[Electronics-talk] More On the Narrator Radio

Tue Jul 31 23:29:35 UTC 2012

I think brand names still mean something. Dell chooses their suppliers
and they provide support for the products they sell, whether they
manufacture every component or not.

On 30/07/12 16:02, Baracco, Andrew W wrote:
> These days a brand name means little.  Dell sells laptops, but they do
> not manufacture them.  Even with their desktop machines, they simply
> assemble components made by others.  Sears sells appliances under the
> Kenmore name, but there is no such company as Kenmore.  Kenmore
> appliances have been made by many companies over the years, including
> Whirlpool and Hotpoint.
> 
> Andy
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gerald Levy
> Sent: Monday, July 30, 2012 1:07 PM
> To: Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] More On the Narrator Radio
> 
> 
> What bothers me about this editorial is that the writer was apparently
> told by an Insignia representative that they had nothing to do with
> manufacturing the Narrator.  In other words, if it doesn't work the way
> you expected, don't blame us.  So already, it sounds like  Best Buy is
> trying to distance itself from the Narrator, a sign that it may soon be
> relegated to the bargain pages of Cowboom.com.  I was hoping that the
> Insignia rep would have told the editorial writer that his company was
> dedicated to the Narrator and intends to  improve it, but it doesn't
> sound like they are interested in going down this road.  Too bad.
> 
> Gerald
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances" 
> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, July 30, 2012 3:37 PM
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] More On the Narrator Radio
> 
> 
>> Gerald,
>>
>> When I heard some of the original promotional materials, I was very 
>> skeptical about reading artist information as that would require some
> kind 
>> of text to speech conversion.  To what degree that could have run
>> on whatever microprocessor is being used is something I don't know.
> Given 
>> that it is done to some degree on cordless phone handsets, although
> not 
>> all that well, and on some cellphones, it certainly is
>> possible, but I don't know what such a system costs.  Even so, I don't
> 
>> think such claims should have been made when it was likely known by 
>> someone that those claims were not true.  However, I also know
>> that the press releases were probably written by marketers who don't
> know 
>> the difference between text-to-speech and fixed-vocabulary speech.
> They 
>> would assume if it can speak the time and frequency
>> when it is displayed, it can certainly display the artist.  You and I
> know 
>> those are two different things, but it isn't obvious to the public.
>>
>> It would be nice had the radio handled that situation, and I also have
> 
>> some frustrations that you have to wait until an announcement
> completes in 
>> some cases before pressing a given button again.  This is not a
>> perfect radio.  I also don't like the preset system that is used, and
> this 
>> has nothing to do with accessibility.  Presets are more like bookmarks
> as 
>> you move up and down the band in that they seem to be ordered
>> by frequency.  I like to group my presets by the type of programming
> even 
>> if the stations are not next to each other on the dial.
>>
>> Nevertheless, after dealing with a Bose and some other radios for a
> long 
>> time, it does almost feel like a miracle to me that I can deal with
> the 
>> clock myself.  No more having the radio coming on at midnight.  I
>> also liked the fact that they put the whole manual on the CD and not
> just 
>> the part that dealt with accessibility.  Finally, the antenna
> connections 
>> to this radio are the same as is commonly used on most stereos,
>> even small ones, except for those that are truly portable.  I have a
> Teac 
>> HD Radio for example, and my kids have two small Sony stereos that
> also 
>> use an AM loop and an FM dipole antenna in each case.
>> Therefore, I think that criticism is a little harsh and really doesn't
> 
>> have much to do with accessibility.  I also think that the AM
> sensitivity 
>> is poor, and while I don't like it, I have also found that to be
> pretty 
>> common
>> on many small stereos, and even some pretty good stereos that use
> these 
>> small square loops.  I think this radio is actually better on AM than
> is 
>> the Teac HD radio that I own.  I think it is unfortunate when one
>> can't believe advertising, but frankly, I take all promotional
> material 
>> about anything with a few granes of salt so I was less bothered by
> some of 
>> the shortcomings than you were.
>>
>> In short, I think we have to be sure people know what they are getting
> 
>> when they buy this radio, and comments here help make that possible,
> but I 
>> don't regret buying mine at all.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Steve Jacobson
>>
>> On Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:07:43 -0400, Gerald Levy wrote:
>>
>>
>>> The following editorial about the Narrator HD radio was published in
> this 
>>> weeks's edition of the Mathilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind:
>>
>>> Op Ed with Bob Branco - The Narrator Isn't All That was Advertised
>>
>>> Several weeks ago, most of you heard about a wonderful new radio that
> Best 
>>> Buy was selling called the Narrator.  It is supposed to be the best
> radio 
>>> for visually impaired people ever manufactured.  While
>> reading one of the original press releases, I was so enthused with the
> 
>> information that I ordered the Narrator myself.  Why not?  It is
> supposed 
>> to be extremely user friendly for the blind and visually impaired.
>>
>>> While it allows you to set the clock, the alarm, the radio band, and 
>>> specific radio stations by using voice application, the Narrator does
> not 
>>> totally perform as it was advertised.  For example, in a press release
> I
>> received as part of a mass email from a consumer organization, it
> states 
>> in one of the paragraphs as follows:  "With speech turned on, the
> radio 
>> will announce the artist and song, and will show and announce
>> visual images as well."  This is not true.  Though the Narrator may 
>> display artist and song titles on the screen if you happen to find an
> HD 
>> radio station that provides that service, you won't hear it in voice
> mode.
>>
>>> If a blind person hopes to use the menu or bookmark buttons to
> navigate 
>>> the radio in voice mode, think again.  Those two features are for just
> the 
>>> sighted.
>>
>>> Although the Narrator comes with an audio CD instruction manual, which
> 
>>> most people may feel is what you should read in order to use the
> product, 
>>> the only section of the CD that benefits the blind is track 12.
>>
>>> If you feel that locating HD radio stations is difficult with the 
>>> Narrator, well, it's just as tough to tune in a regular A.M. station.
> The 
>>> Narrator does not come with a normal telescopic antenna which you can
>> rotate.  It comes with two plastic shoelace Y-shaped antennas which
> you 
>> have to plug into two different adaptors on the back of the radio, and
> 
>> even after you plug them in, you have to swing the antennas
>> around, especially the A.M. one, in order to pick up a station which
> may 
>> be as close as 25 miles away.
>>
>>> I have one more side note.  Although Best Buy uses the Insignia label
> on 
>>> the Narrator as well as other products, a representative from Insignia
> 
>>> told me that the company had nothing to do with manufacturing
>> the Narrator.
>>
>>> So, if you are blind and are satisfied with setting the clock and
> alarm on 
>>> your own, finding and presetting radio stations and tuning into
> certain 
>>> frequencies, then you will like the Narrator.  But do not expect it to
>> be the miracle radio that's being advertised, because it isn't.
>>
>>
>>> Gerald
>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Electronics-talk mailing list
>>> Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>>> Electronics-talk:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org/steve.ja
> cobson%40visi.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Electronics-talk mailing list
>> Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> Electronics-talk:
>>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org/bwaylimite
> d%40verizon.net 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Electronics-talk mailing list
> Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Electronics-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org/andrew.bar
> acco%40va.gov
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Electronics-talk mailing list
> Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Electronics-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org/chaltain%40gmail.com
> 

-- 
Christopher (CJ)
chaltain at Gmail