New Application from Hamilton CapTel Allows BlackBerry Users to Read Calls

Hamilton CapTel, a communications and technology services provider based in Aurora, Neb., today introduced a new application for BlackBerry smartphones that will caption conversations, giving the hearing impaired the option to see a call as text. The company compares the captioning to the closed captioning that one would use on a television.

"Hamilton CapTel works very much like a traditional telephone, with one important addition: captions of everything being said are displayed in direct relation to what is being said. A CapTel user simply dials the number of the person s/he wishes to call," says Dixie Ziegler, vice president of Hamilton Relay, provider of the Hamilton Mobile CapTel services. “The call is seamlessly connected to the captioning service, where a skilled caption assistant generates captions using advanced voice recognition technology. The resulting text, or captions, are then transferred to the CapTel users' point of access."

The Hamilton Mobile CapTel App for BlackBerry smartphones supports the BlackBerry Bold 9700, BlackBerry Storm2 9550, and BlackBerry Torch 9800 models.

“Whether on the go or at home, it is frustrating not being able to understand what is being said on the phone. Now individuals with hearing loss can read what is said on their BlackBerry smartphones while listening at the same time," Ziegler said. "With the increasing use of smartphones, we knew that it made sense to roll out an application for BlackBerry users as part of our commitment to increasing accessibility to consumers nationwide.”