Category: Geeks r Us
Hi all,
So, I know many note-taking devices are kind of on a dead OS now. Which note-takers do you think are still a viable option for the blind? The BraillePlusthat was just released to run on Android, is that any good? Just wondering.
Thanks.
I'd be curious to know about the braille plus as well. I"m thinking that most notetakers are fairly obsolete at this point, but I have no hard data to back that up.
I'm very interested in the potential of the new surface tablet, as the new jaws came out today and claims to have full windows 8 suport. Whether that will carry over to this tablet is anyones guess, but it is an interesting thought. I couldn't imagine a better notetaker than a windows tablet, if that is it works as it should.
I'm very curious on the braille+18, considering that its from APH and running Androy OS compare to Window CE and that.
lol believe it or not, I still have a perfectly functional BLM 20 that I had bought way back in 2001. It still works today the same as it worked back when I first took it out of the box. I don't use it much lately admittedly, but it was a lifesaver in college. Now I mainly use it as an extra spot to jot down quick phone numbers when my phone isn't at hand and as a secondary calendar.
i like others think the Braille Plus has a chance now as it kind of sounds intresting. I'd want to get my hands on one to see how it handles. My only gripe with it is it still runs slightly out of date software unless they update it soon.
hmm.. My phone is a Perffectly good note taker, I believe these specialty items have a nitch but with a very small population. Need to go look at the AF note taker, wonder if they Incorporated at least a small touch screen. With out that some apps that updated to ICS will not allow you to use them on this note taker. Iheart radeo comes to mind because of the tabs across the top of the screen.
What about the Braille Pen with an Iphone? I've heard good things about that. I'd loooooove to get my hands on one of those.
Braille pen is ok, if your interest is to mainly use it like a braille bluetooth keyboard with a braille display. Is all right for texting and stuff like that. Personally i won't use it for reading a book or reading a fairly long document though. But again, that is just me. But for the price, i think its great
Hello, Rockster,
That is pretty interesting regarding the MS tablet and full Jaws support? How would we input information? Is it one of those devices that has a keyboard with a doc or something?
In terms of the BraillePlus, I wonder if it will have access to the Android Market? Yes, the software is outdated (2.2) not (4.0). The only reason I was wondering is that I want a low-tech solution as I am deaf-blind and I can't hear my family in the car.
The state wants to purchase me a PocketTalker, which has a bunch of long wires. What about an IPhone, a BrailleNote, or some type of face-to-face communication app for the IPhone? I knowthat HumanWare released the HumanWare communicator for this purpose, though it doesn't work with the BN QT which I have. You have to put it in a simulated mode. What about the Braille Sense U2? 1 GHZ processor, a flip-out screen, and 32 gigs flash storage plus an optional USB 4G modem?
Also, what are your impressions with Windows 8 thus far. I hesitate to get it.
From my understanding, there's no screen reader build for any of the windows 8 mobile (which includes Tabs and pphones) just yet.
Oh, okay. I thought there was.
What about the new Narrator feature. And BraillePlus 18 is cool. Also, check out BTG, a new one from National Braille Press and Deane Blazie.
i like my iphone and my braille pen. i also have an apex. however, when it dies, it will be the iphone with braille. for one thing, sighted ppl have them and it puts us at a more level playing field.
Or, you could make a simple Linux tablet, equipped with Orca, and melt the interface down a bit, so no command line isn't needed.
I still agree with some on here just kill off the special note takers and go main streem access all the way. Heck you have two platforms that can use braille displays for displaying braille. If it helps I will disspell a mith about one platform. Android 4.0 "IceCream sandwige" does have a screenreader that supports both input and output grade 1 and 2 braille if you do need that type of support or want it. I find not many no that this exist at this time. At the time Jelly bean is the only one who has braille back but it needs work. So you have the android OS and IOS as two platforms that can do more then the current note takers.
I'm with starfly.
If you're looking for something that will give you good def blind communication access, you could try an ios device with a basic text editor. Hell, the native notes app would do fine for this purpose. Especially since the person you're communicating with could just use the dictate function to talk into the device and have it show up on your braille display.
I don't know what app you'd use for android, as I don't use it myself, however, I'm almost 100 percent posative that a droid app exists for this purpose.
Now the idea of having a linux tablet... that's cool. I'd love to try that out, if I had the hardware. Shame, though, that ubuntu has gotten so lame lately.
Oh, okay.
the braille feature is built right into the screen reader "moble accessibility" 3 mager wireless cariers and 2 pre-payed have this app for free. A T and T's app how ever is not the full screen reader. I only suggested this to a def blind person any one else who is blind, who wants to run with a "android 4.0 or android 4.1" moble accessibility is not needed. $.0 does not have braille support so if you wnat it and its something you need then moble accessibility will work for you.
What if I don't have an Android but a BrailleNote QT and an IPhone? Can I make a deaf-blind communication device from this?
