Description
One hundred percent accessible cell phone for people who are blind or visually impaired.
MiniVision2+ is an easy-to-use cell phone that allows persons who have vision loss to remain independent. Features such as large and tactile buttons, a voice guide to transform the phone into a talking companion, the ability to control much of the phone by voice, the ability to adjust font size and color scheme, make this phone the perfect cell phone for users who are blind or visually impaired. The phone also has useful features, such as voice memos, notes and money identifier.
Unlocked 4G VoLTE phone for AT&T, T-Mobile, and compatible GSM networks such as MINT Mobile, Simple Mobile, Red Pocket Mobile, Cricket Wireless, Straight Talk, and Metro by T-Mobile.
Receive 3 months of FREE service from Mint Mobile with your purchase! Only $15 to $25 per month thereafter. You may also select T-Mobile, Simple Mobile, Red Pocket, and Metro by T-Mobile or another compatible provider.
Specifications
Dimensions: 125 x 60 x 13.5 mm / 4.92 x 2.36 x 0.53 inch
Weight: 103 g / 0.23 pounds
Display: 2.3’’ / QVGA (240 x 320 pixels)
Processor: Dual Core Cortex-A7
Internal Memory: RAM 1 GB, Flash 8 GB
External Memory: SD card, up to 32GB
Cellular connectivity: 4G VoLTE / 3G / 2G
4G LTE Band: 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 17, 66, 71
Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 (2.4 GHz b/g/n) and Bluetooth 4.2
SIM card format: single nano-SIM
Connectors: audio jack 3.5 mm, Micro-USB
Power consumption:
Battery: 1600 mAh Li-ion
Standby time: 200 hours
Talk time: 7 hours
Flash LED and Camera: 2 MPixels
Notifications: Ringtones and vibrate functions
Color: White w/ black keypad
HAC rating: M3/T4 (3G and 4G)
Speakers: back port loudspeaker
Keypad: Physical keypad with large tactile buttons
Voice guide: TTS (text-to-speech) voice guide with multiple languages and voices
Emergency: Dedicated SOS button with customizable settings
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Dutch, Finish, Croatian, etc.
Carrier support: Unlocked 4G VoLTE phone for AT&T, T-Mobile, and compatible GSM networks such as MINT Mobile, Simple Mobile, Red Pocket Mobile, Cricket Wireless, Straight Talk, and Metro by T-Mobile.
Accessories included: Charger with Micro-USB cable, charging cradle, earbuds, protective case, quick start guide.
Certifications
FCC: 2AXFA-MINIVISION2-2
IN THE BOX
Device: Cell phone
Accessories: Charger with Micro-USB cable, charging cradle, earbuds, protective case, quick start guide.
Features
ACCESSIBILITY
MiniVision2+ is 100 percent accessible to individuals who are blind. Its features make it the perfect phone for individuals who are visually impaired, blind, hard of hearing or seniors.
VOICE GUIDE
Speech interface guides the user while using the phone. It speaks everything that is on the screen, speaks the keys that are pressed and even prompts the user to perform certain functions. Caller ID, amount of remaining battery power, date, contacts, list of missed calls and text messages are read out loud by MiniVision2+.
VOICE COMMANDS
Place calls and send text messages by voice. Also, the user can enter contacts, create alarms, voice memos, notes and events entirely, or partially, by voice. Many applications can be opened by voice.
CONTACTS
MiniVision2+ allows users who are blind to enter their own contacts (by voice and keypad) and move through the contact list to hear the contact names read out loud.
MESSAGES
Send Text messages by voice or with the assistance of the talking keypad. Received text messages will be read out loud.
STATUS
Battery power level, time, date and missed calls and messages are read out loud.
DISPLAY
Users can increase the font size and choose between several predefined display color schemes such as white on black or black on white.
SOS BUTTON
The phone has a dedicated SOS button on its back to call emergency contacts.
APPLICATIONS
Applications include phone, messages, alarm, calendar, FM radio, color identifier, calculator, voice memos, notes, flashlight, where am I?, camera, photo album and weather. All applications talk and are accessible to people who are blind.
CARRIER COMPATIBILITY
Unlocked 4G VoLTE phone confirmed to work on AT&T, T-Mobile, and compatible GSM networks such as MINT Mobile, Simple Mobile, Red Pocket Mobile, Cricket Wireless, Straight Talk, and Metro by T-Mobile.
