# GPS Systems

Category: accessible Devices

## Post 1 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Thursday, 23-Apr-2009 11:49:29

Has anyone had any experience using a GPS system to get around? I know their quite expensive, but if anyone has & could shed some light on how it worked for them, that would be great!
Thank you.

## Post 2 by laced-unlaced (Account disabled) on Sunday, 26-Apr-2009 9:23:20

gps, as in those navigation systems you get in cars?
well it's a talking device where the user types in the location, for example the post code, the street name something like that. then it will slowly guide you that destination from where ever your current position is for example it will say turn left, turn right etc. the voice used is very clear, and on some systems there is a choice of voices to use.
hope this helps

## Post 3 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Sunday, 26-Apr-2009 11:29:27

Yep, that's what I'm talking about, but it's not only in cars, at least not here in America. They also have a version that you can carry around with you. Not sure how small they've gotten, but when I was in high school, they had a "backpack" model, so it would fit in a backpack.
Thanks for posting!

## Post 4 by The Roman Battle Mask (Making great use of my Employer's time.) on Monday, 27-Apr-2009 8:17:05

It's worked well for me. It isn't a replacement for mobility skills doing things like not getting hit by cars is still important. It does allow me to know what streets I'm on, how far it is to the next intersection or my destination and generally gives me a better idea of where I am although not of hazards like poles, etc. I find the GPS allows me to get around faster and with less practice. I've also grown to depend on it more then I should as far as route navigation but at least i realize this and pay attention to where land marks are in case it dies and I need to make it back with out it.

## Post 5 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Monday, 27-Apr-2009 16:18:57

Lol. Definitely! I new of its limitations in that respect, & I always pay attention to what I'm doing & carry a cane.
I just hadn't used one before though, & wanted to find out if anyone thought it was helpful. Do you know if there's any type of monitary help so you can get one more easily? Or a place that allows you to pay them in payments or anything like that?
Thank you for your help!

## Post 6 by V.I. p (Zone BBS Addict) on Tuesday, 28-Apr-2009 7:12:38

As far as I know, humanware has no payment plan for the trekker. The trekker breeze is a little bit cheaper if your not a computer user. $1,735, that includes shipping in the U.S. is what the trekker costs according to a humanware representative. I want one too so if anyone has any specific info about the trekker before I spend all of this money, that would be great.

## Post 7 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Thursday, 30-Apr-2009 14:54:16

I do use a computer, otherwise I couldn't be on here. *smile*
Anyway, I don't know what the Treker even is, I've only heard about the GPS system.
Thank you for posting though, I appreciate it! Guess I have something else to look into now.

## Post 8 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Friday, 01-May-2009 5:21:53

there is 1 that goes on nokia type cellphones. it's called wayfinder access go to http://www.talknav.net. i use it and it's great. i'll tell you a bit about it.
firstly, it will probably cost you less than $500. assuming you have a nokia phone with either talks or mobilespeak on it. it works well with both. i only say probably because i'm not quite sure of the exchange rates over state side so it's safe to say probably. even if it is more it won't be that much i'm pretty sure of that.
secondly. this product has been developed from the ground up by a mainstream company thus why the cost is so low. unlike adaptive tech companies they not going to rip you off with outdated tech and limiting environmental shells which the product would otherwise opperate in. by that, i mean it will install on any nokia type series 60 phone, you aren't limited in that way, and you can use all the functions of the phone because you would already have a screen reader on it. i don't like shell environments.
thirdly. all the maps are stored on a server at wayfinders end. the maps including points of interest, roads, postal or zip codes are updated every 6 months or so and you as the user don't have to pay for new maps. you get them the moment you power up the programme. the only thing you pay for is data usage which quite frankly isn't much at all because it doesn't use that much. i download email to my phone and use wayfinder access and MSN+ on a regular basis and during a whole month i've used less than 10 megs. that's a typical month for me.
it has the ability to do walking and driving routes, you can mark your own points of interest, you can run vertual routes from place to place to see how the route will go, whilst watching things like where roads are to cross or seeing what points of interest are around you on any given route, all sorts of things. you can find out the weather either where you are or at your destination, if you are looking for a restaurant, or any form of point of interest, with a lot of them it will have the full address including phone number and if you click on the phone number it will dial it for you using your normal phone not the internet. you can use it like a yello pages in some ways!! it's great i love it. my partner bought it for me for my birthday last year and i got to be said it's about the best present anybody could have bought me. there's other stuff it can do as well but i could fill a forum up with all that lol. if anybody wants to know more feel free to pm me or something because this is asking generically about gps systems so it's not fair to just take over this thread with 1 particular system. although i am more than willing to share what i know openly.
yes it has it's bugs like anything. but never the less i think it's great and well worth the look, don't think for 1 second that the likes of the trekker and braillenote gps and the gps sense from gw micro are the only hopes because that's just not so. this is far cheaper for the end user and works very well if you ask me.

