THE TELORION TOUCH -
SMARTPHONE TECHNOLOGY WITH A TACTILE DIFFERENCE
JACKIE BROWN
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Telorion for loaning me a handset in order to compile this review, and to UK dealer, Steve Nutt of Computer Room Services, for answering my questions.
For those of you who feel you are missing out on Smartphone technology because you simply cannot use a touchscreen, or you are struggling with the Smartphone you already have, then consider the new concept from Telorion. Here's why.
introducing telorion
Telorion is a French company responsible for the development of accessible software written TO WORK ON THE Android platform. The Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4 Mini are currently two handsets on which Telorion is loaded with a suite of applications that make it more straightforward for blind or visually impaired people to use. And here is the really good bit: a rubber overlay fits the phone with cut-out holes in it to represent a telephone keypad. This means that someone with little or no sight is able to navigate the screen by placing the tip of a finger in each hole to activate a menu, dial a number, compose a text or Email message, and accomplish such tasks without having to worry about the flat glass screen underneath. The really exciting feature is that when you become more competent at using Telorion, and wish to venture into Android, then the rubber overlay can be removed and you may leave the Telorion environment to explore everything else your Smartphone has to offer.
MEET TELORION
This review is based on the Galaxy S4 Mini which is slightly smaller in size to the Galaxy S3, but offers almost identical functionality. When you receive your handset, the rubber overlay is already fitted, so once you turn it on, the phone is ready for action!
Telorion offers both speech and magnification versions. This article covers only the speech version from a non-sighted perspective. You may change from one to the other in the Settings menu.
EXPLORING TELORION
Holding the phone in your hand, the rubber overlay takes up just over half of the S4 Mini screen from the bottom upwards. Above the telephone-style layout are six function keys,or holes, that you use to navigate and implement Telorion actions. These six keys are separated by a raised edge to distinguish the rest of the keypad. And the number five key has a notch on it to further orientate you.
When you turn on the handset by pressing and holding the button on the right side of the phone for roughly three seconds, you will feel some vibrations that indicate Telorion is loading. After approximately 20 seconds, a synthetic voice will announce the current time, and invite you to slide your finger over the remaining portion of the screen that the overlay does not cover. This slide of the finger unlocks your phone. Please note that whenever your handset goes into sleep mode, press the button on the side quickly and slide one finger on the screen above the rubber overlay to open it. You will then hear: "Telorion Home". You are now ready to begin.
THE HOME BUTTON
There is only one physical button on the touchscreen of the S3 and S4 Mini which the rubber overlay on Telorion makes available at the very bottom beneath the zero key. Get used to pressing the Home button anywhere in Telorion to take you back to its opening screen. Even when using Android without the rubber overlay, use the Home button to take you to the Android Home screen.
THE FUNCTION KEYS
The six function keys above the main telephone keypad comprise, from left to right on the top row: Menu key, Up arrow, and Delete. This last key also allows you to ascertain the WiFi and operator network strength on your handset, battery percentage, whether GPS and Bluetooth are on, and the name of your carrier, all when on the Home screen.
The second row of function keys, from left to right, are: OK/Call button, Down arrow, and Back/End call.
When on the Home screen, each of the following telephone keys represent shortcuts that allow you to directly enter any of Telorion's applications. These are:
One - Phone. Here is where you can dial numbers directly and manipulate all your contacts, call logs and Voicemail.
Two - Text Messages. This section allows you to send, receive, reply to, forward and delete your text messages.
Three - Emails. Here, you can create an account or add an existing one, compose, send, receive, reply to, forward and delete your Emails.
Four - Vision Aids. This section comprises an OCR feature that lets you read printed text once you have taken a picture of it; use the Colour identifier; take photos withthe camera; or detect a light source.
Five - Utilities. This menu offers Alarm, GPS, Agenda, Weather, Voice Memos, and Note.
Six - Multimedia. In this menu, choose from MP3 Player, Book Reader, News, Radio, or Web Browser.
Seven - Android Applications. You can explore the world of Android if you enter any of the applications listed in this menu. There are several here that come included on your handset as part of Jelly Bean, the Operating System on the device. Any you add from Android yourself will also be listed in this menu which is a very useful way of launching Android from within Telorion. You will never be without speech as Android's TalkBack system takes over from Telorion when you go to any of the applications in this menu. To return to Telorion, you can either turn off the phone and reboot it - as you will always start in Telorion - or configure the handset to press and hold the Home button.
Eight - Updates. As time passes, it is expected that Telorion will provide updates to its existing applications, add new ones, or make system upgrades available. Enter this menu to check regularly to see what improvements and additions are available.
Nine - Settings. You can enter this menu to customise your Telorion. Choose from Connections, (this is where you can add your home WiFi if you have it, Bluetooth, or turn on Airplane mode);Android Interactions, (you can turn on the Home Button here to allow you to opt between Telorion and Android). Other menu options include Languages and Vocalisation, Keyboard, Screen and Security, Sound and Volume, Date and Time, and About. Change from speech to magnification in About, but bear in mind that doing so causes speech to be switched off.
