Advent calendar day two - gifts

Top ten gift ideas for blind and partially sighted people

Stuck for inspiration on what to give your visually impaired friend, partner or relative for Christmas? We bring you 10 top gift ideas and the stockists that sell them. Merry Christmas from Action for Blind People!

1. Trekker Breeze

Give independence to a visually impaired person with this easy to use, hand-held, talking GPS system with single hand operation.

They will not get lost with the Breeze, which is very simple to learn and to put to good use. This small (5x2x1 inch) device voices the names of streets, intersections and landmarks as the user walks along, or is driven. No more asking strangers directions or asking a bus driver where the stop is. Routes can be recorded and retraced as required, making it easy to find a friend’s house, restaurant or even the local pub.

The device comes with a carry case and battery life is up to 8 hours.

Price: £485.00 plus £10.00 delivery and VAT
Available from: Humanware
Email: eu.info@humanware.com
Tel: 01933 415800

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2. i-Tell. Make your iPod Nano accessible

Does someone you know get irritated by their iPod when they can’t access it? If so, the i-Tell is the gift for them. This is a truly useful device for the visually impaired iPod addict.

The i-Tell will voice your title, artists and any audio books stored. Simply plug the device into the iPod and plug in earphones to the i-Tell. Controls on the i-Tell operate the i-Pod. A set-up menu gives control over the voice, voice speed and pauses between words.

The i-Tell is powered from the i-Pod and is compatible with most iPods which have a docking function.

Price: £59.95 incl. VAT & delivery from:
Available from: Cobolt Systems
E-mail: obolt@compuserve.com
Tel: 01493 700172

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3. Creative Zen Stone MP3 Player

Probably the easiest to use MP3 player available. The Zen Stone 2Gb MP3 player stores up to 1,000 tracks and plays back for up to 10 hours before a recharge is required. It is very small, measuring 3.5cm x 5.4cm x 1.3cm and is available in several colours. Repeat, play, shuffle, skip functions are available. A USB connection is used for file transfer from a PC.

Price: £24.99
Available from: Argos .
Also available on eBay .

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4. Azabat Accessible Games

Azabat games are self-voiced, so they don't need a screen reader. There is nothing to install as they run direct from the CD. Simply insert the CD into a PC and let the fun begin.

Volume 1: Easy to play games
Yahtzee, Klondike, Blackjack and Connect 4

Volume 2: Word Games
Hangman, Kountdown, Anagrams, Number crunch, Target and Link-words

Volume 3: Grid Games
Sudoku, UXB!, Battleships and Memory

Volume 4: Strategy Games
Backgammon, Draughts, Dominoes and Scrazabat

Volume 5: Word Puzzles
Word Search, Code Words, Word Tower and Word Ladder

Volume 6: Games based on Soduku
Fubuki, Futoshiki, Greater Than, Jigsaw Sudoku, Killer Sudoku

Educational Games
A volume of 4 educational games designed for blind and partially-sighted children, using vocabularies for Reception, Key Stages 1 & 2, and beyond.
Hangman, Anagrams, Word Search and Spelling Tests

Prices
Games Volumes: £40.00 inclusive
Educational Games Volume: £30.00 inclusive
Available from: Azabat
sales@azabat.co.uk
Also available from: RNIB , Techready , Choice Technology , Hagger Electronics

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4. Milestone 311 Daisy Player

A very nice credit card sized voice recorder, MP3 player or Daisy player. The sound quality is good and the Milestone has five large contrasting buttons for navigation. Navigation is voice assisted. Storage is by means of a supplied 2gb SD card and files are stored in labelled folders, which can be navigated using voice control. When reading Daisy books, bookmarks can be inserted and a 15 place history is also very useful. A jump forward and back function allows navigation through a book in 5 minute steps.

The Milestone has USB connectivity to transfer files from a PC running Windows or an Apple Mac with OS X.

Price: £229.00 inclusive of VAT
Available from: RNIB shop

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6. Mobile with TALKS/ZOOMS

Is someone you know planning to get a new mobile? How about treating them to TALKSTM or ZOOMSTM? Both these programs work with mobile phones with the Symbian Series 60 operating system.

TALKSTM speech allows the user to access most of the phone's features, such as contacts, text messages, caller ID, the Nokia web browser and 'help' files.

ZOOMSTM magnifies the phone screen, rather like a PC magnification program. Up to 16x magnification is possible. The 'Distributed Views' mode divides the screen into several sections, enabling simultaneous views of several areas. When objects such as a menu item are larger than the display area, a scrolling feature will automatically scroll the display. An intelligent tracking feature assists with use and there are colour inversion options. Short-cut keys can also be used to access some system information. ZOOMSTM also works with TALKSTM.

