[nfbcs] using note takers vs. Braille displays/tablets

[Martin, Vincent F]

What you outlined is exactly why I still use my Braille Note Apex for many things.  I just can't the the use out of voice over on the IPHONE that I need with my Braille display.  

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Brian Buhrow via nfbcs
Sent: Friday, July 28, 2017 1:57 PM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Brian Buhrow <buhrow at nfbcal.org>
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] using note takers vs. Braille displays/tablets

	Hello Liz.  I had the same thought last year and bought a Hims Smart Beetle, Him's 14 cell offering which only acts as a braille terminal to a screen reader.  My thought was that I could connect it to my iPhone and use the iPhone as a note taker, message center, etc.  I found the experience to be most disappointing.  The Hims Smart Beetle is a solidly built device which exhibits stability, long battery life and a good feel under the fingers.
(I purchased it with the advice of other braille display users who told me the Focus 14 had a number of reliability issues.)  the problem is iOS.
Braille support under iOS is very good, but it's very clear that the developers of iOS are not braille users and there are a lot of places where braille support just doesn't work.  In fact, when I started experiencing these issues, I polled other braille display users who were using  iOS capable devices and discovered that no one else that I spoke with was trying to use their braille display as a primary interface to their iOS device.  Specifically, all of them had note takers that they occasionlally interfaced with iOS to dash off a quick text message or e-mail.  No one thought using iOS as the primary note storage device was a good idea.
Sadly, after a year of trying to make it work, I must conclude that they're right.  The problem is that the iPhone really wants you  to interact using the touch screen.  So, yu can get into a lot of situations where the braille controls just don't get you where you want to go and you have to pick up the phone and navigate using the touch screen.  Also, because the phone is a multi-tasking device, it sometimes wanders off, processing something other than what you're writing, causing keystrokes to be missed or mis-interpreted.  Other folks I talked to said they didn't have this problem, but when I questioned them more closely, it turned out they didn't use their phones for composition in any real way.
	As I said earlier, like you, I like the idea of having one primary note taking device and the phone seems like the perfect tool to do that.  However, given that you're a reporter and I imagine that there are a lot of times when you just need your technology to get out of the way and  let you capture the story, quickly and efficiently, without fuss or fanfare, I think the iPhone in conjunction with a braille display is not the right answer.  There are too many moving parts and I think you'll find yourself trying to make the technology work for you when you should just be writing.
If you get something that's capable of driving the iPhone, as well as acting as a note taker, i.e. the Hims Braille Edge or the Vario Aultra, then you can experiment with moving in the direction you're thinking about without committing yourself in one fell swoop.  The Focus 14 and the Hims Smart Beetle don't give you that choice.
	I'd love to be proven wrong and told that it's just operator error on my part, but since my admittedly unscientific polling of folks on the issue yielded no other pioneers, I suspect there's a reason.  
	Anyway, that's just my two cents.  Let us know what you decide to use.
And, happy shopping!

P.S.  If you can wait a couple months, the Orbit Reader 20 from APH and Orbits Research looks like just the thing for you.  priced at $450, it's a combination note taker and braille terminal.  So, you can use it as a stand alone note taking device or as a display for a screen reader, including VoiceOver on iPhone.  I bought one of the few units available at the convention, and the braille is good and it's responsive as a note taker. I've not tried attaching it to my iPhone yet.  Curtis Chong, who also bought one of the units, did attach it to his phone and he reports that it works.

-Brian

On Jul 28,  8:20am, Elizabeth Campbell via nfbcs wrote:
} Subject: [nfbcs] using note takers vs. Braille displays/tablets } Greetings all, } } } } I need to replace my BrailleNote Apex that I've had for about six years.
}
} I've used it out in the field quite a bit,and it's crashing at inopportune } times.
}
}
}
} I had opportunities to look at various Braille displays and at the El } Braille at the NFB convention. I'm writing a proposal requesting that my } employer help with purchasing some new equipment.
}
} I'm wondering if the best option would be to get a small Braille display } such as the Focus 14 and use it in conjunction with either my iPhone or a } Windows-based tablet.
}
} I'm not sure if I need a note taker as I need a device for taking notes, } posting to social media and recording when I'm out in the field.
}
} On the other hand, I like the idea of having one device to carry instead of } several.
}
}
}
} Thanks in advance for your help and advice.
}
}
}
} Best regards.
}
}
}
} Liz Campbell
}
}
}
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>-- End of excerpt from Elizabeth Campbell via nfbcs



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