Apple is famous for their innovative designs including Macs, the
Apple TV, and iPods. Apple will soon release one of the most innovative cellphones on the market - iPhone. I am impressed by Apple’s iPhone TV advertisements, they really make you think about how it works. I bet you have seen one of those ads recently. If not, you can view the ads online at http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/ad2/

Will the iPhone be worthwhile for deaf people to use? The screen is a huge 3.5 inches diagonal, which is larger than the latest
BlackBerry and Sidekick models. It seems to be very friendly to use, and probably will be even easier to operate than the popular
Sidekick. Amazingly enough, there is no physical keyboard built into the iPhone. You operate it via the giant 3.5 inch touchscreen, using your fingers to type messages and e-mails on an onscreen keyboard. Will it be comfortable to type on the iPhone’s screen? Will it be an improvement over dedicated physical keyboards, giving us faster typing speeds? Also, I have noticed that in the ads, the iPhone is shown being typed on with one hand. Will two hands be able to type on the iPhone comfortably? We will have to see when it’s finally released.

One of the most impressive features of the iPhone is that it has
Apple’s own web browser, Safari, installed. You get a true HTML
experience, and if you’re worried about the screen size, worry no
more - you will be able to easily resize any portion of the webpage, using simple finger gestures to zoom in and out. I think Safari on the iPhone will quickly become the premier mobile web browser, knocking off the current favorite, Opera. Watch how easy it is to navigate the web via Safari on the iPhone at http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/ad4/

I do wonder if there will be support for web-based relay services via the iPhone? I don’t see a problem especially if the relay service already supports Mac-based Safari usage. My only concern would be the size of the fonts, but I believe that most relay services offer an option to change the font sizing.

Instant messaging is another question we have regarding the iPhone. In spite of Apple having their own IM client, iChat, it has yet to be determined if there will be a iChat client on the iPhone. It would be handy to contact fellow iChat and AIM users directly from the iPhone. There has been a web-based IM application written specifically for the iPhone, but only actual use on a iPhone will tell us if this will do the trick, if Apple does not launch iChat with the iPhone. However, I believe that iChat will come sooner or later, especially when the iPhone gets on a true 3G network that can support decent video framerates.

The iPhone does come with a buiit- in 2 megapixel camera, which has a higher resolution than the Sidekick 3’s camera. You will be able to take good quality pictures, however it does not seem like it supports any sort of video at this time.

Of course, the iPhone has a built in iPod, allowing it to act like
the most popular music player on the market. Just like the latest
models of iPods, you will be able to play music, videos, TV shows,
and movies. All controls will be finger-based, rather than wheel-
based, but it shouldn’t be a big change because the current iPod
control wheels are also touch-sensitive.

Will the iPhone offer access to TTYs? It won’t be able to
communicate directly with a TTY out of the box. It’s possible it
will be “TTY compatible,” meaning that a TTY can be plugged in to make TTY calls using voice minutes - we will have to see once the iPhone is released. The only way the BlackBerry and Sidekick pagers are able to call TTY’s are via a third party service, such as
GoAmerica’s i711 Wireless Toolkit. However, Hamilton Relay offers free WAP-based calling to TTY’s, which should be compatible with the iPhone’s Safari browser.

Will the iPhone be available with a data-only plan? Yes, AT&T/
Cingular does offer data-only plans, but it is yet to be seen if the
iPhone will be offered with data-only service. My gut tells me yes, so it shouldn’t be hard to sign up via the Apple Store or any AT&T/ Cingular store for a data-only plan for your new iPhone. The data- only plan for the iPhone is rumored to be $30/mo. We’ll find out come June 29th.

Speaking of purchasing a iPhone, the 4GB model will cost you $499, while double the size at 8GB is only $100 more ($599). It is not known if there will be rebates to bring the price down, but Apple has said they do not want the iPhone subsidized.

There are many unanswered questions regarding the suitability of the iPhone for deaf and hard of hearing users. We will hopefully have a hands-on review of the iPhone after it is released on June 29th.

I’m concerned that many customers will find the iPhone too expensive at $500 per device - that is a lot of money for a pager! The buzz is that the iPhone will be a major replacement for many BlackBerries and Sidekicks out there. It’s my opinion that the iPhone may not be the best device for a deaf user, because of so many unanswered questions regarding its capabilities and comfort of use, including typing, TTY support, and so forth.

I’m sure that the BlackBerry and Sidekick lines will continue to be popular within the deaf and hard of hearing markets. Let’s not forget Apple/Mac fans such as Ramy Bustamante, one of the founders of DeafMac.org, who will want to get their hands on the latest gadget from Apple, and dissect it to see if it’s a good fit for deaf users.