Hi Jen, I noted your query as to why we changed the style of keyboards used in the VoiceNote QT and BrailleNote QT units. The change was made to improve product reliability, because particularly with respect to the VoiceNote QT, it was very easy to loose a key cap off one or more of the keys, thereby rendering the keyboard unusable. In the early days of the VoiceNote this was the single biggest service issue, and I'm pleased to report that keyboard reliability is vastly improved since the introduction of the new style keyboard. As you can appreciate Jen, the layout, touch and feel of keyboards can be quite personal and one of the dilemmas of a designer is to produce a design that adequately satisfies Users needs. Such an exercise is interesting, as while we have received other comments similar to yours expressing preference towards the earlier keyboards, we have also received many comments expressing preference for the new design. I hope this explains the reasoning behind the Keyboard change. Regards Maurice Sloane BrailleNote Support Manager Pulse Data International Ltd New Zealand Direct Dial: +64 3 353 2866 Mobile: +64 21 528 374 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: www.pulsedata.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jen & Hula" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 11:33 AM Subject: [Braillenote] Different keyboards > This is a question for PDI and is mainly out of curiosity since not much can > be done about it. I got my BN QT32 in December and have been very happy with > it so far. The other day I saw a friend of mine who also has a BN QT32, and > I was disappointed to find that her keybaord is different than mine, and > that I liked hers a lot better. The keybaord on my unit is "raised up" from > the rest of the unit, and has a ledge thing running all the way around it. > The one on her unit seems to be built into the unit more, making it more > compact. The keys on her keyboard also seemed more like those on a regular > keyboard, with the CONTROL and similar keys being longer than the others. On > my keyboard the only keys that are long are the left SHIFT and ENTER keys. I > found typing on hers easier, and found her unit was actually slimmer than > mine. Her unit is the same as mine in every other way with the CF card slot > and everything. > > I'm just wondering why PDI changed the keyboards on the QTs, especially when > the older ones seem to me to be a better one. I'm not sure if keyboards on > the VoiceNotes were also changed like this. > > Maybe I am being really picky here, but it really irks me that I got a > keyboard that is (in my opinion) worse than the one my friend has, when my > unit is newer by almost a year, and that if I'd gotten funding sooner I > could have gotten the same as hers. I like my BN in almost every other > respect, but since I use it constantly to take notes and do schoolwork, the > keyboard seems a relatively important part to me. > > I hope this message made sense. Sorry it's a bit long! > > Jen > > ___ > To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit > http://list.pulsedata.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote >
