Smartphone specially designed to help blind people

A specially designed smartphone for the blind and partially sighted has been launched in the United Kingdom.

A specially designed smartphone for the blind and partially sighted has been launched in the United Kingdom.

The device, called Georgie, has a voice-assisted touch screen and offers a variety of apps to help complete tasks such as catching a bus, reading printed text and pinpointing location.

The handset is powered by an Android operating system and uses existing Samsung handsets such as the Samsung XCover and Galaxy Ace 2, The BBC reports.

The phone was designed by blind husband-and-wife team Roger and Margaret Wilson-Hinds.

Roger said he and his wife designed the phone to make the technology available to people with little or no sight.

'It's exactly the type of digital experience we want to make easily available to people with little or no sight,' the report quoted him, as saying.

'It is also going to help solve everyday problems for blind people so they can be more confident about navigating the real world and become independent,' he added.

Sight and Sound Technology, a firm that provides hardware, are distributing the phone and software to blind and visually-impaired people.