[Electronics-Talk] Orbit Reader review

[Andy Baracco]

There are Braille displays available with just about anything you want if 
you are willing to pay for them. APH also sells a display called the 
Refreshabraille. It has 18 cells and sells for about $1800. I actually owned 
one for a while, but sold it because I just found that I wasn't using it as 
much as I thought it would. It also had a funky USB connection, and I never 
could get the hang of how to plug in the USB cable for charging, but after 
hundreds of complaints I believe that they have redesigned the connection. 
Actually, it's a pretty slick little display, but it is more expensive. I 
have heard good things about the new Brailliant BI14 from Humanware. It 
sells for $995, and has some new smart technology, but it's only 14 cells, 
so its best use would be with a smart phone, for mobile use. Rather than 
cursor routing keys, it has a little slot above each cell and you simply run 
your finger above the cell where you want the cursor to be, and it goes 
there. Also, it has a feature where you can sync notes between the device 
and your iPhone.

Andy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Star Gazer via Electronics-Talk" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: "'Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances'" 
<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Star Gazer" <pickrellrebecca at gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2018 1:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Orbit Reader review


> Do they make Braille displays with
> autoscroll?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Electronics-Talk <electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of
> Tracy Carcione via Electronics-Talk
> Sent: Monday, September 10, 2018 8:46 AM
> To: 'Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances'
> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net>; 'New Jersey Technology Division
> List' <njtechdiv at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [Electronics-Talk] Orbit Reader review
>
> I just bought the Orbit Reader from APH.  It is a braille notetaker and
> reader that costs $449.  I've only had it a few days, but I'm happy with 
> it.
>
> It's about the size of a fat paperback book.  It has 20 braille cells. 
> The
> braille quality is excellent.  It has no speech, and no cursor routing 
> keys.
> It makes a noise when the braille refreshes, like shuffling a deck of 
> cards
> or pushing over a line of dominoes.  I can't use it to read sneakily when
> there are people around and I'm supposed to be doing something else, but
> neither my husband nor I find the noise annoying.  I was concerned because 
> I
> had heard the refresh rate is slow, and I am a fast reader, but it's fast
> enough not to slow me down.
>
> It also connects via Bluetooth or USB to other devices.  I connected it to
> my iPhone very easily, and it works well.  The commands when connected are
> different from those in stand-alone, and I'm still learning them, but so
> far, so good. Don't know why they did that-just to confuse me, I guess.
>
>
>
> When editing, it writes exactly what I put in.  There's no translation or
> formatting.  This is exactly what I want, as I tend to write in shorthand
> and also frequently switch between Grade 2 and computer code.  I also use
> braille music.  I don't want any translation.
>
>
>
> If I could add something, I'd add an auto-scroll.
>
> And it would be nice if the notetaker makers would get together and agree 
> on
> a set of standard commands, so I wouldn't have to learn a whole new set 
> for
> each one.
>
>
>
> I've bought notetakers with all the bells and whistles, but I found I 
> didn't
> really use most of them. I keep my own version of a calendar and an 
> address
> book, and, if I want to surf the Web or mess with email, it's easy to
> connect to another device to do that. Really, I could have saved myself 
> 2000
> bucks, if this had been out last time I was notetaker shopping.  It's 
> basic,
> but basic is all I need.  And the price is right.
>
> Tracy
>
>
>
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