Any time is a good time to buy a gift. But if you are looking for excuses, the New Year is as good an excuse as any you need to splurge for someone special. So, take your pick and make up for the birthday gift you forgot, or simply make your visually impaired friend or loved one happy with these gifts.

TALKS

Here’s a powerful software that voice enables your cellphone. It runs on mobile phones that have the Nokia’s Series 60 Symbian-based operating system (Nokia 3650, Nokia 3660, Nokia 7650, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6681, Nokia N-Gage). With the installation of this software, in just a few minutes, your cellphone is transformed into a talkative creature. It will read out your phone book, the phone menus, incoming numbers, in short, anything that is displayed on the phone!

The software is installed on the memory card of the phone. One requires the I.M.E.I. number of the phone which is forwarded to Scansoft, the company manufacturing the software. Scansoft sends back a registration number which is required for the installation. You could install the software by yourself or get it installed at Saksham, New Delhi.
Price: Rupees 3,600 in India. (Special rate. Usually costs around Rupees 9,000-10,000 in the international market)

TALKS Premium

By paying Rupees 1,000 extra you can upgrade standard edition Talks software to a Premium edition. You can then install six software, which can turn this mobile phone into a digital voice recorder or an M.P.3 player. The mini G.P.S. utility can provide location information and help blind persons in their mobility. If your phone has a camera then you can put it to good use by making your phone a colour recogniser. This can be done by installing Seeing with Sound software compatible with Talks.
Price: Rupees 4,600 in India. (Special rate. Usually costs around Rupees 9,000-10,000 in the international market)

Braille Cards

If you really want to spoil someone, here’s a nice way to do it. Personalised Braille cards and Braille gifts for blind and partially sighted people can be ordered from www.braillecards.co.uk. Your own personal message is embossed in Braille onto the greeting card of your choice and mailed to that special person in time for that special day.

You can choose from among many handcrafted tactile cards. Braille cards works in partnership with The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, and 75 pence for every card sold is donated to the charity.

They also offer you the option to enclose a personalised letter of up to 8,500 characters, embossed on high quality paper with your card. This service is offered free of charge on all Internet orders.

This gift could set you back by up to Rupees 500, but your extravagance won’t be forgotten! All online payments are processed securely by Worldpay, to ensure that the transaction you make is safe. Orders require four working days to process.
Price: Ranges as per card and service selected.

VoiceZone-Digital Voice Recorder

A pen-sized digital voice recorder that is handy as a memory aid. It records 12 minutes of conversation. You can record phone numbers, directions, or any other sound and play them back at your convenience. The recording can be rewound, fast forwarded and stopped. The recorder beeps on deleting the recording. A volume dial makes it easy to control the volume. The recorder fits into a shirt pocket and runs on two pencil cells.
Price: Rupees 400.

top of page

Fujitel Talking phone

A landline phone that reads aloud the caller number thrice before ringing. Crank callers have no chance now. The phone also has a digital watch.
Price: Rupees 400

 

Voice Tone Talking Thermometer

This digital thermometer reads out the temperature in Fahrenheit. It is easy to use – all you have to do is place it against your skin, and it starts beeping periodically, letting you know that the temperature is being recorded. Once it has reached a stable temperature, a human voice reads it out. The thermometer also stores the temperature which can be played back. If left unused, it switches off in five minutes.
Price: Rupees 240.

Men’s Metal Braille Watch

An attractive gold and silver metal quartz watch with Braille markings. The lid lifts up easily to allow you to read the time.
Price: Rupees 2,000.

Talking Sports Wrist Watch

A smart looking plastic wrist watch that comes with a stopwatch facility, which can store two different times. The stainless steel back gives it added protection. The watch reads the time aloud.
Price: Rupees 260.

Talking Calculator

You can free your brain for other imaginative tasks now. The talking calculator calculates and, well, talks. It can be set to three different volume levels in case you are doing some secret calculations. It also has an alarm and a clock. It runs on two pencil cell batteries.
Price: Rupees 250; Rupees 500 with re-chargeable cells and charger.

top of page

Talking Table Clock

A chrome-plated clock with L.E.D. display and blue light. The large display area makes it easy to read the time. The clock announces the time too. It has two volume settings and is packed with features such as a stop watch, four alarm settings and date. It runs on two pencil cells.
Price: Rupees 390.

Folding Braille Chess board

A folding wooden chess board with plastic chess pieces that have Braille markings. The board folds itself half-way, forming a box for the chess pieces.
Price: Rupees 150.

Black, the movie

A special audio-described version of the Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee starrer. The film carries commentary by renowned theatre and film actress, Sushma Seth. For those who are new to the concept, audio-described films narrate silent portions of the film for the benefit so that persons with visual impairments know what is happening on-screen.
Price: Rupees 75.

All products, except Braille cards, are available at Saksham, New Delhi.
E-mail: info@saksham.org
Phones: +91-11-39454172, 98100 43626
Fax: +91-11-52411015.