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issue 2 january-february 2005
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Headlines : India News
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Reliance launches new application for visually impaired users

Eyeway News Service

Under its Corporate Social Responsibility programme, Reliance Infocomm Ltd has launched an easy-to-navigate application - Call History -- that helps visually challenged subscribers to access call registry, including missed, dialled and received calls. ‘Call History’ is an easy-to-navigate application that works on a number-to-speech engine to enable visually impaired callers access call registry information, said Reliance Infocomm President (Applications and Solutions Group), Mahesh Prasad.

The development of the applications, which was an expansion of the company's CSR project `Drishti' that works with National Association of Blind (NAB), "touches the lives of disabled section of our populace", he said. The company soft-launched the solution on World Disabled Day, December 3.

Call History works on J2ME-based text-to-speech conversion application on R. World, Reliance Infocomm's suite of data applications, he added. The caller can listen to call information by clicking on the buttons, after the suite has been downloaded from R. World, Prasad said.

The service is currently available only on five voice ringtone compatible Reliance phones -- Samsung Rainbow, Samsung XBS, Samsung RCP, LG 7130 and LG 7230. Subscribers wanting to download this application should dial *444. Users then get a message informing them of the download’s completion.

Reliance Infocomm has also launched another application, called ‘Drishti Time’, where a caller can dial *337 from any Reliance IndiaMobile to know the time of the day through a recorded message.

Reliance Infocomm has also commissioned a nationwide toll-free infoline -- 39003100 -- for eye donations. "This move is important as out of every four visually challenged people in the world is an Indian. At least 1.5 to two million Indians can benefit through eye donations," Prasad said.

The company is also supporting some programmes of the National Association for Blind (N.A.B.), including Keratoplasty or corneal grafting, and tied-up with various ophthalmic hospitals for its Drishti Project, he said.

Other India News stories in this issue:
Extending the benefits of education to disabled children
Intelligent cane to guide blind users
Magiktuch concert for visually impaired people a grand success
New computer centre opened in Bangalore
Shwaas: A must watch film
Blind students open people’s eyes to horrors of dowry