[Nfb-announce] Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue Braille Display by 38%

[Gary Wunder]

I forward FYI. ----- Original Message ----- From: 
@ Freedom Scientific News To: 
gwunder at earthlink.net Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 
2010 3:20 PM Subject: Freedom Scientific Reduces 
Price of Focus 40 Blue Braille Display by 
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Click here  Greetings! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Media Contact: Brad Davis 800-444-4443 or 
727-803-8000 www.FreedomScientific.com Sales: 
info at FreedomScientific.com Freedom Scientific 
Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue Braille Display by 
38% to Support Drive for Braille Literacy (St. 
Petersburg, Florida ­ March 3, 2010) - Freedom 
Scientific® today announced that it has reduced 
the US list price of its Focus 40 Blue Braille 
Display from $4,495 to $2,795, a $1,700 
reduction, in a move to support Braille literacy. 
The National Federation of the Blind, in their 
report from the Jernigan Institute, has declared 
that there is a "Braille Literacy Crisis in 
America," citing such statistics as:   a.. Fewer 
than 10 percent of the 1.3 million people who are 
legally blind in the United States are Braille 
readers   b.. Only 10 percent of blind children 
in the US are learning Braille   c.. Over 70 
percent of blind adults are unemployed, and as 
many as 50 percent of blind high school students 
drop out of high school The factors that 
contribute to a low Braille literacy rate in the 
US are many, among them a shortage of qualified 
Braille teachers and an increasing reliance on 
recorded audio and text-to-speech technologies. 
"We believe that technology should be supporting 
Braille literacy, not replacing it," states Dr. 
Lee Hamilton, President and CEO of Freedom 
Scientific. "The combination of JAWS® and a 
Braille display makes learning and using Braille 
easy. JAWS can translate almost any electronic 
document or Web page into Braille and then 
display them on the Focus 40 Blue. JAWS also has 
a built-in Braille tutor that works with the 
Focus 40 Blue to provide immediate spoken help 
when the reader encounters an unfamiliar Braille 
symbol. This makes independent Braille study 
easier as it can be used with any document of 
interest to the student. With a computer and a 
Braille display, a person who is Braille literate 
can carry hundreds of books on a single memory 
card or USB thumb drive. "Unfortunately, Braille 
displays have always been expensive, which has 
meant that not everyone who wanted a Braille 
display could get one. Freedom Scientific wants 
to open the world of Braille to as many blind 
people as possible. We first drastically reduced 
the cost of Braille displays in 2004, when we 
introduced models 40% below the average price of 
currently available Braille displays. We are 
pleased that the manufacturing efficiencies 
inherent in our latest product design make it 
possible for us to reduce prices once again and 
hope this will make Braille accessible to many 
more people." The Focus 40 Blue is a compact 
portable Braille display that is the perfect 
companion to a desktop, laptop, or netbook PC. It 
connects via USB or Bluetooth® and has a Braille 
keyboard. The 40 Braille cells are constructed 
without seams between characters, so the user 
experience is like reading Braille on paper. The 
Focus 40 Blue works with Apple® computers and 
cell phones as well as with JAWS for Windows®. 
Freedom Scientific's Braille displays are the 
most reliable in the industry and are backed by 
technical support and service teams based in St. 
Petersburg, Florida. The new US/Canada list price 
for the Focus 40 Blue is USD 2,795 and includes a 
two-year manufacturer's warranty. For more 
information, please visit the Freedom Scientific 
Web site or call 800-444-4443. About Freedom 
Scientific Freedom Scientific is the leading 
worldwide provider of assistive technology 
products for those with vision impairments. The 
Company sells its products worldwide and has 
offices in Florida and Switzerland. The Company's 
products have been translated into 24 languages 
and are available in 55 countries. Freedom also 
has a line of software products for those with 
learning disabilities. Freedom Scientific® and 
JAWS for Windows® are either trademarks or 
registered trademarks in the United States and/or 
other countries. The names of actual companies 
and products mentioned herein may be the 
trademarks of their respective 
owners.             Forward 
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