Mobile phones for iPads launches in UK!

Collect and recycle old mobile phones in return for great technology gifts while also helping Hearts & Minds (or Irish Autism Action) raise much needed funds to assist families touched by autism.

Mobile phone recycling is open to everyone. You don’t have to have a special needs child or be a member of Hearts & Minds (or Irish Autism Action)

UK website: http://www.heartsandmindsphones.co.uk/

Irish website: http://www.autismirelandphones.ie/

Parent review of Convertible Classmate PC

by Deirdre.

The Convertible Classmate PC is available for 145 phones via Irish Autism Action mobile phone recycling scheme. 

The Convertible Classmate PC is an excellent piece of equipment for any child. As a mom I appreciate the built in protective cover on the outside of the device. The buttons on the keyboard have large letters/numbers which is excellent especially for children. The carry handle is an ingenious addition to the laptop and provides a very secure way to carry the device.

It also boasts a touch screen, on screen key board and comes complete with its own stylus. The screen can be turned around and flipped over to convert it into a tablet. It comes fully loaded with educational software and also an eReader. This is an excellent addition as it would allow the downloading of school books as ebooks. As a family we love our CCPC. In fact this review is being typed on it. 

One huge bonus about this little gem is the huge amount of storage space on it. Microsoft are currently working on a New operating system called Windows 8 which is due to be released in the fourth quarter of 2012. Alongside this they are currently creating apps for use on Windows 8. The CCPC boasts a 160 GB hard drive. That is a colossal amount of storage space considering the iPad comes with between 16 GB and 64 GB storage.

In conclusion I am very impressed with the Convertible Classmate PC.  It is easy to use and our son loves it. It is child friendly.  It is an invaluable piece of equipment in our home especially going forward with the coming of Window 8 and Windows apps. It would also be an invaluable tool in any classroom. A huge thumbs up from our Family. A massive thank you to IAA for giving us the opportunity to collect for it. A 5 star rating for a 5 star piece of equipment.

Why schools want a Mobile Education Pack…..

As part of our mobile phone recycling campaign we are providing Mobile Education Packs to schools.

MOBILE EDUCATION PACK contents:

Apple iPad
LED Projector
Loud Speaker
Protection Case
Stylus Pen
iTunes Voucher
Screen Overlay
'Woohoo' Certificate

With these packs a teacher can use the iPad, hook it up to the speaker and projector and all the students can benefit from interacting with the device. It is giving Teachers an extra tool to engage children in an interactive learning environment. All of this for 250 phones!

Also, the 97 schools that have gotten one of these packs are also entered into a draw 'Win a resource teacher for a year' which will take place next September. Any school that submits 50 phones is automatically entered into this draw as a bonus to getting their gift item.

There is more information available on both the 'Family Gifts' and 'School Gifts' available on our new website dedicated to the mobile phone campaign, www.autismirelandphones.ie.

What an iPad can do for special needs children.

Who won their mortgage paid for a year?

Irish Autism Action have been running a recycling mobile phone campaign for quite a while now. It has been hugely successful and we held the draw for the 'win your mortgage paid for a year' competition last night at the IAA 5th Masquerade Ball in the Ritz-Carlton, Powerscourt.

There were 40,000 entries. Initially there were two prizes on offer, the mortgage draw and a family holiday. Given the large number of entries we also added in two iPads to bring the total number of prizes to 4.

WINNERS:

iPad2 - G Lynch, 72 Belcamp Grove, Dublin 17.

iPad2 - Owen Doyle, no address provided but we do have a phone number.

Holiday - Bryan McSweeney, 72 Kent Road, Ballyphehane, Cork.

Mortgage paid for a year - Stephen Murphy, Newbridge.

Stephen has been contacted as Keith Duffy phoned him at 1.40am, immediately after the draw, to share the good news. Stephen didn't answer and Keith left a message. Thankfully Stephen didn't think this was a joke and now knows that he has won this fabulous prize.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Some facts and figures:

The mobile phone recycling campaign has raised €254,000 to date. €184,000 of this has been given directly to familys in the form of technoloy, providing 413 families with an iPad for their child with autism. €70,000 has been given to Irish Autism Action as part of the fundraising agreement.

The campaign will run for another year, with the next 'Win your mortgage paid for a year' draw in December 2012. Keep watching because we have some exciting technology options on the way!

A big thank you to BPI Telecom for this initiative, especially to Geraldine and Brian.