Star - announces the time and date.
Hash - tells you if you have any notifications such as missed calls, new text messages, or unread Emails.
If you prefer, you may use the up and down arrows to navigate to any of the above options, followed by OK.
USING TELORION
I was quite sceptical about how this concept would work when I first heard about it. But having used it considerably for the purposes of this review, however, I have come to love it. While I personally use an iPhone, and have got used to touchscreen technology, I still do not find it easy to interrogate my handset while on the move, or when in a noisy environment. It means that answering a call, or experimenting with GPS, can be a real nuisance and quite tricky when you have so little tactile feedback on a Smartphone. But using Telorion with its direct shortcut keys and tactile feedback has taken away my existing frustrations. And instead of texting on a touchscreen qwerty keyboard, Telorion allows you to input data in the traditional telephone-style method by using number 2 for A, B, or C, number 3 for D, E, or F, etc.
Apart from using the phone, texting and adding my Email account, I have also enjoyed using Telorion's Book Reader. This is fully DAISY compatible, and allows you to add bookmarks, speed up the reading voice, and jump to sections of the book. This is something I have not liked about using my iPhone, because it is necessary to go through iTunes to put a talking book onto the device. With Android, you simply connect the phone to your PC using the cable supplied, and the S3 or S4 Mini will come up in Windows Explorer as an external drive. You can then copy and paste your books into the Telorion Book folder on the handset.
You may add music to the Music folder on the phone in the same way, then opt to play it by artist, album, or genre, in the conventional manner that most players handle MP3 files. Again, no iTunes! in fact, there is no software required for your computer at all, just connect the micro USB cable to your handset at one end - taking care of the pins as you do so - and inserting the other end into the USB port on your PC. The S3 and S4 Mini also allow you to add memory with micro SD cards up to 64GB, so you have plenty of storage options to play with.
The OCR feature of Telorion is really very good, and allows you to scan print by taking a picture of text by holding the phone approximately eight to nine inches abovethe document. I think the accuracy of OCR using Telorion is every bit as good as K-NFB Reader on a Symbian 60 Nokia handset ever was.
GPS in our area is very difficult to evaluate. We are surrounded by trees and farmland, so accuracy and the level of information obtained can be patchy to say the least. I am told, however, that the GPS app provides lots of feedback in both pedestrian and car modes. For me personally, GPS is not a selling point, and it appears to be that the more rural your area, the less value it has anyway.
Perhaps my favourite feature on Telorion is News. Here, I was delighted to find that Telorion loads the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, or the Independent newspapers. So instead of going to my computer every morning to log into the Talking Newspapers and Magazine Service, I can sit comfortably downstairs and read the Guardian. It is possible to use the up and down arrow keys to jump between articles, and select what to read with the OK key. Similarly, Weather allows me to ascertain a forecast for my area for the next 10 days.
Telorion supports a range of Bluetooth Braille displays, so you have the best of both worlds for reading texts, Emails and other information.
It is nice to know that you can also jump into Android whenever you want to. Removing the rubber overlay is easy. It is elasticated, so just peeling it away from the handset is all that is required. That leaves the entire screen at your disposal once you have launched Android from within Telorion. The two systems interact seamlessly with one another. You are able to return to Telorion by double-pressing the Home button quickly as you can set the phone up to work this way.
WISH LIST AND IMPROVEMENTS
I would like to see both podcast and Twitter facilities added to Telorion as these are popular features that would only enhance the user experience. It would also be useful to have a spirit level, timer and calculator included.
I feel that more work needs to be done to the colour identifier, GPS in car mode, and the radio application. Regarding the latter, it is only possible at present to add stations by URL, not by name or genre. This is therefore only useful if you know the URL to put in.
In order for Telorion to grow in development and popularity, I feel a greater choice of handsets is essential in order to keep up with the demands of change and availability.
DOCUMENTATION AND SUPPORT
The manual for Telorion has been pretty well written. It is available on the phone as a DAISY book, comes on an accompanying CD, or can be downloaded from the Telorion website. Steve Nutt of Computer Room Services is the UK dealer. As always, Steve knows the product very well, and is available for sales and technical support.
CONCLUSION AND PRICING
I have been so impressed with the careful way Telorion has been thought out and implemented that I have now purchased an S4 Mini. It will be my secondary handset which I know I will find extremely useful when I need to go out, or simply for leisure purposes. It is lightweight, very responsive, and gives me the option to learn Android as well as Apple's iOS. Do I believe that Telorion is a backward step now I have mastered a touchscreen handset? No! I have the best of both worlds, and anything that makes my life easier as a blind assistive technology user is fine by me.
If you are thinking of embarking on a Smartphone journey, Telorion is the compromise anyone with doubts over using a touchscreen should consider.
The S3 Telorion package costs £560, and the S4 Mini £500. This includes the handset unlocked to any network fitted with Telorion.
For more information, contact Steve Nutt on 01438 742286, or Email him at
you can also visit the Telorion website at