Odin, Qualcomm Provide Wireless Services and Phones for the Blind

According to Norse mythology, Odin gave one of his eyes in order to gain knowledge. I suppose it’s fitting, then, that the one-eyed god assists the blind, as Odin Mobile is offering its services for the Project Ray mobile phone for the visually impaired.

The Huawei Vision is a Project Ray device, based off Android phones. It offers the usual services that smartphones provide, such as calling, SMS, GPS, and voice recording, as well as audio content, in a manner that is easily accessible to the visually impaired.

Odin Mobile will act as the nationwide wireless carrier, reselling T-Mobile services to the Huawei Vision devices. The wireless service was introduced at the 2013 M Enabling Summit, where it received a positive reaction for its help bringing mobile devices to those who would normally be unable to properly view and use a touchscreen.

Project Ray is funded through Qualcomm’s Wireless Reach program, in order to help provide easy access to information, as well as all the other services phones provide, to the visually impaired. There are also plans to sync the phones with audio content from Israel’s Central Library for the Blind, Visually Impaired and Handicapped.

According to Kristin Atkins, Qualcomm’s senior director of government affairs, "Our team at Qualcomm Israel worked closely with Project Ray on the operational and product efforts of the first Ray device enabling independence and a richer social life for users by providing an all-in-one, independent-living companion capable of eye-free input, text-to-speech, access to content, navigation, label-recognition, augmented-reality and integration with social networks."

The phones can be ordered from Odin Mobile’s toll-free number, or a website with help from screen readers. Customers will receive a 30-45 minute training session, helping them understand how to use their new phone, as well as a guide in a screen reader-compatible Word document. The data plan will provide 150 minutes and 150 texts for $10 a month, or 4,000 of each for $45 a month.

For all that most of us have been enjoying smartphones and tablets, it’s easy to take our sight for granted, but those who aren’t so lucky can’t make use of touch-screen devices at all. As such, Odin Mobile, Qualcomm, and the rest of Project Ray are doing a great deed by finding a way to let the visually impaired access the same features that most of us use each day. Business-wise, it’s not only smart for PR, but reaches a new market that most companies have overlooked until now, so both customers and companies are gaining a lot from these new devices and services.