navyman

I got a free Ojo videophone from SnapVRS a couple of months ago and am enjoying it. It finally arrived after I applied about a year ago on their website. SnapVRS finally became operational in July 2007. I also use a VP-200 in a separate room in the house, so I'm familiar with Sorenson VP-100 and VP-200 videophones too.

I am wondering how many AllDeaf members have applied for an Ojo? How many have received it? For those who've used it so far, how do you like it?

I appreciate the way you can receive video messages directly on it from other Deafies. It looks cool and doesn't require a separate television, so it fits almost anywhere. It also works very well for slower broadband connections.

If anyone has any questions about the Ojo or SnapVRS, I'd be happy to provide feedback on my experiences with them so far.

Deafness

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Cousin Vinny

I applied for a Ojo a month or so ago. From my recent email exchange, Snap!VRS has been somewhat disappointing. I wanted a single phone number; not the two-phone number system commonly used in a relay system. Some providers are now just starting to offer single number solutions.

I work as an itinerant teacher, and I need people to call me, especially parents. I can't have them 'turned off' if they have to call the relay company like Snap!VRS first, and then give the operator my Ojo video phone number. I need a seamless, transparent calling system, where the hearing person dials my number, and the relay company automatically picks up the call and starts relaying information.

Also, I was hoping that the Ojo videophone was 'portable'. I saw a demo model in CompUSA recently, and it is too bulky for my liking. I was hoping to bring the videophone with me to different school locations, and it now increasingly appears unlikely.Can you elaborate on this a little bit more? On a VP-100 unit, I just get a brief message saying someone called me and I missed the call. It would have been nice to have a 'video answering machine' that other Deafies can use to leave messages, not just the relay service and hearing people. That feature alone may be worth my while in trying to secure an Ojo videophone.

navyman

That's one of the OJO's trump cards..it literally and indeed has a video answering machine. A deaf friend of mine, who also has an Ojo, called me and left a message with me. However, I do not know if someone with a VP-100 could leave a message. I haven't tested that possibility yet, and SnapVRS's tech support webpage seems to imply that only Ojo users can leave messages with other Ojo users. However, I do know that VP-100/200 and Dlink 1000 users can call an Ojo user by using an IP address or DNS name if available.

As a VCO user, another feature I like about the Ojo is that I don't have to give the SnapVRS interpreter a voice telephone number to call me back on to set up VCO. The Ojo itself automatically makes audio available to all parties involved in the call via a speaker.

navyman

Cousin Vinny,

Someone was kind enough to share with me a picture of a portable Ojo videophone that Worldgate displayed at the CES 2007 expo. I understand that it's in development, but when it would become available to the general public is unknown. If that ever comes out, I will buy one for myself! Here's the picture:

Cousin Vinny

Oh, that's one sexy videophone! Thanks for the link. I may just get one. However, my dream videophone would be a regular cellphone that has a foldable tripod and built-in video camera, and one that can run on 3G cellular networks. The Deaf market for this kind of phone probably will be white-hot.

authentic

To me... ojo is BIG, and it is like a big cell phone from World War II .
I gotta wait for a smaller/lighter cell phone with live-video camera to come out in United States.

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Nesmuth

I got my Ojo fast too and Snapvrs is a possibility to dominate.

Richard

Attached Images

Picture 4.jpg (61.4 KB, 59 views)

Tousi

Yeah but if the current Ojo can be folded, it wouldn't be too bad for portability.

IloveVP

Dream on... hahaha

IloveVP

Wonder if SnapVRS has a OJO number for automated test callback just like Sorensonvrs. I do not want to bother the other OJO users to call back to see if it works.

Reba

WWII cell phones?

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Reba

The current ones don't fold up but they look like they should. Instead of being a solid piece, they should be hinged and jointed for folding. That would be great!

I would like one for a way to directly communicate with Deaf friends and clients but I can't afford it yet.

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"This most beautiful system [The Universe] could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being."
-- Sir Isaac Newton

Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.
--John Adams

Tousi

Fanatic probably meant those old, boxy radiophones, eh?

authentic

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TheLucky1

You can test your Ojo by calling SNAP (7627).
You will see a recorded message, although it's not a "Callback".

Chevy57

See travel version of OJO on Engadget

Ojo Portable Video phone - Engadget

But its problem with poor connection in hotels and hotspots

Reba

That looks like a crank up WWI army field phone. That's not a cell phone.

Off topic note:

"...Dr Martin Cooper, a former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, is considered the inventor of the first modern portable handset. Cooper made the first call on a portable cell phone in April 1973...."
Selling The Cell Phone - History Of Cellular Phones

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"This most beautiful system [The Universe] could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being."
-- Sir Isaac Newton

Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.
--John Adams

Reba

Very interesting!