## Post 9 by Texas Shawn (The cute, cuddley, little furr ball) on Friday, 01-May-2009 11:35:31

I just started using wayfinder access and I do agree it is cool. but one thing I could really use is a tutorial. I found a manual on the wayfinder page but it doesn't seem to go over everything you listed, like adding your own point of interest etc.

## Post 10 by SunshineAndRain (I'm happily married, a mom of two and a fulltime college student.) on Friday, 01-May-2009 12:08:45

I used a friend's GPS system on a Braille Note. It was quite nice, and that was a couple years ago. I also saw a podcast on Blind Cool Tech about the Trekker Breeze. It looks nice and relatively easy to use.

## Post 11 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Friday, 01-May-2009 12:12:19

ok. on the talknav website there is a manual.
try http://talknav.com/wayfinder_support.php
any help you want pm me and i'll try and help you.

## Post 12 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Friday, 01-May-2009 12:14:46

in addition, there's a good mailing list at http://wfusers.com/mailman/listinfo/wfaccess this is the wayfinder access email discussion list. best manual you can get in my opinion.

## Post 13 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Saturday, 02-May-2009 16:19:32

Thank you for that, but I don't own a cellphone. I'll keep that in mind should I ever have a cell though.
I stick with the computer, & that's it. Lol. I hate cell phones because the numbers are to small for me to feel & I can't find the dot on the 5 button like I can on the telephone, which gives me a reference point & is how I learned how to dial a phone.

## Post 14 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Saturday, 02-May-2009 16:21:55

Thank you to every one else who has given their two cents, it is greatly appreciated!

## Post 15 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Sunday, 03-May-2009 5:52:04

yeah some of the keyboards aren't so good. i like the n82 for that as i have large ish fingers and that caters for me quite well and the buttons are well defined.

## Post 16 by ILoveS33 (my ISP would be out of business if it wasn't for this haven I live at) on Sunday, 03-May-2009 10:37:09

Cool. Thank you!

## Post 17 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Sunday, 03-May-2009 10:39:19

no problem. anybody else who is having access problems or what ever send me a message and will try and help any way i can or otherwise subscribe to the email list.

## Post 18 by The Roman Battle Mask (Making great use of my Employer's time.) on Monday, 04-May-2009 7:09:37

Does anyone know what gps systems will work with the modo q 9c that Verizon offers with talks?

## Post 19 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Monday, 04-May-2009 7:11:53

what about code factories mobile geo

## Post 20 by Texas Shawn (The cute, cuddley, little furr ball) on Monday, 04-May-2009 9:24:42

that's what I am thinking, wayfinder might but I think that might be Nokia only

## Post 21 by changedheart421 (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Monday, 04-May-2009 9:48:45

I think Geo only works if you have mobile speak. Tha This is what my friend said so could be wrong about it.

## Post 22 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Monday, 04-May-2009 14:08:01

WHAT ELSE IS THERE FOR WINDOWS BASED DEVICES? AS FOR ACCESS IT WILL WORK ON ANY PHONE THAT SUPPORTS TALKS AND OR MOBILESPEAK. DOWNLOAD IT AND TRY IT AND SEE

## Post 23 by faithful angel (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Monday, 04-May-2009 18:24:38

Mobile geo is for windows phones. Way finder is for symbian phones. You cannot get the moto Q with talks and get way finder or geo because first of all Geo only works with mobile speak, and wayfinder only works with symbian phones. The Moto Q is a windows smart phone. I don't know what the solution is really, but hopefully, something will be done about it.

## Post 24 by SunshineAndRain (I'm happily married, a mom of two and a fulltime college student.) on Monday, 04-May-2009 23:01:14

I agree something does need to be done about it. It's ridiculous the lack of accessibility we have with cell phones and the tools we can use with them. I also hate the fact it's all so expensive; all in the name of accessibility. You add everything up: the plan, the phones themselves, the talking software and GPS, and you're paying quite a lot of money. Add on top of that the fact that my husband and I both need these things and the fact that we have no credit which forces us to pay higher deposits, and it's nearly impossible for us to have decent cell phones. Sorry. Had to rant there.

## Post 25 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Tuesday, 05-May-2009 3:03:53

hi
i agree with you. thus why i think if you can go for access then that's probably the better option for you to go for. it does do the job and it's cheaper than all the rest and it will work with either talks or mobilespeak.

## Post 26 by faithful angel (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Tuesday, 05-May-2009 7:33:25

Well, there is a website where you can make payments on a package deal of some products. For example, you can buy mobile speak and mobile geo. I think I will go that way. It's 107.5 dollars a month which to me is much better than slapping 995 dollars on a credit card, but having interest building up.

## Post 27 by Texas Shawn (The cute, cuddley, little furr ball) on Tuesday, 05-May-2009 9:29:47

took the words out of my mouth. grin. I went with the map program from handy tech and that's how I got access and talks.
so the moto Q is a windows smart phone what is the difference in that and a windows moble? or is there? both run the same os right?

