Category: accessible Devices
So, I do a lot of public speaking, and had an embosser for years which I used to braille notes and such things. The embosser broke, forcing me to hand braille everything, which is a time consuming process. My question is, has any one used a Braille display, and an iOS device for such a task? If so, how many cells are on the display, and what one do you recommend? Thanks in advance!
Hi. I use braille displays for public speaking all the time.
How many cells will need probably depends on what your speaking style is. Do
you tend to prefer a full script that you deliver verbatim, or are you happy to
use abbreviated bullet points and expand them? I tend to do the latter, and 20
cells was fine. 40 is probably ideal though and would cater for either speaking
style.
I agree with Ed, though if you're purchasing your own display, you may want to budget it out to an 18 or 20 cell model. Here's the thing about iDevices: I've found that you need to always keep the phone unlocked if you have notes you keep wishing to refer to, because sometimes, Bluetooth connections won't come up right away between the iDevice and display. When you're depending on your notes for whatever reason, the last thing you want to do is get in to a situation where you try to conserve battery by locking the screen, only to have the display not re-pair with the iDevice. As Ed said, if you're the type who requires some kind of script to read from, you may find the 20 cell models just require too much scrolling. But if you're just looking for notes to refer to, I'd say you're fine with a smaller display. Just keep in mind that if you're an avid braille reader and like to read books, you may wish to consider a 32 or 40 cell display. Please let us know your thoughts.
Thanks for the input so far! It has been helpful. I kinda do both, but mostly refering back to notes every few minutes. Kinda figured I didn't want the screen to autolock when I'm speaking. So the next question is, which display would be good, or give me the best bang for my buck? They're not cheap, and I'll probably have to put it on a credit card, but I gotta do something soon!
Do you have the opportunity to have a look at any before you buy? It might be
worth it to see what suits you. For instance, they have different options for
panning so you'll want to make sure that you're comfortable with where the
panning buttons are situated. Do you want to keep your fingers on the braille
cells and pan with your thumbs, or are you happy for the panning buttons to be
on the top at either end of the line of braille cells? This might seem like a small
thing, but if you're doing this a lot for an extended period of time, you'll want to
be comfortable using it.
Like what Scott and Ed said, it is really depends on what you are require with your displays. do you want something portable enough for you to bring to everywhere, or you don't mind as to the size? Are you looking for both input and output or just purely for output? Are you going to use it for other thing like reading, or just to use it for your presentation? Also, it will be helpful for you to give us the budget you have, that might help. As we all know, braille displays can be range from some $700 to $7000
I've never heard of a display for $700, but I don't wanna go any higher than $3000. I'll probably have to put it on a credit card, and pay it off as I go. As for panning, either style suits me fine. I've seen both. I remember the old VersaBraille concept with the advance bar above the cells, but I'd just like to know your experiences, what you've found to be quality, and what to stay away from.
Both the Focus 40 Blue and the Hims Braille Edge 40 are available for under
$3,000. The Braille Edge is $200 more, but includes note taking features. I like
the Focus as a display. I haven't used the Braille Edge but heard good things
about it. You might want to be aware that Hims are about to release another
display (the Smart Beetle) which will enable you to connect to up to 5 Bluetooth
devices simultaneously. I haven't seen pricing for it, but I imagine it may be
just out of your $3,000 range. I don't know if they'll reduce the Braille Edge
once that model is out. The only caution I would add regarding the focus is
that, if you intend to use it with a Windows screen reader other than JAWS, you
will get a suboptimal experience. I know the purpose of this board is your iOS
presentations, but thought I'd flag in case that consideration is relevant.
Thanks. I've actually looked at the Edge, and the Blue, and those are my top two competetors. I like the Edge because of the note taking capabilities. In theory, I could transfer files to it, and not even have to worry about the iOS link. Thoughts?
Yes, you can do that with the Edge, copy text or MS Word files on to the SD card and then load them on the Edge. TO conserve even more battery, turn Bluetooth off by flipping the switch on the left side of the display. The one advantage to the Focus 40 are all the buttons and such on the front in terms of iOS operation. As for the Beattle, it will be $1295, but only has 14 cells.
I can't speak to any display other than what I have, the Focus 14 Blue. I have used it for public speaking notes, and it has worked fairly well except for one time when it wouldn't pair correctly. That was an interesting speech to be sure.
I later realized that that had happened due to my device locking, and me not having time to mess with it when I was giving the presentation.
As long as you are prepared and keep your screen unlocked, you'll be golden.
I have found that my focus works very well both with ios and with jaws.
P.S. If you plan to do do any extensive notetaking or word processing on ios, get a Bluetooth keyboard. The keyboard and the display can both be paired at the same time, and braille input is pretty slow on ios 8.1 with an iPhone 5s and the focus.
Hope this was helpful.
The braille pen, or what it used to be available is under $1000, but it only have 12 cells, from memory, and it is only for output.
For under $3000, you can't go wrong with the focus blue, edge, and perhaps the brilliant40 from Humanware. Personally, i'll go with the edge, it is overall a better device compare to the focus blue, and the brilliant, but i do like the physical hardware of the brilliant40... Again, depends on how portable you want it to be, you can wait for the Hims Beatle to be out, or the focus 14, if portability is your main concern
Ok! I got a used Brailliant BI 40, and so far, so good. Great display, and good feature set. I have only one complaint, the spacebars are below the braille, but it's totally not a deal breaker!
Small correction, Joanne, the BraillePen 12 does input and output. It is good with IOS, but
dreadful trying to pair to a PC. I also find the size too small to be useful when public
speaking. I I would go at minimum 18 cell, but a 40 is really much better even if it is
bigger.
I used the Brailliant in a public speaking capacity, just to see if I could get the hang of it! It was liberating! No mopre lubbing around a large notebook full of braille papers! Now, I can read notes from my paired iPhone in my pocket! Thank you all so much for your help!
Awesome! Glad it worked out for you!