[nabs-l] Did Anyone At Convention See the Neo Braille

Karl Martin Adam kmaent1 at gmail.com
Sun Jul 10 06:41:51 UTC 2016


Just a quick correction, the Touch still has Keyword as its word 
processor.  It just no longer has the proprietary Keyword file 
type and defaults to DOCX instead.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Ashley Bramlett via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 10 Jul 2016 01:38:50 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Did Anyone At Convention See the Neo 
Braille

Hello,
I use my notetaker for reading books and writing documents and 
the documents
are primarily for my own notes so I don't need to do anything 
fancy for
formatting.
Katie, sounds like you and me use our devices for the same stuff.
I have loved and gotten used to the good and simple word 
processor  called
keyword and know the braille note touch does not have it.

I understand the internet may be limiting. Maybe I'll try 
someone's apex out
and see. I just don't like the idea of  buying a braille note 
touch. I might
like the neo braille better.
Someone said this new notetaker has a 32 cell display and an sd 
slot.

>From little I've learned, the neo braille would fit my needs, 
too.
I really want my next notetaker to have 32 cells since that's 
what I'm used
to on my Braille note empower.

Ashley
-----Original Message-----
From: Katie Wang via NABS-L
Sent: Saturday, July 09, 2016 11:23 PM
To: louvins at gmail.com ; National Association of Blind Students 
mailing list
Cc: Katie Wang
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Did Anyone At Convention See the Neo 
Braille

Hi Ashley,

I agree with the others that it is not a good idea to invest in a
Braille Note Apex. Even though it supposedly has email and 
Internet
connectivity, it is not compatible with most websites and email
servers. I mostly use mine for reading books and writing 
documents
these days and still really love the unit for these features, but 
the
newer note-takers being discussed on this thread can do so much 
more.
I have actually been contemplating getting a Braille Sense U2 for 
a
while, but now the Touch and the Neobraille have come out I will 
hold
off on making the switch and see what these options might have to
offer.

Katie

On 7/9/16, Joshua Hendrickson via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> 
wrote:
 I have a braille note apex at the moment, but the only reason I 
got
 it, was because I want to upgrade to the touch, if I can come up 
with
 the needed money.  I got a very good deal on it.  I got my apex 
for
 1600.  I was able to come up with the money because of some
 tech-support I gave teaching someone the victor stream.  I would 
most
 go with the touch.  I want one so bad.

 On 7/9/16, Cullen via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
 I just remembered an advantage to the touch. In a firmware 
update, KNFB
 reader will be a part of the touch, so if you enjoy that amazing 
app, it
 will be included on the touch. Looking forward to testing that 
out.
 Cullen
 On Jul 9, 2016, at 5:31 PM, Karl Martin Adam via NABS-L
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:

 Hi Ashley,

 As an Apex user, I would definitely suggest getting a newer 
notetaker
 like
 the Touch or the Neo or maybe even the Braillesense.  I like my 
Apex a
 lot, but the software is hopelessly out of date because it's 
running
 Windows CE, which has been dead for years.  That means basically 
every
 website I go to tells me that my browser is not supported and 
that I
 need
 to upgrade to a modern browser, and a lot of them don't work at 
all.  It
 still works now, but if you're going to buy something, I 
wouldn't invest
 in a notetaker that is at the edge of being obsolete.  There are 
a few
 things the Touch doesn't do that the Apex does.  It no longer 
reads
 keyword files, and it now has a separate word processor that 
defaults to
 using docx and a braille file reading and writing utility 
instead of one
 word processor that can do both.  They've also gotten rid of 
block
 commands and replaced it with highlighing chunks of text, which 
I
 personally find annoying.  And the databases from keybase are no 
longer
 supported, and there isn't a way of transfering the e-mail or 
address
 list
 databases, though Mike Tindal told me there's a way of uploading 
my
 addresses to GMail from the Apex so I'll still have them on the 
Touch.

 HTH,
 Karl

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: Ashley Bramlett via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Sat, 9 Jul 2016 16:57:10 -0400
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Did Anyone At Convention See the Neo 
Braille

 Hi Katie,
 I'm also interested in a new notetaker. But I might just 
purchase the
 apex
 before they stop making them.
 Does the braille note touch have everything the apex does plus 
more
 bells
 and whistles?
 How much does the braille note touch cost versus the neo 
braille?

 My understanding is the apex has internet capability through 
wifi built
 into
 it. It also has bluetooth connections available to a smart phone 
or
 tablet
 such as an ipod touch or ipad.
 Also the apex has ability to read NLS books from bard unlike my 
braille
 Note.
 So, I think the apex or new Braille touch would meet my needs.
 Still interested in the neo braille so I can decide.

