[nfbcs] BookSense

[Brian Mackey]

Dear Fellow Federationists,

 

For those who weren't at the convention, here are some basic information
regarding the BookSense.

 

The BookSense can play DAISY books, text files, MP3 files, can be a note
recorder, has a FM radio, has a clock with an alarm, Bluetooth capability,
and it has voice recognition. With the voice recognition, you can play a
recorded recipe for example and play and stop it without touching any of the
buttons! The BookSense is made by a company called HIMS. There are three
models of the BookSense. They are the BookSense Standard, BookSense XT, and
the BookSense DS. The battery life lasts for 12 hours and recharges in 2.5
hours. You have the option to record in either MP3 or WAV, where you can
only record in 3pg on the Victor Reader Stream. You can either use the 4GB
internal flash or a 8GB to 32GB SD card to store memory onto the BookSense.

 

On the left hand side, you will first feel the slot for the SD card. Above
it, you will find three buttons. The lower two are for the volume control
(you can go as high as volume 21). Above the volume control, you will find
the mode button. There, you can move into Audio, DAISY, Document Reader, or
Radio mode. Audio mode allows you to listen to music, podcasts, radio
recordings, recorded files, etc. In DAISY, you can listen to NLS, BookShare,
RFB&D, and NEWSLINE. Document Reader is where you listen to your text files,
such as doc, docx, rtf, txt, brf, brl, etc. And Radio is where you can
listen to FM radio stations.

 

On the top, you will feel two hole slots. The slot on the left is to insert
an external microphone, and the one on the right is to plug in headphones.

 

On the right hand side, you will feel two buttons and a switch. The first
button is the play/stop button and the power on/off button. Below it is the
record button. To start recording, hold down the record button for about
three seconds. To pause the recording, press the record button. When you are
done recording, press the OK button. When the recording is save, it will
save it in date and time order. Below the record button, you will find the
lock switch. When the lock switch is pushed away from the record button, the
BookSense is locked. When the lock switch is pushed towards the record
button, the BookSense is unlocked.

 

On the bottom, you will find two holes. The one on the right is to plug in
the USB cord to connect to your computer. The hole on the left is to plug in
the AC adapter to recharge the BookSense.

 

On the back, is the battery pack.

 

Now, for the face of the BookSense. At the top, you will find a long button.
That is the clock button, which tells you the date and time. You hold that
button down for about three seconds to activate and deactivate the voice
recognition. Below it, you will find four arrow buttons; left, right, up,
and down. The up and down buttons allows you to go through a listing of
folders, such as when you are looking through all of the different types of
DAISY files. The left and right arrows allows you to enter or leave a folder
or menu. In the center of those arrows, you will find a square button. That
is the menu button. That is where you change your settings, such as setting
the date and time, setting an alarm, choosing between recording in MP3 or
WAV, etc. Then, you find a 10-key keypad. Like a Braille cell, you have
raised dots. In this case, every other button is slightly lower. 1 is
slightly lower, 2 is flat, 3 is slightly lower, 4 is flat, 5 is slightly
lower, 6 is flat, 7 is slightly lower, 8 is flat, 9 is slightly lower, the
cancel button is flat, 0 is slightly lower, and the OK button is flat. 1
allows you to insert a bookmark. 2 allows you to jump to that bookmark. 3
deletes bookmarks, files, or folders. 4 decreases speed by one level, and
turns on the sleep timer when held down for about three seconds. 5 brings
you back to normal speed, and allows you to switch between male and female
text-to-speech when held down for about three seconds. 6 increases speed by
one level, and activates Bluetooth when held down for three seconds. 7 jumps
you to a page. 8  jumps you to a heading, and switches between what type of
memory you want to use after holding down for about three seconds. 9 allows
you to choose what type of bookmark to use (standard bookmark, highlighted
bookmark, or voice bookmark). Cancel obviously cancels a command. 0 tells
you the file information, and tell you how much space you have left after
holding down for three seconds. OK completes a command, and tells you how
much battery you have left on a scale of 1 to 10 after holding it down for
about three seconds.

 

To download books or media files onto the BookSense, you have to do it
MANUALLY, while the Victor Reader has the companion software to assist you
with the process. To use the radio on the BookSense, you have to plug in
headphones because they act as an antennae. The price for BookSense Standard
is $349, BookSense DS is $449, and BookSense XT is $499. The price for
Victor Reader Stream is $359 before the $50 soft pack (additional software
to add onto the Stream such as the ability to record in MP3 and read docx
files).

 

At the banquet, we raffled off the BookSense, and the lucky winner was Joe
Braz.

 

Sincerely,

 

Brian Mackey