What is available in Canada to communicate via PDA or cell phone?

lemontree

lemontree

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I would like to get a "smart" cell phone or PDA, but I am clueless how I can use something like that to communicate with both hearing and deaf people. There's so many products out there like Blackberry, Sidekick, Treo, and now I am hearing about Qwerty.

Last I checked, Canada does not have Internet Relay, or am I wrong? Would I still need to use a TTY in order to make TTY/Voice Over calls or use the relay service? How much would it cost to use like a Blackberry or Sidekick per month? What company supplies the access (i.e., Sprint, Bell, Telus, etc.)?

There's so many threads on AD about such devices so I decided to make a new one. My apologies for repeating a topic.
 
does they have sidekick? it could be good enough for you to start to own one.
 
ok hey, am from canada too firstly!! and i am also on the hunt for devices...

Treo, Sidekick,Blackberry etc. are products made by companies. For your information, QWERTY is "not" a product; it is just a type of keyboard on treo, sidekick and blackberry, that is actually different from the computer keyboard. QWERTY is just the name given to a new style of keyboards specifically designed for smartphones.

I have heard a lot that Sidekick is extremely popular in USA, and it is being offered by T-mobile. I don't really know if its offered here, but you could try contacting Rogers about this. If you actually buy a Sidekick from US and use a Rogers/Fido service in Canada, I doubt if it will work since the services are probably not offered by Rogers, etc. at the moment. Treo is very good, but is mostly meant for Business consumers, and it actually has a built-in telephone, so I don't know how useful this would be considering your level of loss.

Best solution out here happens to be the Blackberry. I know a lot of HOH/DEAF people who use it, and even CHS encourage it. The services are offered by Rogers and they have excellent data plans - you could use email, etc. And ofcourse, blackberrys would have some TTY functionalities. Sidekick is the only device that has TTY capabilities built in. If you get a blackberry, you can primarily use it for email, and possibly get a TTY accessory separately. Drawbacks - there are not really good services offered in Canada at the moment. Internet Relay has not yet started, and it is definitely hard. Bell offers TTY services, and so you could first check out the Blackberry you want, then get the service from Rogers. Hope this helps to some extent, but I am really not so informed of these slow-developments out here in Canada.

You could also look up my earlier post : http://www.alldeaf.com/relay-services/40851-internet-relay-canada.html

and hey, let me know how it goes ...thnks!
 
...QWERTY is "not" a product; it is just a type of keyboard on treo, sidekick and blackberry, that is actually different from the computer keyboard. QWERTY is just the name given to a new style of keyboards specifically designed for smartphones...

Oh, now that I did not know. Thanks for the info.

I have heard a lot that Sidekick is extremely popular in USA, and it is being offered by T-mobile. I don't really know if its offered here, but you could try contacting Rogers about this. If you actually buy a Sidekick from US and use a Rogers/Fido service in Canada, I doubt if it will work since the services are probably not offered by Rogers, etc. at the moment. Treo is very good, but is mostly meant for Business consumers, and it actually has a built-in telephone, so I don't know how useful this would be considering your level of loss.

That was something I wondered about; if I bought like a Treo, Blackberry, or Sidekick in the USA if it would work in Canada. I wouldn't buy one that has a contract, but full price (like $600), then sign up with some wireless carrier that had a good plan (like 50 free text messages a month or whatever). I do want the telephone ability as I can do either TTY or voice-over.

...there are not really good services offered in Canada at the moment. Internet Relay has not yet started, and it is definitely hard. Bell offers TTY services, and so you could first check out the Blackberry you want, then get the service from Rogers. Hope this helps to some extent, but I am really not so informed of these slow-developments out here in Canada...

Yeah, I haven't a clue where to go to sign up with the services. I wish Canada would get the Internet Relay. I've seen lots of positive reviews about it from those in the USA. Say, wasn't there like Spring, Primus, Vonage in addition to Telus, SaskTel, Bell Canada, Rogers for Canada?
 
I heard in the bigger cities t-mobile is available in Canada. As far as rely service don't really know about that.