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"This most beautiful system [The Universe] could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being."
-- Sir Isaac Newton

Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.
--John Adams

navyman

Dbarovian, thanks for sharing this link with us. The article states that the travel Ojo actually is GOOD for poor connections in hotels and hotspots. I think that's because it's SIP-based and has STUN capabilities. It's the STUN function that uniquely enables the Ojo to figure out how to traverse most NAT firewalls.

Here's a blurb about what STUN means:

"STUN is the most deployed option and will traverse most NAT firewalls. STUN works by using a lightweight UDP protocol and an external STUN server to identify the type of translation performed by NAT firewall(s). It will then identify specifically the exact translation the NAT has chosen to do on a particular UDP connection used for RTP or SIP. This information is gathered without the specific co-operation of the NAT firewall and is then used to establish the SIP and RTP sessions. While virtually all consumer premises equipment uses a flavor of cone NAT, in a corporate environment it is more likely to encounter symmetric NAT. In this case, an ALG or local proxy is unfortunately needed."

Cousin Vinny

One other thing; Something this obvious shouldn't be that easily forgotten! Does the Ojo videophone have a flasher? How would one know if there's a call? What kind of visual signal does the Ojo provide?

navyman

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If you are looking at the Ojo, it will use non-light visual cues, but that doesn't do us Deafies any good if we aren't looking at it. Unfortunately, the PVP-900 (that's the black Ojo) does not have a light signalling RJ-11 jack like the VP-100/200 or Dlink VPs have. I also found out that the PVP-1000 (that's the silver Ojo) has an RJ-11 phone jack, but it does not produce ringtone voltage for incoming internet VRS/VP calls, so that's not an option.

I asked this question of SnapVRS tech support a few weeks ago and their response was to use an audio-based signalling device, for example, like the Sonic Alert USS360. Since I personally use the Alertmaster wireless system, I will be ordering their audio-based signaller, the AM-AMAX.

At any rate, it is my understanding that SnapVRS and Worldgate may be considering developing an Ojo that is geared solely to Deaf VRS customers, much like the VP-100/200 are. The current Ojo already does a great job, but like anything, it certainly wouldn't hurt for it to benefit from a couple of minor tweaks.

Mizzou

DreamDeaf already order Ojo VP and that what she explain to me.....

you have portable VP with remote alike VP on tv. I am forward to see it soon as it arrives.

authentic

[QUOTE=Reba;835836]That looks like a crank up WWI army field phone. That's not a cell phone.



Not exactly what I am talking about. I was just giving you the picture (in your brain to see) how big it is. In World War II, there is a soldier who carry the phone box, and the soldier behind him carry the phone cords. I saw that in many movies that related to World War II.
Bottom line is... you can see that they are so big, just like Ojo. Wait until 20 years later, you would be like wow I remember Ojo, that is huge, just like WWII BIG PHONE.

hope you got it now.

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ideafspy

Do you have a proof that will high chance that SnapVRS is dominate on market to deaf community?

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navyman

If Sorenson doesn't act quickly to address the frustrations of many Deafies with their long wait for a VP-200, I see no reason why SnapVRS won't capture many of those Deafies as customers. I've already seen several of my Deaf friends start to defect from Sorenson to SnapVRS for this very reason.

As I've said before, I have & use both the VP-200 and the Ojo. I love both videophones. I feel sorry for folks who are still stuck with a VP-100 or a Dlink 1000.

RickL66

... and I know several deafies WAITING for their OJO as well. It goes both ways.

TechBill

I don't think Ojo is gonna be a good video phone unless they change and update their firmware to allow us adding phone number for SnapVSR.

I really like the Ojo .. good quaity video but I have to finger spell each phone number I want to call each time when I use SnapVRS.

I don't like that and I want to be ale to put it in phone list and click on person I want to call then SnapVRS will see number pop up on screen. Sorenson does it this way.


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navyman

There's a relatively new website to post your VRS reviews. I posted my feedback on Sorenson and SnapVRS, the two providers that I tend to use.

TechBill

It not about SnapVRS service.. It the hardware limitation I am complaining about 8-/ unable to save phone number for VRS in Ojo Phone.



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navyman

I completely agree with you. In my own review of SnapVRS on vrsreview.com, I pointed out one of the downsides of the Ojo was the inability to manually key in a phone number prior to calling the interpreter. It would be nice if, like the VP-200, the Ojo was able to keep track of numbers we had previously inputted as calls. However, I do believe you may be able to save the DNS names of other VRS providers in your Ojo phone book.

I am hoping SnapVRS will work with their Ojo supplier to integrate more "deaf-friendly" features into an already wonderful videophone. In the meantime, I feel that the Ojo has a lot more going for it than against it.

In the end, only competition will help the VRS industry technologically innovate. We would do well as a Deaf community to support both the VP-100/200 and especially the Ojo so that VRS providers will come to know and understand that they must try to differentiate themselves from their competition.