Shadow Systems (verified owner) –
My previous feature phone was a standard “dumb” Kyocera that cost me $40 out the door with no contract. It had a headphone jack, removeable battery, & even an SD card slot (although I never used it since the phone couldn’t play mp3 files, movie files, nor run apps that would need storeage). It was perfect for what I needed with big Tap9 number pad, navigation buttons, & a nice loud speaker. Unfortunately it was only a 2G/3G phone & T-Mobile stopped supporting that network February 1st, 2021. I needed to find another phone like the Kyocera, but that supported 4GLTE/VoiceOverLTE.
I spent months searching, researching, bugging my sighted helpers (I’m totally blind & too much of the web is still inaccessible) to try & find such a phone. I tried the *one* feature phone T-Mobile offered, an Alcatel Go Flip (I think that was the thing), but it would pick at random to acknowledge or accept button pushes, kept doing random menu items instead of the ones I’d tried to select, & generally failing as Defective By Design. I tried an Android phone only to slam into a brick wall when it failed it’s own accessibility tutorial. (Even my sighted helpers couldn’t get it to accept the specific swipe gesture it was demanding). I tried an Apple iPhone SE 2020, only to have Siri decide at random when/if to accept/acknowledge my voice commands & utterly refuse to accept swipe gestures. To say I was at the end of my rope is an understatement.
Then my sighted helpers found the RazMobility site & the MiniVision2. The product description made it sound like the perfect phone for what I want/need/require. A headphone jack, removeable battery, & just a plain feature phone with big buttons, loud speaker, & functional screen reader. The price caused a bit of sticker shock, $300+ was nearly eight times what I’d paid for the Kyocera ~5 years ago, but given I’d yet to find anything else that just worked, I decided to bite the bullet. I can’t say how happy that I did. The SIM card took a bit of finagling (the notch needs to be bottom left in landscape mode to insert it), but once that was in the rest was easy enough for me (totally blind, remember) to do it all by touch. The battery only fits in one way, so replacing it is a no brainer. The headphone jack is the only round hole on the bottom of the phone a 3.5mm headphone plug will fit into (there’s a hole on the top, but the plug doesn’t fit), so that’s easy enough. The Mini-USB-A port on the bottom of the phone is easy enough to figure out, even if you do have to do the “USB spin” to try three times to get it the right side up. If you do not use the included case, the phone fits snug into the recharging cradle & you never have to fiddle with manually plugging/unplugging the cable. Just drop it in the cradle, tap the top to make sure it’s seated properly, & you’re done. If you DO use the grippy case for the phone, it no longer fits in the cradle & you have to manually plug/unplug it to recharge it. But, and this part is awesome, depending on how many texts, calls, & hard you use it, I’ve been getting *two (2) weeks* of use on a single charge! Bluetooth off, wireless off, & screen set to blank after one (1) minute, only a few calls/texts each day, I’m on day ten (10) of the last charge & I’ve still got sixteen (16) percent left to go. That will last me at least the next day (Thursday) if not to Friday when I tend to recharge it. Even with Bluetooth on, wireless on, & the screen blank set to a much longer time, you will EASILY go a few days between charges. If you have to recharge it every night, you spend too much time talking on your cellphone! (Laughing merrily)
The MV2 is perfect. Take it out of the box, charge the battery for the four (4) hours it wants, & turn the phone on. It speaks to you *immediately* & does not require a sighted helper to configure first. A few minutes is all it will take to familiarize yourself with the controlls even without a sighted helper. And about the only detraction I can make is that the menu doesn’t allow you to cycle through it from first entry directly to the last or from last to first as if the menu looped. You hit the top/bottom of the list, it chimes to say “That’s it, Boss!”, & then you have to manually navigate back the other direction. I’ve been told this is something they plan to fix in an upcoming software update, so that functionality should arrive soon. I look forward to it! Oh, and updating the software was a snap. Select “update”, press the OK button, confirm I wanted to download/apply the available update, let it download, let it apply, & wait for it to reboot. Done in a few minutes depending on the speed of the network. A big thumb’s up to the Raz crew!
