Category: accessible Devices
what kind of braille display do you have? what do you like about it and what do you not like? is it just the refreshable braille part or does it also have the extra 8 braille typing keyboard? What model is the best bang for your buck?
Personally I want one that is affordable and does not have the braille typing keys - one that is only the refreshable braille display part.
I've been trying a few different types of displays so I'll give this a go.
I had a Papenmeier 2d-screen for 12 years, 80 cells, heavy and, I swear, made from German tank steel. They have become ligher and more modern but tend to be overly expensive at 13K, but definitely good proucts.
Any braille display from Baum I would avoid at all cost. The hardware is sloppy, the driver seems badly written and we have constant trouble with the 4 or 5 displays the Resource Center I work for owns and lends out.
I have an Alva Satellite (Alva was taken over by Optilec I believe), these are expensive still, 5K ish for 40 cell and 12 or 13K for 80, but absolutely my favorite displays, and they are compatible with System Access and NVDA I believe.
I also have Focus 40 and 80 cell displays. They havethe 8-dot braille input thingy, not sure if they might have amemory card, itis possible. I amnot a huge fan. They are cheaper 3K for 40 cell and around 7K for 80, but already have issues with two braille cells on my 80 cell display after owning it for a year and using it for may be 2 months out of that. May be it's just bad luck, I mean it is a small sample, but I am a little irritated by this. I wouldnot recommend against them, they are light, portable, USB powered, but that one issue does bug me a bit.
I just tested the Seiko braille display from Perkins. It is 40 cell and costs $2200, list price. It has got none ofthe bells and whistles, you got to create a usb to virtual comport when you install it and theinstallation process is a bit weird, took me two tries, but once it was installed it's been very good, light, tiny, no nonsense, nice scrolling, over all I am very impressed with this display, especially if they improve the instructions and installation directions. Oh yeah, in Jaws 10 it shows up as RBT40 so I could not find it for the longest time, which made installation tricky.
I would recommend this one, or, if you want 80 cell, there are often offers on older 80 cell displays in the 1000 to 2000 range (heck I am wanting to sell my 40-cell Focus, it does not have any faulty braille cells and I want to sell it for 1200, just putting thisout there).
Finally there is a French company called Eurobraille that make displays that double as a note taking device. I have heard they are fairly inexpensive and good quality. My colleague tested them and was very impressed and I will get to test one next month.
Hope any of this helps, I can post displays from sale if I see them and I am sure other people will post views on other displays.
Cheers
-B