In general, there is so much to choose from Sprint Treo, T-mobile's Sidekick and Blackberry.

I personally, like Sidekick bec its easier to use. I have heard frustration stories about Sprint Treo that it takes a while to get used to it. Most deaf people use sidekick in the USA. Hope you find the right pager.
 
Qwerty

QWERTY is not the name of a new technology or style of keyboard. It just describes how the keys are laid out on an English-style typewriter above the left hand of the "home row" for touch typists. Since the letters could be pronounced like a word, it has been used at least since I learned to type in the late 1960s. It's probably been used much longer, but I don't feel like looking it up on Google.

Since Research In Motion (RIM) -- the company that makes Blackberry -- is a Canadian company, I would imagine Blackberry would be hosted by Canadian wireless services.

There have been a couple of threads about relay service availability in Canada.

Probably the best strategy to learn more about using a PDA for text is to go to the various wireless companies and type the word "deaf" or "data" in the "search" box to see what they do (or do not) offer.

Good luck
-AH
 
QWERTY is not the name of a new technology or style of keyboard. It just describes how the keys are laid out on an English-style typewriter above the left hand of the "home row" for touch typists. Since the letters could be pronounced like a word, it has been used at least since I learned to type in the late 1960s.

Great explanation. Thanks tigrlily! :)

Since Research In Motion (RIM) -- the company that makes Blackberry -- is a Canadian company, I would imagine Blackberry would be hosted by Canadian wireless services...

You are right. You know, I didn't start thinking about the different types of "smart phones" and PDAs until it was on the news how people couldn't use their Blackberry for like six hours because of a software failure at RIM. That's when I thought where do I go that is reliable and won't crash when I need it.

Probably the best strategy to learn more about using a PDA for text is to go to the various wireless companies and type the word "deaf" or "data" in the "search" box to see what they do (or do not) offer.

That's part of my problem; what are the wireless companies?
 
I heard in the bigger cities t-mobile is available in Canada. As far as rely service don't really know about that.

T-mobile is available in Canada? I didn't know that, I better do some Googling. I often go to visit family in rural area and I might not be able to use the PDA there. I've seen the telly ads for T-Mobile (with Catherine Zeta Jones) and they always have amazing phones and PDAs.

...I personally, like Sidekick bec its easier to use. I have heard frustration stories about Sprint Treo that it takes a while to get used to it. Most deaf people use sidekick in the USA...

Oceanblue7, are you able to do both TTY (whether through relay or direct) and VCO on the Sidekick?
 
Oceanblue7 said:
I heard in the bigger cities t-mobile is available in Canada. As far as rely service don't really know about that.

In general, there is so much to choose from Sprint Treo, T-mobile's Sidekick and Blackberry.

I personally, like Sidekick bec its easier to use. I have heard frustration stories about Sprint Treo that it takes a while to get used to it. Most deaf people use sidekick in the USA. Hope you find the right pager.
Click to expand...
You can use your Sidekick in Canada, but you'll be forced to pay huge bills on international roaming charges. At this time, T-Mobile (t-mobile.com) does not offer services in Canada, but Fido (fido.ca) used to sell Hiptop (Sidekick in Canada) but they have long stopped selling Hiptop. You could still use Hiptop through Fido, if you buy one on eBay or other places.
 
Brian said:
You can use your Sidekick in Canada, but you'll be forced to pay huge bills on international roaming charges. At this time, T-Mobile (t-mobile.com) does not offer services in Canada, but Fido (fido.ca) used to sell Hiptop (Sidekick in Canada) but they have long stopped selling Hiptop. You could still use Hiptop through Fido, if you buy one on eBay or other places.
Click to expand...

Brian, that is exactly another thing I was wondering. How much does it cost? If I am in Vancouver and want to text message someone in Chicago, how much would that cost? What about if I am in Toronto and want to telephone either TTY or VCO someone in Saskatoon how much does that cost? What about local calls and text messages?

Ugh, this is so complicated! That's why I waited so long to think about getting a smart cellphone or PDA. :ugh3:
 
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