[nfbcs] Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue Braille Display by 38%
Peter Donahue
pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net
Fri Mar 5 03:33:26 UTC 2010
Hello Suzie and everyone,
How about an across-the-board price reduction for all FS products. It
would be nice to see SMA/PMA renules be required every two or three years.
That would be a step in the right direction.
Peter Donahue
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stanzel, Susan - Kansas City, MO" <susan.stanzel at kcc.usda.gov>
To: "'NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List'" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 9:53 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue
Braille Display by 38%
No, I am not upset about a price reduction, however, it would have been nice
if they had also reduced the Focus 80. I have heard a lot about both of the
other screen readers and just haven't tried them.
Susie
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Wunder, Gary
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 9:30 AM
To: 'NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue
Braille Display by 38%
I am not following. You sound upset about a price reduction. I have tried
System Access which is pretty good and NVDA which is surprisingly good for
something which is free.
Gary
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Stanzel, Susan - Kansas City, MO
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 7:21 AM
To: 'NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue
Braille Display by 38%
Hi Gary,
I can't believe Freedom did this. I have had a rather bitter pill in my
mouth about them. I have not tried any of the free stuff. Have you?
Susie
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Gary Wunder
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 9:41 PM
To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nfbcs] Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue Braille
Display by 38%
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
38% Having trouble viewing this email?
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
email This
email was sent to gwunder at earthlink.net by
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