[NFBCS] FW: Access On: The BrailleNote Evolve from HumanWare

[Mosen, Jonathan]

Hello Joe, yes, I have two months’ hands-on experience with BrailleNote Evolve. I will not restate the findings of the review, which is comprehensive.
If you are going to use it for coding, you may wish to, as you say, either connect a qwerty keyboard, or use computer Braille, which has fewer potential ambiguities.
There is more to this question than writing the code though. The three-year-old processor in the device may have a bearing on whether it will meet your needs. You will find outcomes to be speedier for many use cases if you use something like a Mantis Q40 to connect to a computer with a more powerful CPU.
The Mantis Q40 offers local basic note taking without having to buy anything else, which BrailleNote Evolve does not unless you count the BRF editor which has no find function.
Jonathan Mosen
Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence
National Federation of the Blind
410-659-9314 ex 2233
jmosen at nfb.org<mailto:jmosen at nfb.org>

Reminder: Attend National Convention<https://nfb.org/convention>, July 3-8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
“It’s the time of year where blind people are the majority.”
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From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Joe Orozco via NFBCS
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 10:37 AM
To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List' <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBCS] FW: Access On: The BrailleNote Evolve from HumanWare

Does anyone here have hands-on experience with the device? I was tempted by the Perkins model but have hesitated based on unconfirmed reports that things were still buggy. That is, of course, to be expected, not a reflection on the device itself, but for things like coding, I wonder if it makes more sense to wait for the QWERTY model. Yes, you can currently connect a QWERTY keyboard to it now, but I’d really like to reduce the number of devices I carry around.

Anyway, just some questions for anyone with firsthand experience.

Actually, if anyone can speak to the Mantis Q40 and whether this would be a more viable and more affordable alternative, that would be great information as well.

Joe

From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org>> On Behalf Of Steve Jacobson via NFBCS
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 9:33 AM
To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org<mailto:nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Steve Jacobson <steve.jacobson at outlook.com<mailto:steve.jacobson at outlook.com>>
Subject: [NFBCS] FW: Access On: The BrailleNote Evolve from HumanWare

This week's Access On features a comprehensive review and demonstration of BrailleNote Evolve, the latest generation of BrailleNote from HumanWare running Windows 11 Pro. here are the segments in the episode, which you can skip to using the chapter feature of your podcast player or app. Looking ahead to our gaming Access On webinar 0:00:00 What is BrailleNote Evolve 0:02:13 The evolution that led to BrailleNote Evolve 0:06:11 BrailleNote Evolve with JAWS 0:12:22 Hardware 0:15:25 Dimensions and portability 0:24:38 The keyboard 0:28:13 Setup 0:33:02 Starting, and the Main Menu 0:34:44 Testing the microphones 0:40:01 Word, BrailleNote Evolve, and NVDA 0:42:47 Options 0:58:18 Braille Editor 1:10:14 Victor Reader 1:11:54 File Manager 1:16:41 No Braille Terminal 1:18:16 Final thoughts 1:19:45 Andrew Flatres and Rachel Ramos from HumanWare 1:31:18 Closing and contact info 2:02:08

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/access-on/id1777481188?i=1000773156189<https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/access-on/id1777481188?i=1000773156189>

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