Yes, you could. All you'd have to do is tie your stuff to you so no one can run away with it.
I am still using a PAC Mate Omni and am quite pleased with it. PAC Mate, as with other specialized Braille notetakers, is OK if you know from the get-go the limitations of the device. These are becoming obsolete devices, and I couldn't anticipate what their future fates might be, but I still find them useful. I rely on my iPhone far more than on my PAC Mate, but for me, at least for now, both have their place.
I use a BrailleNote Apex as both a stand-alone notetaker and a braille display for my iPhone, and I'm pleased with it. When the Apex dies, I'll probably just get a braille display for the iPhone.
I forgot to mention that I love the book reader feature of the BrailleNote, which the BrailleSense doesn't have.
I do like the BrailleNote's book reading feature. How would I even pair my IPhone to my BrailleNote? I know how to pair the display, but how do I perform all of the VO commands while in simulated mode with a BN QT?
Also, everytime I type on the keyboard of my QT, the cursor jumps everywhere and words end up all jumbled.
Thanks for all the help.
HardyBoy, When you said BraillenNote QT, i asume you're talking about one of the earlier version of BrailleNote, either the BN or the MP model?
As far as i know, they are not comparetable with any of the smart phone, for both Androy or IOS.
Also, Humanware Braille Displays, Braille Note Takers, and Hims Braillesense and also Braille Edge, don't support Androy as to this point of the time either.
However, i do hear some success story about Androy, paring it with either BraillePen or Focus Blue.
I'm not certain about Braille+18, but i would asume that it should able to pare with Androy quite easily, considering its running on Androy system.
Note: above advice about most braille displays don't able to pare with Androy platform is not from assumtion, is from experience.
I'm running a confrence of some sort for the blind, and have most of the braille displays that is available in Australia on trial and on demo for the conference. None of the braille displays have any success paring with Androy platform besides BraillePen.
I wouldn't imagine the braille plus 18 is meant to connect to anything. Certainly not android, as android runs it. Why would you need another?
Good point, Synth. I still wish that notetakers would base off Linux and such. Levelstar got it right, they used Linux. You can update most easily, and nothing expires.
have to keep in mind though, if they got it right why did their stuff basically smash on the floor. if they're so good everyone should want one and last i heard people avoid them
The first generation Braille Plus was crap, hardware wise. That's why it crashed and burned. If you dropped one, it was done for, and I don't mean dropping it on a hard floor, either. I mean a carpeted floor. Besides that, it froze and needed to be reset frequently, updating the music catalog took ages, and that block thing you were supposed to plug your charger and USB devices into often broke. I have a friend who went through 3 of those in a year, and he's not someone who's rough with his things. I also thought the keys were unnecessarily hard to press. But I have high hopes for the android model. I just hope that I get to check one out sometime.
The new BrailleSense U2 looks good. It has 3G connectivity and seems to have good speed and memory. I'm considering it since I still have a case with Voc Rehab. If I didn't have my case, I would definitely look in to that Braille Plus18.
Thanks guys.
I am transitioning completely to Braille because I am steadily losing my hearing.
Successfully, I have read at least 3 chapters on my BrailleNote QT Apex. Does anyone know why the cursor would jump everywhere when I try to type a document?
Probably because the cursor wires are scrambled. I agree about the connector block. That thing was crap!
What are cursor wires? Does this happen with your BN?
The wires that send the information about the cursor presses to machine. No, my BN does not do this.
Mine was brand-new and it has always done it.
Which notetakers are best for word processing? Which, if any, support .docx? Has anyone tried the new braille plus 18 yet? I'm looking into getting a notetaker, as I need some braille support. I know that I can't really use the iphone for significantly long or in depth word processing, so how bout a notetaker for this purpose? I've listened to a few podcasts and things on the braille plus 18, but there's been little to no discussion of word processing.
Why can't you use an IPad combined with a bluetooth keyboard and a braille display. There are plenty of benefits to using an IPad with a few accessories versus using a less mainstream product. I'm an editor and freelance writer and I use my IPad for work all the time. This means I use the word processor extensively.
What do you do for spellcheck/formatting? YOu use pages?
what podcasts exist on the BraillePlus 18?
there was one by a dude called chase crispin. Just google braille plus 18 podcast
Okay will do. Thanks.
I did find one that was better than one i heard before. this particular one had the Braille Plus 18 plugged direct into the line in of the device being used to record. That was Chase Christian. That is a m major help for me being able to see that I can understand it Well... this is another speech synth that I can understand which is good, i just would need it slowed down. when he put it up to 12, i was like huh? 10 is even a lil too fast for me.
Is that Joey?
I use several different apps for word processing. I can compile a list for you if you like.
I'm particularly interested in a spellchecking solution.
hello i only use a iphone. and my Ipad. and my braille note with for book reading. i enjoy the book reader a lot. these days.