 Ashley

 -----Original Message-----
 From: Katie Wang via NABS-L
 Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2016 6:15 PM
 To: david.thomas at davidthetechguy.com ; National Association of 
Blind
 Students mailing list
 Cc: Katie Wang
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Did Anyone At Convention See the Neo 
Braille

 Hi Vejas and all,

 I also plan to replace my Braille Note Apex with a new 
note-taker
 within the next year or so, so I'm very interested in this 
thread. I
 have been intrigued by the Braille Note Touch - Do people have
 specific opinions/thoughts about its user interface? Is the 
touch
 screen intuitive to use? Could most functions be carried out 
using the
 keyboard cover if one prefers not to use the touch screen? 
Thanks for
 any input!

 Katie

 On 7/7/16, David Thomas via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
 Hello,
 The notetaker missing in this discussion is the El Braille. This
 notetaker
 is a full Windows 10 Machine with 14 cells of refreshable 
braille, and a
 promising outlook as it will receive updates at the same time 
that other
 Windows 10 devices get updated. Another benefit of this device 
is the
 ability for network administrators to easily integrate it into
 pre-existing networks, and for the blind user to be able to use 
all
 business protocols such as exchange, Skype for Business, and 
other
 business collaboration packages on the market today. My worry 
about the
 group of Android notetakers that are being released to the 
market today
 is
 the possibility of them not being updated. An example of an 
Android
 notetaker gone wrong is the APH braille Plus that was released 
in 2011
 running 2.3 gingerbread. At that time gingerbread had been out 
for 1
 year,
 and Google had already unveiled Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. 
Yes I
 understand it is a lot of work to keep a notetaker up-to-date, 
but it is
 really a necessary thing if we are expected to compete on a 
level
 playing
 field.
 The next question this brings me to is "Do we actually need a
 notetaker?"
 I personally have come to the conclusion of no, and have 
implemented a
 system using an iPhone, and a braille display for my simple note 
taker
 needs. This solution insures that I am using a mainstream device 
while
 retaining the lovely braille output we have come to love.
 Regards
 David Thomas

 -----Original Message-----
 From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
Karl Martin
 Adam via NABS-L
 Sent: Thursday, July 7, 2016 3:27 PM
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
 Cc: Karl Martin Adam
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Did Anyone At Convention See the Neo 
Braille

 The Neo is an Android notetaker with the ability to download and 
use all
 accessible Android apps from the Google Play Store, just like 
the Touch.
 The BrailleSense doesn't have that capability, and it's an older 
design,
 so you would have it for fewer years before they come out with 
the next
 hardware revision.  I didn't really compare the Neo to the 
BrailleSense
 in
 terms of specs because I was mostly looking at the Touch and the 
Neo.

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: justin via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Wed, 6 Jul 2016 14:37:38 -0400
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Did Anyone At Convention See the Neo 
Braille

 How does it stack up to the braille sense u2?
 Justin

 -----Original Message-----
 From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
Karl Martin
 Adam via NABS-L
 Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2016 1:47 PM
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Cc: Karl Martin Adam <kmaent1 at gmail.com
 Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Did Anyone At Convention See the Neo 
Braille

 Yes I did see it.  The guy from Irie didn't know much about how 
the
 software or user interface works (Irie is only the distributor 
not the
 manufacturer), so I don't know how efficient it is to actually 
use.  It
 is
 less expensive than the Braillenote Touch though with 
significantly
 better
 memory, processor speed, and running a newer version of Android, 
and
 most
 importantly for me will have the option of a qwerty smart case, 
so I am
 very excited to learn more once it actually comes on the market 
at the
 end
 of the month.

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: Vejas Vasiliauskas via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Thu, 07 Jul 2016 10:35:33 -0700
 Subject: [nabs-l] Did Anyone At Convention See the Neo Braille

 Hi All,
 I was wondering if anyone at convention who went to the exhibit 
hall,
 saw
 the Neo-Braille, presented by Irie AT.  It is a notetaker that 
is so new
 that many people have not heard of it.
 In fact, I never heard it announced anywhere else at convention, 
so if I
 hadn't gone to their table I probably never would have heard 
about it
 myself.
 If you did see it, I would appreciate it if you could tell me 
your
 opinion
 on it and whether you feel it would make a good notetaker.  I 
currently
 have a Braille note and am looking within the next year of 
either
 getting
 the one I just described, or a Braille sense U 2.
 Thanks.
 Vejas

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