I wish I could see so I could go to their HQ, hug the stuffing out of them, & leave a giant tray of home made chocolate chip cookies in gratitude. I couldn’t get much happier over my new phone. The Raz team gets a standing ovation for Getting It Right. Grandslam out of the park! =-D
Jeff Ariss (verified owner) –
I’m liking it! I just bought the phone a couple of weeks ago. It has been a bit of a learning curve as I was using a flip phone which was frustrating to text with. With my visual impairment I was unable to use a smart phone.
I am really starting to enjoy the voice activated and read back functions. It is SO much easier. The text is nice and big and easy to read. I am finding it to be very user friendly.
I have gone through a lot of phones over the last 21 years of visual impairment. This has to be the best one so far.
It does have speaker phone. Just push the upper left button then hit the OK button during a conversation.
Enjoy
Paul S. (verified owner) –
The MiniVision2 is an excellent cell telephone solution for a blind person. The controls are simple, the keyboard keys are large and tactile and the sound quality is first rate. I replaced the Blindshell cell with the MiniVision2 and and the MiniVision2 blows away the Blindshell in telephone performance; not even close. But the Blindshell does have more non cell features such as internet radio and greater internet access. The MiniVision2 reaches much higher sound volumes and is faster in call response. The MiniVision’s speech recognition is the best I have experienced.
Serena Viaille (verified owner) –
I bought this phone for my brother who was born completely blind. It has been awesome! He finally can text just by speaking and best of all, he can access and set up all his settings.
Gloria W. (verified owner) –
Hello:
I am writing to tell you how pleased I am with the MiniVision 2 cell phone. I really like this phone and how it works.
Thank you for allowing me to purchase it. I will spread the word out for this remarkable phone.
Again, thank you!
Very happy customer,
Gloria W.
Wayne Hopkins (verified owner) –
I purchased the MiniVision2 for my wife, who has been blind since childhood, and she has progressed nicely in learning its functionality. In the short time she has used it, she has mastered the feature of sending a text message by using voice commands; a feature she has longed for that were lacking in other cell phones she has owned over the years. In addition, she likes the fact that the phone’s voice feature announces incoming calls and text messages. She is looking forward to many more years of service.
I tried to use Tracfone as the service provider, but ran into a stumbling block in getting the service activated. After 4½ hours of trying, I used the Mint Mobile SIM card that came with the phone and within an hour the service was activated and my wife was using the phone.
Jim Egan (verified owner) –
This phone really has outstanding features for the seeing impaired, particularly for those who are still capable of learning to operate such a phone. My mom is 91 and has zero sight at this point. However, she is not capable at her age and mental capacities to take advantage of the wonderful features this device offers. I would highly recommend the phone for those who remain of sound mind enough to enjoy the benefits available from the various features on the MiniVision 2 Phone.
dennis cornelison (verified owner) –
the price scared me at first, but after learning about the 3g going away i figured i would bite the bullet and give this phone a try. i love it! it’s so much faster then my flip phone was especially for texting. the voice to speech works better then advertized. i’m 55 years old and this is the first phone i have ever had where i really have full control over every single thing on the phone. i got this phone 2 weeks ago and i must say, i’m not getting the battery life that others have bragged about. i guess maybe i’m on my phone to much. i can’t say enough how happy i am with this phone.
Dawn W. (verified owner) –
I haven’t had the MiniVision2 very long. Current review: I like the feel of the MiniVision2, the only key that gives me problems is the down cursor as my finger often touches the 2 key at the same time. I like the manual. I like the menu set up. After practicing how to speak carefully I can use the verbal way to call someone I have put in the contact list. So far I can’t get the MV2 to call using a new number. Re the back button, it takes a while to remember it deletes letters when you are in an edit box instead of going back a page.
Emily Greene (verified owner) –
My husband purchased me an Apple iPhone SE, not realizing how much accessibility depended upon manual gestures vs. voice control. I have significant nerve damage in my fingers and could not make the phone work for me. I researched phones for the blind, and the MiniVision 2+ cell phone really stood out. I needed assistance from customer service to set up voicemail and give me some detail about some of the functions. Customer service is very patient and provides thorough answers to questions. I can use my voice and/or the keypad to perform all the functions important to me. I am so happy I found this phone.
Linda Joy (verified owner) –
I really have found my new cell phone to be very user friendly. It just needs the audible prompt that tells you that you have voice mail.
RAZ Mobility –
Thank you for your review. We’re glad that you like your MiniVision2+ phone.
The phone will announce any missed calls and new text messages. If needed, you can then check the voicemail.