[Nfbf-l] Fw: Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 BlueBraille Display by 38%

[Sherri]

In my humble opinion, that's only because the price was so darn high to 
begin with. No offense to those who work for FS.
Sherri
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joe Minichiello" <jbmini at comcast.net>
To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 9:00 AM
Subject: [Nfbf-l] Fw: Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 
BlueBraille Display by 38%


check this out.
Joe Minichiello, Second Vice President
National Federation of the Blind of Florida
President, Greater Jacksonville Chapter
904-608-0105
jbmini at comcast.net
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Minichiello Joseph B
To: jbmini at comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 10:24 AM
Subject: FW: Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue Braille 
Display by 38%






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: @ Freedom Scientific News 
[mailto:freedomscientificnews at freedomscientific.ccsend.com] On Behalf Of @ 
Freedom Scientific News
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 4:22 PM
To: Minichiello Joseph B
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 joseph.b.minichiello at irs.gov by 
freedomscientificnews at freedomscientific.com.
            Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with 
SafeUnsubscribeT | Privacy Policy. Email Marketing by


            Freedom Scientific | 11800 31st Court North | St. Petersburg | 
FL | 33716-1805



_______________________________________________
Nfbf-l mailing list
Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
Nfbf-l:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/flmom2006%40gmail.com