for your hip pocket huh?

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[Daisy]

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