I agree about the prices. If it were possible, I would love a PK
for greater portability in addition to my mPower. I understand
why they cost as much as they do, but it is still frustrating
sometimes. Just the motherboard for an mPower costs almost
$1,000, and each Braille cell costs around $150 (at least in the
old displays). The machine is well worth the cost, though.
Have a great day,
Alex
----- Original Message -----
From: "slery" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: "FunGuy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Rob Lambert"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[email protected]
Date sent: Wed, 30 May 2007 23:29:22 -0400
Subject: RE: [Braillenote] BrailleNote's future?
My personal opinion is that the student market will remain high
enough for
this type of device to be preferred over a PDA. The PDA are
still not able
to replace anything that is used for long periods of time for
actual
writing. Even though PDAs can be used with a portable qwerty
keyboard to
make the actual entry of data easier, the word processing
applications for
these devices are very limited. You also have to look at the
frustration
level of some of the PDAs. The ones that are built specifically
for the
blind are definitely the way to go. The PDAs that use off-the
shelf
versions seem to have a lot of little catches that no one tells
you about
until after you have the device and discover that it can't do
exactly all of
the things that you need.
The one device that I think will actually give the notetakers a
run for the
money is the icon braille + from APH. This is not the exact same
one from
level star. This will have a docking station that you can carry
when you
want basically makes this unit a notetaker. It will also have
braille
output and I believe it will have software for the deaf-blind
community. In
addition, it will eventually function as a cell phone.
For most people, they use a braillenote because it has the
features that
they need and will use (this doesn't mean it doesn't also contain
things you
personally may not want). I also believe that if the cost of
these items
would come down, that there would be quite a few people that
would own more
than one device.
JMHO,
Cindy
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of
FunGuy
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 9:01 PM
To: Rob Lambert; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Braillenote] BrailleNote's future?
Hi Rob:
I have a strong bias witch all admit too up front, I love and
depend on
these devices and I hope you are wrong! That being said:
I think it all depends on how well the companies market and
develop these
devices, and of course it depends on how many people become
competent
Braille users. If you use a qwerty device and don't use a
Braille display,
it's pretty easy to make the case for a main stream adaptation,
but if one
is a grade 2 Braille user, I believe one has a greater need for a
stand
alone solution like the Braille Note. It takes more then
technology
however, you also need a company that knows how to address the
technology,
training, and support needs of it's Braille using customers.
It really becomes clear when you look at a debacle like the
Braille version
of the PAC Mate. If too many organizations invest in a product
like that
and their clients have a bad experience they will blame it on
this kind of
technology rather then on the poor product development.
I know some will disagree, but making a perfect round trip from
Braille to
print and print to Braille isn't always that easy. For example,
it takes
some explaining to show parents and teachers of high school or
college
students how a Braille product might produce a good English or
history
paper, but can't be expected to work as well in math, science,
music, or a
foreign language course. So I think it's a matter of setting
reasonable
expectations, finding the sweet spot where the technologically
reasonable
and user needs intersect, and developing a structure that works
in this
market place.
I could write many pages on this subject, but I best stop here.
Alan Holst
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Lambert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: <[email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:11 PM
Subject: [Braillenote] BrailleNote's future?
I was just curious about the overall future of the BrailleNote as
a
potential note taking solution when you compare it to things like
HumanWare's Maestro or their retail of Mobile Speak Pocket? My
personal
opinion (and don't quote me, this is just how I see things) is
that the
BrailleNote-esque style note takers (such as the PACmate and so
forth) will
see a sales decline as the hand-held PDA market continues to open
up for
the blind. Now, again, do not quote me on any of what I just
said, it's
just the way I'm seeing things. I may be right, but i may be
wrong. As such
I'd rather not leave a bad taste in anyone's mouths, or my own.
Anyhow what
do you think of this? Just curious.
---------------------------------
Luggage? GPS? Comic books?
Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search.
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