[Nfbsatx] Fwd: [TABS] Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue Braille Display by 38%

Jose Martinez jose.martinez07 at gmail.com
Fri Mar 5 04:24:33 UTC 2010 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Juan Del Rosario <blindrocker87 at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2010 22:08:13 -0600
Subject: [TABS] Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue
Braille Display by 38%
To: tabs_students at googlegroups.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bobby Lakey <Blakey at freedomscientific.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 12:36 AM
Subject: FW: Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue Braille
Display by 38%
To: Jack Hickman <jehickman1958 at gmail.com>,
mark.marvel at blindambitionsgroups.org, debbie.louder at netxv.net,
vince at nanopac.com


 Dear Friends and Customers:

It is with extreme pleasure that I pass this e-mail along to you.  For those
of us that read Braille or want to do so can now read it at a lower cost
than ever before.

Four years ago, we came out with a new type of Braille that had lower
production costs than other displays.  In that, we were able to provide our
customers with an USB 40 cell Braille display for $3500.  At that time, 40
cell USB displays were still in the $6000 range.  After our announcement,
many display makers lower their price, however not to the level that FS was
making Braille available.

In the past few months, we introduced our Focus 40 Blue.  It is a 2 pound 40
cell display that functions from its USB or wireless capability.  We
introduced the Blue at $4495.  It entered the market as the lowest cost
wireless display on the market, if I am not mistaken.

Now that we have recouped some of our R&D cash outlay on that product, we
are very excited to be able to lower that price to the phenomenal $2795 that
you will see in this announcement.

FS and I care about people having access to Braille.  For the first time
ever, a wireless/USB Braille display has a price point of about what a video
magnifier does.  This means that while people with low vision are able to
read for under 3K, so now can people that read Braille or need/want to read
Braille.

Here is a question for all of you.  Are you aware that with this price
reduction, you can buy a net book or laptop computer, make it talk with
JAWS, have it scan with Open Book, purchase a scanner and finally a Braille
display for a total package price of under 6K.  Unless a notetaker is
essential, this bundle of products give someone a computer, speech, OCR and
Braille for less than a notetaker with far more power, flexibility, and
potential.

If any of you would like to have a demo of the Blue display, or see this
bundle of products demonstrated, please let me know, and I will make sure
that happens for you.

I hope you all join me in the excitement of this announcement.  As a person
that has been blind for almost 32 years, I believe this to be one of the
most awesome things that I have seen in a while!

As a person who has spent 11 years as an employee of the Division of Blind
Services of Texas I had the opportunity to see what Braille does for people
in an academic or employment situations!  I think this is awesome!

The Blue ,when used with JAWS, will essentially teach a person Braille,
through a featured called Braille Study Mode.  We would like to show you
this.  The Focus 40 Blue has the ability to enter data into the PC via its
Perkins style Braille keyboard.  It has several different ways of navigating
through text, including our very own Wiz Wheels.  When used wirelessly, it
will work for about 20 hours on the internal battery.  When you are running
it through the USB port on your PC, the battery will charge from that
connection.

Please, share with me your excitement over this announcement, and I look
forward to doing demonstrations for you guys in the future.  Have a blessed
day, and let me know if there is anything I can do for you guys.


All the Best,



Bobby Lakey

Director of Central US Sales

Freedom Scientific Inc.

Cell: (469) 360-1143

Office: (1-800) 444-4443, Ext. 1122

Email: *blakey at freedomscientific.com* <blakey at freedomscientific.com>

FS Technical Support: (727) 803-8600

*www.freedomscientific.com*


 ------------------------------
*From:* @ Freedom Scientific News [mailto:
freedomscientificnews at freedomscientific.ccsend.com] *On Behalf Of *@ Freedom
Scientific News
*Sent:* Wednesday, March 03, 2010 3:21 PM
*To:* Bobby Lakey
*Subject:* Freedom Scientific Reduces Price of Focus 40 Blue Braille Display
by 38%

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Greetings!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

*Media Contact:* Brad Davis
*800-444-4443 *or *727-803-8000*
*www.FreedomScientific.com<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103125046798&s=29731&e=0014UNqve2nx7LZucqPv1l7kXNJhHhS2kan2xUShbSmgWXncRP__9BhyQINMB_AF70r02pik1PNiiGjuzOA7W0wRR66uTDuZi_dMpctXvZPIiesyYimb4uFGVh-b1LdZD_b>
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*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:

   - Fewer than 10 percent of the 1.3 million people who are legally blind
   in the United States are Braille readers
   - Only 10 percent of blind children in the US are learning Braille
   - 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<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103125046798&s=29731&e=0014UNqve2nx7LZucqPv1l7kXNJhHhS2kan2xUShbSmgWXncRP__9BhyQINMB_AF70r02pik1PNiiGjuzOA7W0wRR66uTDuZi_dMpctXvZPIiesyYimb4uFGVh-b1LdZD_b>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.
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33716-1805



-- 
-Juan Del Rosario
President
Texas Association of Blind Students
www.nfb-texas.org/tabs.html

-- 
The Texas Association of Blind Students
Web Site:
www.nfb-texas.org/tabs.html
Toll Free: 877-887-5902

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