[Blindtlk] [Blindly] Trekker Breeze and Trekker Breeze+ from Human Ware

Thu May 28 17:04:19 UTC 2015

Hello Chris.

Let me say this ...

When my Husband first gave me a Trekker Breeze, I thought he wasted his money.  Plus, I was newly blind and frustrated, and did not want to learn another gadget.  Boy, was I wrong!  I think it took me about 20 minutes to learn the keypad of the Trekker Breeze.  It is quite simple.  It has about 9 buttons.  There is an Info button, which gives you Explore, GPS and Battery information.  If you hold down that button, it takes you to the settings menu which has 7 items.  That is the info button on the left.  If you press and hold the Info button on the right, it will put you in Key Describer mode, which you can toggle on and off by pressing and holding that button.  The big round button in the middle of the two Info keys is the button which tells you where you are and where you are heading.  Holding down that button will give you What's Around.  There is a Record button to record landmarks, and each button doubles as a telephone keypad so you can input the address of your landmark or destination.  That is my quick review of the Trekker Breeze's button functions.  Going back to the 3 items in the left-side Info button, in the GPS mode, it will tell you the strength of your GPS, how fast you are going (if in a car).  The 3rd item in that Info button gives you your walking distance, walking time, walking speed and altitude.  I like the features of the Info button because if I am in a vehicle, I can monitor the driver's speed and request they slow down if going to fast.

Now, to answer your question, I find the Trekker Breeze very accurate.  That's my opinion, I'm sure there are others out there willing to debate.  LOL.  I live in a rural area, so I get "entering open area" a lot, but HumanWare said the upgrade should fix this problem.  I found that if I set a landmark/destination, it takes me to the exact location/address.  If I set a landmark by physically standing in the spot, I found the Trekker Breeze brought me right back to that same spot.  It gets quirky  if you have too many landmarks set in the same location.  For example, we have a 3-car garage, and I set a landmark at each door so whatever door is open, I can find my way back into the house.  This is where the Trekker Breeze will tell me too many landmarks set and to invoke the What's Around button, but I do find my way back inside.  When walking, you can invoke the What's Around button, and by pressing and holding down that button, you can get an extended search which will give you the following 11 categories:  Landmarks, if you set any; Transportation; Food; Banking; Health; Shopping; Lodging;Education; Public Administration; Automotive; and All Categories.  I find that some of the restaurants, businesses, etc., would not be listed even though I am right in front of them, but I guess the map update will fix that problem.  At least, I hope so.  I have found it accurate though, as far as telling me whether it's on the right or left of the street.  What else can I say about this?  I am overall greatly satisfied with my Trekker Breeze and glad my Husband made the investment.  Ive had it about 5 or 6 years now, so I guess it's time for an update.  I don't know how I could have gotten around without one.  We bought the U.S. Map disk in addition to the Trekker Breeze.  When I travel I just put the State or States I will be traveling through and pop the disk into the Trekker and away I go.  My disk holds about 4 or 5 States depending upon the size of the information to be stored on the disk.  You don't want to fill the disk to capacity because you are going to want to leave room for landmarks and destinations, if you wish to set any.  When I went to the NFB Convention in Florida, I think in 2011, I had 2 disks; One covered the Northeast region on the United States and the other disk covered the Southeast region.  I think I had to change the disk after we left Virginia.  Switching disks was quick and easy.

I forgot to mention, in the Setting's 7 menu items, you get:  Landmarks, Routes, verbosity, Voice,Distance Unit, About, Reset Default Settingsm Reset Pedometer, and Reset GPS position.  You can customize your Voice and Verbosity.  I currently am using Samatha, but I hope they offer other voices soon.  

I hope I have answered all of your concerns.  Sorry to ramble on about the product, but I like the fact that I have this stand-alone unit so I don't have to worry about depleting my cell phone's battery.  I can travel all day with the Trekker Breeze and have a low battery by 10 or 11 o'clock P.M., and that's if I set out at 5 or 6 o'clock A.M.  If you have any additional questions, feel free to write me.  Have a good day and good luck in your decision. 

Sincerely, Gadget Girl
 Sent via my Apple gadget.  Apple...Take a bite...Express yourself!

> On May 28, 2015, at 4:22 AM, Szostak, Christine via blindtlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
>  Thanks! May I ask one additional question about your experience. How accurate have you found it to be? As to examples of what I am most intersted in:
> 
> 1)  How close does it get you to your destination (a few feet, the entrance to the parking lot, right to the door...).
> 
> 2)  When you need to make say  a turn when walking, does it prompt you really close to when you need to actually do so?
> Happy almost weekend!
> Chris
> 
> Dr. Christine M. Szostak
> Assistant Professor of Psychology
> Department of Social Sciences
> Shorter University
> Rome, Georgia
> szostak.1 at osu.edu
> cszostak at shorter.edu
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindly [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gadget Girl via blindly
> Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2015 3:35 AM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Cc: Gadget Girl
> Subject: Re: [Blindly] Trekker Breeze and Trekker Breeze+ from Human Ware
> 
> Hello.  I have a Trekker Breeze and I use it each time I travel.  I find it easy to use and very helpful.  If you already own a Trekker Breeze, you can get the upgrade for $199.  You will have to call the company for a RAM number, pack your Breeze securely, and mail it back to them. The shipping company will come to your house and pick it up for the company.  In return, Human Ware will up grade your unit by installing the guts of the new unit inside your old one, Plus change your battery.  They will also give you an updated map. This is what the young lady at the company told me.  Frankly, I look forward to the update and the improvements.  Since I use my Trekker regularly, I am going to mail it back to the company for the upgrade and pay the $199.  My Breeze was originally paid for out-of-pocket, so I don't think any agency is going to fund it.; but I could be wrong.  The units is easy to use and comes with easy to follow instructions. Hope this helps.
> 
> Regards, 
> Gadget Girl
> Sent from my Apple gadget and dictated using Siri.
> 
>> On May 27, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Szostak, Christine via blindly <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi All,
>> Has anyone here used a Trekker Breeze (I am doubting that anyone or many have used the + version since it only released, to my knowledge, today:))? If so, may I ask whether you felt it was worth obtaining? I am guessing that I am going to have to purchase it out-of-pocket since I am pretty sure my VR councilor is not going to finance it if I do choose to get one. Any info on how easy, useful, accurate... you have found it to be and if you had to buy it out of pocket, whether it would be worth the almost $800 would be wonderfully appreciated!
>> Have a fantastic Wednesday!
>> Chris
>> 
>> Dr. Christine M. Szostak
>> Assistant Professor of Psychology
>> Department of Social Sciences
>> Shorter University
>> Rome, Georgia
>> szostak.1 at osu.edu<mailto:szostak.1 at osu.edu>
>> cszostak at shorter.edu
>> 
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