I have to agree with this message, I started with a 4 and it took a couple of weeks to do just the basics and not call friends at midnight because I could not figure out how to stop the phone once it dialed the number in a contact I was trying to edit or just look at, now I laugh at that. It took me another couple of months to start using about 95% of the features on the phone, setting alarms, timers, working with the calendar and calculator, using the memo recorder, downloading and playing a few games, nothing that uses the game center, however. I still don't use Game Center and I don't subscribe to Twitter or Facebook because I would never be able to keep up with a full time job, an ill husband and other duties that I need to take care of during most days.
I also use the Otterbox and once the 4 was put in it never came out again until my husband lost it in the hospital, either it was stolen or it went out in the laundry, it never came back but as soon as I heard the story I made him deactivate it on our account. My 4S is in an Otterbox and has not been out of that case ever. The Otterbox can take a few drops, I dropped one of the phones in the hospital one evening and it just made a lot of noise from that clip hitting the floor. I accidently got tangled up in the cord and pulled it off my desk once also. My husband got a 5 to replace my old 4 and it is lighter and I would like that but I am not eligible for an upgrade until next year. I have used the 5 once or twice to ANSER for my husband and showed him a few things and it seems to be no different than my 4S as far as operating goes. The other thing I like about the case is the borders of the screen are definitely discernible and that makes using the phone without any tactile marking easier for me at least. I also like having Siri which the 4 did not have, saves me trying to text one friend who would prefer texting to talking and who can send faster than I can think, often I get three or four from her before I can even dictate one back. Only way I can keep up typing is with the Bluetooth keyboard which I don't carry around so having the 4S has made my life a little easier since she does a lot of driving for us, shopping etc. Shopping via texting is quite a hoot, happened once while I was at the hospital and she texted me about every single item on my list. My husband slept through it all but he should have heard some of her questions! I could never have kept up with her without Siri's help. I would have rather been with her to shop but, although annoying, this method got the job I needed done finished. She should have called me but... From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alan Paganelli Sent: Monday, February 04, 2013 5:17 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: New Member Intro andHelp Needed Choosing iPhone Model Ok, here's the deal. iPhone not only comes with a screen reader but it also comes with a screen magnification program as well. I don't know beans about zoomtext but I do know about the screen magnification. The way it was explained to me was like this. Think of it as a portable hole. You can drag your portable hole all around the screen using your finger. Anything inside the portable hole is magnified and you can also control how much magnification you use. These are already built in to the iPhone as well as other Apple products. The difference is, you aren't paying extra for it like you would with others. On to the phones. They have a free phone. It's the iPhone 4 with 8 GB. The iPhone 4 is a fine phone. It has both described above features as well as support for a Braille display users here can describe it to you far better then I can so I'll leave that to them. If you just want to get your feet wet and aren't willing to shell out any more money then you are already going to for a talk, text, and data plan, then the free phone makes sense. With that having been said, there are very few folks out there who ever said you know, I was happy with my old cell phone. An 8 GB phone would still let you put plenty of apps on it, maybe a gig or 2 of music and even a few pictures of you, your dog, your wife, and your kids. How hard is it to learn to use? You've never struck me as being stupid and we've known each other for some time. Yes there is a relearning curve. It varies among folks as to how long that curve lasts. Almost everybody gets it in a few weeks to several months and there is no prize for how fast you get it. Even with the free phone you have to get a 24 month contract. The key here is, it's only 24 months, not the rest of your life. The 2 years I've had my iPhone 4 has gone by pretty quickly. If I had to keep my iPhone 4 longer, I wouldn't cry to much because it's still a darn good phone. On the other hand, if you decide you are jumping in the water with both feet, I would recommend you buy the iPhone 5. Why? It's the newest and therefore will have the highest resale value down that 24 month road. iPhone has a solid state hard drive rather then say, an SD-HC card. Sense your only going to get one shot at it, buy the largest size hard drive you can afford. It's better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. time you double the size of the hard drive the price goes up another hundred bucks and so does the resale value. In other words, an iPhone 5 with a 64 GB hard drive will set you back 400 bucks but it's resale value will be the highest over the 8 GB iPhone 5 and other models on back. Buy a good case when you buy your phone. Put your phone in the case and leave it there. My iPhone 4 32 GB iPhone has been in it's Ottorbox Defender case sense I got it 2 years ago. I think if it's been out of the case 3 times, that would even be giving it an extra point. This group is a great place to ask questions once you get your phone regardless of which one it is. Everybody here has been where you are now and lived to tell the story and I've got a gut feeling you will too! HTH display. Braille ----- Original Message ----- From: Alan Lemly <mailto:[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, February 04, 2013 10:06 AM Subject: New Member Intro andHelp Needed Choosing iPhone Model I joined this group yesterday since it's obvious that the iPhone and other iDevices offer the most features and accessibility for those visually impaired. I tend to avoid upgrading software on my Windows XP system since I really don't like re-learning interface changes but I'm happy to learn new things that will benefit me and it's past time to learn the iPhone and all that if offers. I don't currently have any type of smart phone so I'm starting fresh both with the device and a wireless plan. I live near Jackson, MS so it appears that ATT offers the most extensive coverage and plan even if not the best price. I'm looking for recommendations on whether to get the iPhone 4S which ATT apparently only offers in a 16GB model or to get an iPhone 5 with more memory capacity. I know this depends on each individual's personal use but I figured I would tend to run more apps than sighted users to get additional accessibility. I use the ZoomText screen reader and I know they have an iPhone app and that there are also many other apps to choose from. My main use of the iPhone will be taking advantage of its accessibility features in identifying objects as my vision continues to decline and in accessing its web and other data services as I begin to travel more. Can anyone offer suggestions on whether I should get a 4S model with 16GB versus a higher capacity 5 model? I realize the 5 will cost more up front but I can afford the cost if I get additional benefit. I have worked extensively with computers since 1981 so I'm aware that spending more up front for additional features and capacity is usually quickly justified with the rapid technological expansion. Thanks for any help and I'm looking forward to tapping into the extensive knowledge of this list. Alan Lemly -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. To search the VIPhone public archive, visit http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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