Hello, Michael and list, I just came across your old message. NOw that we have a PTN1 evaluation unit here at IRTI, I can answer many of these questions.
ML: Plextor has just announced a new Daisy player called PTN1 ( see www.plextalk.com). The announcement says, that it will use NI-MH rechargeable batteries. Does it use normal AA rechargeables, which one can buy in electronic stores? No, it uses 6 AA size but they are wired and plastic-wrapped into a plug-in battery pack. ML: The announcement also says, that the PTN1 is mainly made for elderly people. Therefore, it probably will just have four direction keys, it won't have a numeric keypad. Is this correct? Yes and no. You are correct - there is no numeric keypad. There are 3 keys as with the PTR1 - a Play Stop key with forward and back keys which navigate by phrase, if available, and can be held down for cue and review movement. There are 4 additional keys: the top and bottom keys select the navigation mode and the left and right keys move forward or back by that method. The navigation modes are: time by 1 or 10 minutes; Page movement by 1 or 10 pages if available; Heading level 1, 2, 3, etc. as available in Daisy title; Beginning or end of title. It works very smoothly and logically. ML: Will the PTN1 use the speech prompts, which the PTR1 uses, or will there be new ones? There are new prompts with a different female voice and different tones and music. ML: I read, that the PTN1 can play Daisy and MP3 CDs. Will it also play regular audio CDs? Yes, disc format is identified with spoken announcement after Cd is read. The information key works well and announces current track number of total track number, elapse time of current track, remaining track time and total track time, elapse time of CD, remaining time and total time of CD. Information key also announces current battery strength in 10% increments and charging status. Also, variable speed playback works on all 3 formats and is of excellent quality. ML: Does it have a handle? No handle nor hand grip. It appears to measure approximately 8 inches by 7 inches by 2 inches with the long dimension running left and right. It appears to weigh about 2 pounds. It has a larger speaker than the PTR1 and produces much better sound than the PTR1 built-in speaker. There is a stereo headphone jack and foot pedal control jack. ML: Is the AC adaptor built-in, or is the PTN1 supplied with an external adaptor? Has an extrernal adapter very similar to the PTR1. ML: What will the PTN1 cost? We do not yet know. Jeff's overall comments: I have experience with the PTR1, Telex Scholar and the PTN1. In terms of a Daisy player, I personally like this PTN1 best of all for my style of listening. The Scholar is the most portable of the 3 but not so easy to use compared to the PTN1. I enjoy good sound from a built-in speaker. The PTN1 obviously has a hefty processor since books load quickly and navigation moves are not laboriously long. The PTN1 is well designed. For instance, the variable speed, tone and volume controls give simple single tones for each step of adjustment. A different tone indicates when the top or bottom of the range is reached. The normal or neutral setting is indicated with another different tone and this setting can be simply reach by depressing both the up and down buttons simultaneously. Cordially, Jeff Samco IRTI Grass Valley, California --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
