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

Fri May 29 10:14:44 UTC 2015

that is a great review and I think I had better use mine ore.

On 5/28/2015 3:49 PM, Gary Wunder via blindtlk wrote:
> What a nice review. Thank you.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gadget Girl
> via blindtlk
> Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2015 12:04 PM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Cc: Gadget Girl
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] [Blindly] Trekker Breeze and Trekker Breeze+ from
> Human Ware
>
> 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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