Today is a day I’ve personally been looking forward to for months now. Today we introduce you to a very special person whom I met by chance via the Ovi Blog in late May and who told me a story that I just knew had to be shared with as many people as possible. Dear Ovi Blog readers: meet Carsten Lange.
The story goes like this: on May 25th, I asked all of our readers to send in any questions they’d like to ask our Maps expert Pino Bonetti in his Ovi People Interview the following week. I got many questions via the Blog and via email, but one email was so touching it took me by complete surprise. I had to stop what I was doing and just read. This letter from a German guy named Carsten started with the words:
“I’ve been visually impaired since I was born in 1979 and because of this handicap I have a big disorientation. Since I’m using Ovi Maps’ walking navigation there is much more quality in life for me. I can be a part of the public life; I can orient myself in unknown areas of cities… All of that makes my life much easier and I feel more confident and safe now…”
Click here to view the embedded video.
At that moment I thought: we here at the Ovi Blog always tell you about the ways Ovi makes your life better and easier, but there’s no way we could do it in a more personal manner than by telling this guy’s story to everyone. Right then and there I decided that I will sink my (imaginary) claws into this guy and not let go until we have showered him with Ovi and Nokia goodies and made a video & in-depth interview with him that we publish here at the Ovi Blog =)
Within a couple of weeks from me writing back to Carsten, we transported Pino from our Berlin office and a production agency to Carsten’s home city of Leipzig for a day of video shooting, the result of which can be seen in the video above.
The day ended with Carsten holding his surprise gift, a brand new N97 mini in his hands
So now I’d like to present to you: this is Carsten’s story, exactly as he told it to me. So read on to find out more about this wonderful Ovi fan.
Why do you use Ovi Maps?
Oh it’s a long story. I was born with an eye disease named cataract (clouding on the lens of the eye), which means I’ve been visually impaired since my birth. I had my first eye surgery when I was 2 weeks old; they removed the unclear lenses from my eyes. I’ve had to wear eye glasses all my life, but fortunately today the glasses’ lenses are made with a special cut so that the glasses are not so thick.
Because of this handicap, I have high limitations like for example, my seeing distance is only 5 meters far and I can’t see details from objects when the objects are far away. I also have limited stereoscopic vision. That means it’s very difficult for me to recognize people, it needs lots of training. The biggest problem because of missing stereoscopic vision is that I suffer from disorientation. My orientation skills are limited to remembering striking places like towers, shops, public places, stops for public transportation services etc. When I try to explore unknown areas it is like walking along white wallpapers and when I find a striking place, I save it in my mind and when I explore the same area numerous times, I complete all the white areas on the wallpaper.
How & when did you discover Ovi Maps?
It was summer in 2008 when I saw a TV advertising spot for the Nokia 6210 Navigator with Maps and it was like Christmas and Easter at the same day for me. I had big expectations in the walking navigation because this one would reduce my disorientation issues. I ordered the 6210 Navigator – which I later changed to 6710 Navigator – and 2 days later I began to explore the city of Leipzig actively and deliberately. What can I say, I looked for a restaurant I had never been to before and – I found it. I never thought about the price for the license. Remember in 2008 Nokia wanted to have round about 25 Euros per year for walking navigation license. But hey, it’s a big help for me, for my security and my self-confidence. I would have paid double for this service.
How was your life before you started using Ovi Maps?
My life before I had Ovi Maps was pure horror. Every time when I had to go to unknown areas, for a job interview or visit a customer etc. I had so many fears in my mind and the question: can I find the destination point? In the past it happened very often that I had to call the target person: “Sorry, I can’t find your address. Can you describe me how I can get to you?” You can imagine these situations are very unpleasant, very unprofessional and embarrassing. And most of the people are not able to tell a good path description. So I got lost again and again, often without a successful experience. Before I had the walking navigation I had to find information about the destination. I have a city map of Leipzig but it’s very awful to work with such a big piece of paper. In addition to that, I’m too dumb to use a paper city map because I never knew where is my current position, where is north, where is the destination and in which direction I have to hold the plan to go the right way. All of that makes you so crazy when you try to turn a 2 x 2 meters paper plan. Also, you obviously can’t look forward or backwards which streets are following or behind me with paper maps, but it’s possible with Ovi Maps. You can scroll in all directions to check up the area without walking and searching road signs with names.
How is your life now when you’re using Ovi Maps?
My life is much more relaxed since I have Ovi’s walking navigation. I feel much more confident, more secure and more experimental. Now it is possible for me to participate in public life. I go to concerts in cities I’ve never been before; I go to comedy and cabaret shows, cinema, and restaurants, whatever. Ovi Maps is with me every time. It gives back a bit of mobility to me. I can be a spontaneous person when I want to. The fears are nearly away. Of course, lots of people are looking at me when I take my phone a bit closer in front of my eyes to read the display but I don’t care about what other people think or say. The important thing is, with Ovi Maps I am independent, I can handle my life without help and that’s what I’m proud of. Conclusion: Ovi Maps gives me and my life a quality boost. Without Ovi Maps I would be so helpless and my quality of life would decrease rapidly.
Would you recommend Ovi Maps to other people?
Definitely. Like I said before, it’s more than a lifestyle gimmick or a trend. I would especially recommend it for people with disorientation problems.
How did you find us (the Ovi Blog)?
Oh, that’s a real good question. It was a random discovery because I tried to find a way to contact the people responsible for Ovi Maps to tell the people what Ovi Maps means to me. I searched the entire Ovi website and I found a link to the blog.
What was your very first Nokia device?
My first Nokia device was my first mobile device ever. It was a Nokia 3210 with a metallic blue Xpress-on cover. I liked this phone because of the game called “Snake”
What’s your favorite thing you’ve downloaded from the Store? Why?
My favorite application is the Nimbuzz Instant Messenger because I can communicate with all important people through different instant messenger networks like ICQ and Windows Live and so on. My favorite game is Solo Noble Touch because I played this game as a board game when I was a small child.
What kind of job do you have?
My passion is working with computers, creating graphics and other computer stuff. Just recently I had a job as a web developer in a small company but unfortunately the company was just closed down so now I’m looking for something new.
What do you like to do on your spare time? Do you have any hobbies, pets etc.?
I have lots of activities to do. I enjoy it to cook. I am also a movie freak. I love it to watch movies at home or in the cinema. I listen to lots of music. I am also a creative person. I create funny poems or lyrics just for myself. I enjoy poetic art, cabaret and comedy entertainment. Sometimes I enjoy it to play a video game or read a book.
What are your favorite websites or blogs?
I have so many favorite websites. I like the Ovi Blog (of course, heh), the satirical and critical German web video blog www.fernsehkritik.tv and www.bluray-disc.de to find out the newest information about movie releases.
Finally, is there something you would like to tell our Ovi Blog readers?
I would like to say that this interview is my personal “Thank You” to Nokia and the Ovi team. I think that lots of visually impaired people out there have the same problems like I have. For these people I made this interview too. To all the blog visitors and readers out there, I hope you enjoyed my personal story. I just wanted to tell, how it is as a visual impaired person and how Ovi Maps can help in this situation.
Special thanks go out to Niini, Pino, Johannes and Michael [from the production agency of the video] for their support during the production process. Thanks for all your ideas, engagement and the interest in my personal story. Even more special thanks should go out to Johannes and Michael for their patience.
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Do YOU have an Ovi story you’d like to tell us? We’d love to hear from you! Drop me an email to niini@ovi.com!
Source : http://blog.ovi.com/2010/08/05/ovi-maps-for-visual...