Price:
TALKS™ Premium Edition: £150.00.
ZOOMS™: £125.00.
Available from: Aspire Consultancy
Email: info@aspire-consultancy.co.uk
Tel. 01904 762788

Comp Room
Email: steve@comproom.co.uk
Tel. 01438 742286

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7. Illuminated Hobby Magnifiers

Great for craft work, painting, sewing, tapestry, cross stitch etc. High quality magnifying lenses on flexible arms, putting the magnification and light exactly where it is needed.

Professional, low heat magnifying lamp with extra large lens. The Deluxe has a large 19cm x 16cm lens with a 1.75x magnification. The light source is provided by two low heat 9 watt Daylight fluorescent tubes 18 watts in total.

The Deluxe is ideal for tasks where good light source and magnification are essential.
A desk clamp fitting comes as standard.

Magnification: 1.75x
Lens Size: 19cm x 16cm
Price: £111.63 Inclusive of VAT & delivery
Available from: Optima Low Vision Services Ltd
Email: sales@optimalowvision.co.uk
Tel: 01803 864218

The Ultra Slim Fluorescent is the only magnifying lamp of its kind on the market. It combines the largest diameter lens (17.5cm diameter) with the most technologically advanced, slimline design and a unique 28 watt circular daylight, high light output tube. The combination of lens, light source and design create an unbeatable viewing area when compared to any other magnifying lamp. A desk clamp fitting comes as standard. Accessories for The Ultra Slim can also be purchased separately.

Magnification: 1.75x
Lens size: 17.5 cm diameter
Price: £99.88 Inclusive of VAT & delivery
Available from: Optima Low Vision Services Ltd
Email: sales@optimalowvision.co.uk
Tel: 01803 864218

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8. Guide

Does someone you know want to send e-mails, surf the net or use Skype, but does not want to learn all about a PC and Windows? Well, here is the answer. Guide is a simple-to-learn program which will ‘hold a hand’ as a person learns how to use it.

GUIDE is an all-in-one computer package, for people who are blind or partially sighted. It has been specifically designed to be easy to use and easy to learn. So it doesn't matter if you've never used a computer before; GUIDE will help you to achieve the results you want.
GUIDE has its own in-built screen reader, so it will read out the text on every screen, even while you're typing. It also has its own in-built screen magnifier, so you can enlarge the text on every screen, whether you are writing a letter or surfing the Internet.

GUIDE requires very little training, so most people can easily teach themselves how to use it. This is because GUIDE uses easy-to-follow menu options for each task, which are controlled via the keyboard and displayed on uncluttered screens. If you are stuck, a Help Page can be accessed from any screen to give you extra advice and support.

Price: £395.00
Available from: http://www.softwareexpress.co.uk
Email: sales@softwareexpress.co.uk
Tel. 0845 22 55 005

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9. Hand Video Magnifiers

Ideal for shopping lists, looking at price tags etc. A hand-held video magnifier makes an ideal gift for the ‘retail addict’, or indeed many other people. There are several on the market, but I’ve picked out the Compact+ as an excellent all-round device.

The Compact+, winner of an Independent Living Design Award, is a pocket-sized video magnifier. Simply place it on a newspaper or magazine, and the magnified image is displayed on the integrated screen.

The Compact+ has a bright and sharp image. A full colour, 4.3-inch wide screen offers up to 10x variable magnification, in a wide range of high-contrast viewing modes including semi-colours.

With the camera located at the centre of the Compact+, positioning over reading material is so easy. With the added benefit of a collapsible handgrip, the Compact+ can also be used in the same way as a traditional handheld magnifier.
When out and about shopping, the useful snapshot facility can be used to capture images such as the price displayed on a supermarket shelf. Simply place the Compact+ over the object, press the snapshot button and the captured image can be viewed immediately. This makes reading easier in places that are sometimes difficult to reach.

Price: £495.00 plus VAT and delivery
Available from: Optelec
Email: info@optelec.co.uk
Tel: 01923 231313

Also available from:
http://enhancedvision.co.uk
http://www.pamtrad.co.uk
http://humanware.com
http://www.professional-vision-services.co.uk/
http://www.videospec.co.uk/

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10. EasyReader - Digital Talking Book Player

EasyReader is a software digital talking book player, which allows the user to read and listen to content through a combination of text, audio and images. One of the main advantages of using EasyReader is that the content becomes easy to navigate through, where a reader can skip through sections of their content and insert bookmarks to highlight areas of interest. EasyReader is extremely easy-to-use, making reading an absolute pleasure.

• Enjoy Digital Talking Books on a PC, without the need for an expensive hardware DAISY player.
• EasyReader creates its own audio for text only DAISY books using any of the synthesisers on your PC.
• EasyReader creates its own audio for DTBook DAISY XML books created by Microsoft's 'Save As DAISY XML' Word Plug-in.
• You can view the text highlighted as it reads aloud, an especially useful tool for those with learning difficulties, dyslexia, or low literacy levels.

Price: £47.00 incl VAT
Available from: http://www.yourdolphin.com
Email: info@dolphinuk.co.uk
Tel: 0845 130 5353