If you thought the iPhone 4′s remarkable FaceTime feature was just for fun, then think again. ZVRS – a company which specializes in video relay software for the deaf – has just announced its latest software: iZ, for iPhone 4.
iZ was announced at a private event held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia, according to Apple Insider. There, the app’s developers successfully demonstrated how deaf iPhone 4 owners may use iZ to communicate over the phone.
This is a remarkable feat achieved by ZVRS, and if AT&T (and other cellular data networks around the world) come to some agreement with Apple, FaceTime over 3G could effectively invent a “telephone for the deaf.”
I have to admit, this is the first time I’ve thought the iPhone 4′s slogan, this changes everything, might actually hold more than an ounce of truth.
ZVRS plans to release iZ on July 26th, which is the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the meantime, let’s hope this very clever application fulfils its humongous potential.
There already is a “telephone for the deaf.” Any device that can instant message can be used by a deaf person to make a phone call over IP using a relay service. Before that there was the TTY device. And there are already other phones that can do video calls on 3G with Skype. Just because it’s using the iPhone 4 doesn’t make it groundbreaking, the technology and services are already out there.
How does a deaf person hold the phone while signing with both hands, anyway?