## Post 28 by faithful angel (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Tuesday, 05-May-2009 9:44:38

Windows mobile is different from a windows pocket PC. But the problem is that with the moto Q, you have a windows mobile device running talks which has been reprogrammed to run on windows devices. The problem is that Mobile Geo is not compatible with talks, but way finder is not accessible with windows mobile devices, or at least, that's what I've been reading. Yeah, I'm going to get mobile speak and geo. I'm excited, and with the twelve month plan, it will make things a lot easier.

## Post 29 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Tuesday, 05-May-2009 10:13:04

no access doesn't work on windows based devices. i don't know if they will port it over to windows but as yet that's not in the pipeline.

## Post 30 by Texas Shawn (The cute, cuddley, little furr ball) on Tuesday, 05-May-2009 11:57:02

got it, that was confusing, sheesh! well, , , at the moment i have a Nokia e71, talks and access, probably going to get one of the knfb phones in the future but I am giving that software a little time to advance in features. this is a real good time to be alive and you guys may think I am joking but adaptive equipment really is a lot more afordable than it used to be. all the phones and talking software really have given us something we used to not have.

## Post 31 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Tuesday, 05-May-2009 12:02:37

this is true, but i prefer to use mainstream tech where i can rather than the blind friendly expensive alternatives. at least with access that bridges the gap somewhat because of it's relative cheapness compared to some of the others price wise.

## Post 32 by Siriusly Severus (The ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w7 The Taskmaste) on Sunday, 11-Oct-2009 11:16:26

Way finder might be cheaper and better, but remember to calculate in the cost of the talking software on the phone. Now, is that still cheaper then just getting say some GPS system on the BT?

## Post 33 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Monday, 12-Oct-2009 5:29:59

well, my partner bought me the n82, talks, access and a gps unit for £662. now if you have a phonne and talks then wfa is half that price. even less if you want to rely on the phones internal gps system assuming it's got one.

## Post 34 by WillieTheWoof (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Monday, 12-Oct-2009 9:00:01

Let us not exclude Mobile navigator North America from Navigon. This runs on the IPhone and although it's designed for driving it can meet some needs. I travel with a guide dog and it's extremely helpful telling me where to turn and when I arrive at my destination. I can also get a list of points of interest and have it navigate me to one. It does not read points out loud as you pass them. Most of the reading has to be done by touching the screen but it is only $85 and for me works great.

## Post 35 by blindndangerous (the blind and dangerous one) on Monday, 12-Oct-2009 10:28:06

Ah that is what I wanted to know. Thanks willy. Now I've gotta get 85$ into my itunes account.

## Post 36 by Manwe (The Dark Lord) on Monday, 12-Oct-2009 10:28:46

is that an internet based gps solution? with the way apple are going with their acccessabilitty, it wouldn't surprise me at allif it got better with that gps as well.

## Post 37 by monkeypusher69 (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Monday, 12-Oct-2009 16:38:08

to answer rachel's question way finder accesible software and thephone is stillless expensive than a trekker or something of that nature.

## Post 38 by WillieTheWoof (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Monday, 12-Oct-2009 20:07:05

Navigon is not internet based. REmember, this is not made by apple although they are quite open to user suggestion. My hope is they might consider a specific setting perhaps called the voiceover setting that would do things like read more out loud. This way it wouldn't impact there drivers but would be available for those who need more. There's always hope. GEt that $85 ready.

## Post 39 by Siriusly Severus (The ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w7 The Taskmaste) on Monday, 12-Oct-2009 20:57:58

Good to know. Now the question is can the particular user work with the phone and type in it with no problems. If so, it's a really good solution, but if the individual can't, then, the BT might be better.

## Post 40 by blindndangerous (the blind and dangerous one) on Monday, 12-Oct-2009 23:40:52

I've got one, and I love it. I can do everything with it. Its like my laptop in my pocket. Got all my music, got all of my email accounts all hooked up, ah, its heaven.

## Post 41 by Siriusly Severus (The ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w7 The Taskmaste) on Tuesday, 13-Oct-2009 21:40:46

You talking about the bn?

## Post 42 by blindndangerous (the blind and dangerous one) on Wednesday, 14-Oct-2009 0:01:25

Me? no. I'm talking about the braille+ or braille plus, or BP, or icon made by levelstar.

## Post 43 by Siriusly Severus (The ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w7 The Taskmaste) on Wednesday, 14-Oct-2009 0:33:24

Why is it heaven?

## Post 44 by dallas cowboy fanc (Veteran Zoner) on Wednesday, 14-Oct-2009 0:41:42

Hey,
If anyone has a symbian based phone with either talks or mobile speaks, there is a 14 day trial of the Wayfinder Access gps software. I just finished trying it out and I thought it was something I could really use.
If anyone wants to see a demo of wayfinder compared to mobile geo, there is a really good podcast on the blind cool tech website. In the links menu just look for gps.
The best price I have seen for Wayfinder Access is from the A.T. guys for 339 dollars.
If anyone wants the link for the free trial I can give it to them.