Nokia is not all about mobile phones, as the Finnish company also has a wide range of mobile accessories, out of which the latest-announced is called Nokia Wireless Loopset and it's targeted at users with hearing aids, being created to help them enjoy a better communication experience.
The Wireless Loopset is best suited for people who use cochlear implants or T-coil equipped hearing aids. The accessory is compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone and allows users to make calls wirelessly, via their hearing aid. Nokia Wireless Loopset features a call-button, a comfortable neckloop, vibrating alert, optimized volume range, frequency response and easily-adjustable sidetone level, for the best possible clarity and voice control.
Peeta Piiparinen, R&D Specialist at Nokia, said about the new product: "The Nokia Wireless Loopset provides hearing aid users with a hassle-free and handsfree connection to their mobile phones. Sound is amplified more efficiently, while the distance between the phone and hearing aid means that the possibility of interference is greatly reduced. The loopset filters out background noise, which increases speech discrimination, and offers excellent audio quality in a range of environments such as the car, office, or even in windy conditions outdoors."
In order to better explain the reasoning behind Nokia's involvement in producing accessories for people with physical disabilities, Mikko Haho, the key engineer who designed the Wireless Loopset, mentioned the following story, dating form about ten years ago: "We were at a conference demonstrating the first Nokia loopset. A lady came up who seemed a bit dubious about the device, but we hooked her up with it. Next thing we know, her eyes are tearing up as she has a conversation with her daughter. When she hung up, she told us that this was the first time she had been able to have a phone conversation with her daughter in three years. That kind of response really motivates us to continue to focus on making mobile technology accessible for all."
Back to the new Wireless Loopset, Nokia says it will be available starting the first months of 2009, for a retail price of under 200 Euros (hence probably less than $315).
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