You can do that in pages as well as most other word processing aps that are accessible for the IPad.
how do you spellcheck in pages? DO you have to go through word by word and check it all manually?
No way. You have a spell check option in the side bar. it highlights the words that are misspelled, then you go and fix them with the drop-down menu provided.
I'll have to check it out. I've never used the feature, but maybe it'll work.
I've not found pages to be very useful so far, but I'll give it another look.
Pages isn't the best one of them. I'll get back to you with the aps I like the most. I want to look at each one I use and give you a list of features I like best. Hopefully that'll help you.
I do a lot using PlainText for DropBox.
That is mainly for notes and memmos / briefings for the Coast Guard. I also use Nebulous Lite, a notes app for Dropbox. You have to go through word by word with those. I have used Pages though. I proof anyway using my Braille display so the spell check thing does help but not a necessity like with speech. But I will give it a go with the Pages app. Very good stuff all of this.
Use my iPhone and my focus 40 blue. love it and would never go back to an older note taker.
For those who might be interested, actually, there is a braille notetaker in the works that is android-based, going to run Jellybrean, and will be under 2500 US dollars. The B2G from National Braille Press will be available sometime between august and december of this year. As far as I can see, this is definitely going to have the upper hand over the Braille Plus 18 from A P H. Don't know about the speach cynthesizer though. But the notetaker will have 20 braille displays instead of 18, a faster processor, and they're working around having to use a touch screen to interact with jellybean, too. They have some sort of a navigation pannel in the works or something. Anyways, worth checking into, I'd say.
sorry but again, as a jelly bean user when you take away the touch screen navagation, you just strippped android of its beauty. Not all apps will let you get away with no touch screen, I can promise you that, rtake it from a jelly bean user, someone who has more then wore the shirt for android lol. I have a challenge, go play with the S3, nexis4, note II and a nexis tablit. Then when the new note taker comes out if you can go test it. What I am saying about the touch screen experience will come to you then. Honestly its like taking a touch screen from IOS and leaving that OS with just a touch screen, it to have a beautiful UI and the way IOS runs using a touch screen is fluid for the most part. Same for android, so why a person wants to strip android of its touch screen is be yond me. Sorry keep it until one of them has some form of touch screen.
you can take my post apart but until a android device becomes part of your daily fun, just take my word.
But if you don't want a touch screen, that's a moot point. I, for example, have never used an android device with a touch screen, and don't plan on it, so to me, this notetaker sounds great.
By the way, Blind Bargains posted something today from their CSUN audio coverage about this device. I haven't listened to it yet, but here's the link for anyone who's interested.
http://www.blindbargains.com/audio.php?m=8194
No its not a mute point, with out a touch screen your limiting your selection of apps in the play store. :) I should know, I have a main streem android device and about to get a tablet with jelly bean on it soon. This is an old argument but here goes "sise": Touch screens are here to stay, please get used to use them or your getting left behind. One more point, so you get this tablet it works for you and then you decide to get a main stream android tablet, :), here is where your world will be rocked to the core. All main streem android tablit, phones require "note the word require" you to interact with a touch screen. So this device might be nice I believe its hindering a person from getting to know android to its true nature. Kay rant over, seriously please go get to know a touch screen it will help you adapt in the long run.
I'm going to say this one more time. Touch screens may be the norm, but they haven't taken over every single phone yet. There are still phones with buttons, and there are still tablets of this nature that are specialized. Until I see a day when there is nothing but touch screens when I go to my AT&T store, I honestly see no need to give myself an aneurism over tasks that take me 2 seconds to do on my standard phone. I had an iPhone for a few days. The deal breaker for me was when I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to set up my voicemail. Sure, maybe I'm just stupid, but I could set it up in 10 seconds flat on a standard phone. So, I went back to the store and got myself one. No more stress, no more spending hours on tasks that should take me minutes on my PC or phone.
That's not a popular opinion by any stretch of the imagination, but it is my opinion.
there must be some markit for andoid devices and specialized notetaking solutions out there, or APH wouldn't have invested all the time and everything else into creating one.
Between APH and NBP, i wonder if others might try to jump into creating note takers with updated processors, more RAM and a newer OS? Guess that would depend on how many people run out to buy these android devices.
I've used Pages with an Ipad, bluetooth keyboard and Braillenote combo. Does anyone know the Apex keystroke for deleting a character from a line of text?
I'm using a qt32.
Thanks.
I am going to say this to as well, with out a touch screen your limiting yourself to the apps you can use on the google play store, note: I am a android user who has two android devices a phone and stock android tablet. Why are some pushing for specialize products, all a person is doing allowing blindness companies to keep walking all over us still. No, jelly bean is not that hard to learn, same fore IOS, it just takes time.
Choice is good as I see it.
If someone prefers a specialized product, go for it.