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New model of CapTel phone provides captions over the Internet

March 31, 2009 – Madison, WI – Ultratec, Inc. today announced the new CapTel 800i® telephone – the latest addition to the company’s Captioned Telephone line of products and services that help people with hearing loss use the phone. Designed specifically for use with high-speed Internet service, the CapTel 800i gives people the advantage of written text captions to help understand what their phone callers say.

Unlike previous CapTel models which rely on only an analog telephone line, the new CapTel 800i connects to both a telephone line and an Ethernet / IP connection. The telephone line carries the voice portion of the call, in the same way as any other typical telephone conversation. At the same time, the Ethernet / IP connection automatically links the CapTel 800i over the Internet to the CapTel Captioning Service. Operators at the Captioning Service use voice-recognition technology to transcribe everything the caller says into text, which is instantly transmitted to the CapTel 800i over the Internet connection. The captions appear on the phone’s display screen, giving users the ability to hear what they can of the phone conversation and read what they need to in the display screen.

This seamless, behind-the-scenes connection to the Internet automatically gives CapTel 800i users captions on any call – incoming or outgoing. Captions can be turned on or off at any time during the call, so they are available to help clarify things whenever the user has difficulty hearing what a caller says.

Requirements

The new CapTel 800i requires both telephone service and high-speed or broadband Internet access. The telephone connection can be any telephone service, including standard analog line, VOIP connection, DSL, or cable modem telephone service (an analog port is required for use with a digital PBX). The Ethernet connection can be any basic broadband Internet service (it does not work with dial-up connections). People who do not already have Internet access should consider the CapTel 200, an alternative that relies on standard analog telephone lines instead of an Internet connection.

Availability

The new phone is expected to be available later this summer.

For CapTel user, Helen Rizzi, it’s all about independence. “Before I had CapTel, I had to depend on other people to make and receive my telephone calls,” she explains, as her progressive hearing loss made it difficult to use the phone. “If I was not at home, I had to depend on others – sometimes friends and sometimes complete strangers – to help.”

“It was not until I received a CapTel phone that I could be entirely independent in placing and receiving calls,” she states.

Helen, who lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, has never been shy about finding ways to deal with her hearing loss. “Even though for the past year and a half I have had a cochlear implant,” she explains, “I still use the CapTel for all my calls, to make sure that I understand each word of the conversation.”

“I use CapTel for every single phone call that I make,” she continues. Helen relies on CapTel with the USB option, hooked up to her computer. “I am so pleased to have the large text of the conversations printed on my computer screen,” she says.

“I like the independence that the CapTel gives me. It makes life safer and happier knowing that no matter what time of the day or night, I can make a CapTel call myself. That alone means the world to me.”

People who have an Apple iPhone 3G can talk and read captions – all on one device! Use the iPhone to access the WebCapTel* site of your choice, then enter the phone number for your iPhone and the phone number of the person you want to call. Speak and listen on the iPhone like any other call, while reading captions on the iPhone display. If you have an iPhone but do not have 3G service, you can read the captions on your iPhone, but you will need a second telephone for the voice part of the conversation (see directions above).

CapTel users can benefit from some of the exciting new technology that has recently become available. By using a “smartphone” or mobile device that has Internet access, you can now see captions of your phone calls even when you are away from your CapTel phone.

To see captions of your calls, you’ll need two things:
1. A telephone to talk/listen on (it can be a cell phone, a cordless phone – or any kind of phone!)
2. A mobile device with Internet access to run WebCapTel* on (such as a “smartphone” or mobile device running Windows Mobile 6 or Apple Mobile Safari browser – see Which Mobile Devices Work?)

Using your smartphone or mobile device, go online to the WebCapTel* site of your choice. On the site, enter the phone number of the telephone you will be speaking/listening on. Then enter the phone number of the person you want to call. Next, click on “Place Call”. WebCapTel sets up the call between you and the other person, then displays captions of the call on your mobile device. You talk and listen over one phone, while reading captions on the mobile device.

Which Mobile Devices Work?

WebCapTel supports the following smartphones and mobile devices:

• Apple 3G iPhone
• MotorolaQ9C
• HTC Mogul
• Treo 800w

WebCapTel may also work on other devices that use Windows Mobile 6 or Apple Mobile Safari. You can also run WebCapTel on any computer with broadband Internet access

Caution! Do not plug the CapTel into any telephone line other than a standard, analog telephone line, DSL line or an analog port. Connection to an office-type digital telephone network may damage the CapTel or the telephone system and will void the warranty. To be certain of what type of phone line works, see chart below.

To use CapTel in a home or office that has a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), you must connect to a DSL filter. The filter eliminates interference to and from the CapTel phone, allowing it to share the same line as the DSL service. Fax machines and answering machines also require DSL filters to work in a DSL environment.

Without a filter, line noises from the DSL service – such as echoes or static – can be picked up by the CapTel phone, resulting in connection problems.

The DSL filter is usually a small rectangular device that has connectors on both ends. You simply unplug the telephone line from the wall jack, insert the filter into the jack, then plug the telephone line into the filter. Typically, you’d install DSL filters on every telephone, fax machine, etc., in your home, leaving the DSL computer modem as the only unfiltered device.

If you make long distance calls, register your long distance carrier with CapTel Customer Service so that your long distance calls are billed under your existing calling plan. If you do not register your Long Distance Provider with CapTel, you may get a long distance bill from a default provider.

People who call you long distance should also register their long distance service, so that their captioned calls to you are billed under their current calling plan.

Registering is fast and easy! Just contact CapTel Customer Service!

Noted Wall Street Journal columnist Melinda Beck recently singled out CapTel in the September 16 issue of the paper as, “One of the niftiest advances in telephone technology.” Ms. Beck recommends CapTel and WebCapTel to people with hearing loss in her regular column on health-related issues. Read full article.