Apple iPhone TTY Adapter

[JloR]

Hey folks,

I'm not sure wether or not this is the right place to post about this, but if I'm way off please do move my post to a more suitable area.

I've noticed the apple store has an Apple iPhone TTY Adapter for sale.
Now, I'm not sure what you'd use this for, but the short description of it says you'd be able to connect the iPhone to TTY devices.
The only "TTY" I know of is the one from the world of *nix.. And as far as I know you wont have a terminal or alike on the iPhone.. So what's this device for?

From the look of the picture, it's a converter for mini-jacks.. But I'm not sure.
So.. Anybody able to clarify on this piece of accessory?

 

[JNB]

That would be the TTY devices for the hearing-impaired. Actually, the "TTY" acronym predates Unix by a long shot (meant Teletypewriter). They adopted it (as did the Telephone assistance devices) for its own use.

 

[JloR]

Thank you - that cleared it all up nicely First cellular phone I've heard of that offers such an accessory.

 

[Clix Pix]

Long before personal computers and such, the hearing-impaired were using teletypewriters across phone lines in order to communicate. The early TTYs were big old machines, but eventually modern technology evolved them into the TTD (Telephone Device for the Deaf). Essentially the way it works is that the hearing-impaired individual can use this to either type messages back-and-forth directly with a friend or relative who also is using a TDD or they can use it to contact a relay service, type their message to the hearing person there, who will then call and speak with the hearing person (who doesn't have a TDD) with whom the deaf person needs to communicate.

That is really cool that Apple is providing a TTY/TDD accessory with the iPhone! This means that a deaf person who has an iPhone can use it anywhere he/she hooks into a TDD. Very nice....

Email and modern devices have made a huge difference in the ability of hearing-impaired people to communicate more easily with others. No need to be able to speak or hear....

 

[aross99]

I don't know anything about TTY devices, but this accessory looks like a 2.5mm to 3.5mm HEADSET adapter (not a HEADPHONE adapter). I assume these TTY devices have 2.5mm plugs to connect to a standard cell phone headset jack. Since the iPhone has a 3.5mm headset jack, you would need an adapter.

My guess is that this is only a simple adapter - one that would come in handy if you wanted to use an existing wired headset with your iPhone...

Anyone have any more insight?