No, you’re absolutely wrong there. I’m definitely not a HumanWare man anything.
There’s plenty that’s wrong with the Touch, and I have said so repeatedly in
several places, including both this group and also to HumanWare themselves!
I’m not knocking the Hims offering. I only had a brief play with it but I do
totally accept that it has some innovative and very worthwhile facets. Yes, the
keyboard is very nice, as Debbie said in a precious post. I think all Hims
keyboards are much better than the HumanWare keyboard. In fact, there is a lot
of HumanWare’s offing which was ported directly from the old Apex.
Specifically, the keyboard and the cursor routers, not to mention the Braille
cells themselves.
Hims provides a very nice cover for the cells which will, I am sure, prove to
be an unqualified hit! To the best of my knowledge, they are the only company
offering this kind of robust protection.
If there’s one design flaw with the HumanWare BrailleNote Touch, it has to be
the case. Why on earth they decided to include the keyboard in the case itself
is a mystery. They do, in fact, sell a custom case designed to hold just the
tablet itself, without a keyboard. But the main weakness in the Touch’s design
philosophy has to be the nylon cover for the device and the pathetically weak
magnetic strips which are supposed to Hold the already fragile cover in place.
Experience has shown me only too well just how poor this is. When you’re
walking with the Touch on your shoulder, the strips on the side of the case
which are supposed to protect the switches and side-mounted access ports often
just drop open. This causes the entire case to flop down beneath the device,
thus exposing the keyboard, Braille cells, cursor routers and more besides to
the elements.
So no, I absolutely and utterly robot your ill-informed allegations completely.
I have made my views very well know to those inside HumanWare, and very
vociferously at that! So please, if you’re going to make wild allegations based
on your own interpretation of other people’s views, don’t use me as your
target. I speak as I find, and the comment which I’ve made to this group are
based on my own findings and observations. It is not I, I would also point out,
who just reads about something and claims to know all about it! I’m not
suggesting it is you either, just for the record.
> On 24 Jun 2017, at 01:54, Dane Trethowan <grtd...@internode.on.net> wrote:
>
> Humanware Man through and through? Sounds like a good made up lot of
> flapdoodle.
>
>
>
> On 24/06/2017 1:41 AM, Gordon Smith wrote:
>> That is utterly the wrong approach. The Touch, for example, gives you the
>> option. You don’t have to use the touch screen at all, but it’s there if you
>> want too. The device is intended for the use of the vision impaired and the
>> blind and, of course, the deaf blind. Like the Hims tablet, the Touch also
>> has a vibrating motor which can be configured for events. And its touch
>> screen is there for all. If you’re blind, you can toggle off the video
>> output to conserve battery power, but even with the video disabled, you can
>> still type on the touch screen and, optionally, still use gestures.
>>
>> So I’m sorry, but I think that Hims has made a gross error of judgement
>> there. Of course, it may be that the Samsung hardware on which the device is
>> based did not easily lend itself to a touch screen. I think it’s a dreadful
>> shame though, as with the inclusion of a touch screen it would have been a
>> truly spectacular device.
>>
>> Now, it is true that one can perform some touch gestures on the Braille
>> display itself. So that may go some way to addressing the issue. I haven’t
>> had the opportunity to try that aspect yet. But I’m sure I shall, and soon.
>> But having played with the divide, in terms of its interface It comes a poor
>> second in my opinion. In terms of specifications, it comes out the clear
>> winner.
>>
>> I need it to be understood that I am totally unprejudiced with these
>> comments. I am not, as some people have accused me of being recently, a
>> HumanWare man through and through. I’m just trying to be objective.
>>
>>> On 23 Jun 2017, at 10:37, Dane Trethowan <grtd...@internode.on.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> I think the absence of a touch screen on a device may very well be a
>>> blessing for Hims Inc as not everyone is interested in a touch screen.
>>>
>>> 3GB of RAM is more than enough, though some of the newer Android devices
>>> have 4GB - and some 6GB - 3 is still ample, my absolute minimum would be
>>> 1GB, the Neo Set Top Box I use has 2Gb and it speeds along most of the time
>>> but with 1GB you do notice things slowing down, another device I have -
>>> can't remember its name, its an Android Desktop computer - only has 1GB.
>>>
>>> Obviously I've not seen one of these machines but I can tell you that I
>>> like stereo speakers on a device, they make the world of difference even
>>> when listening to spoken word.
>>>
>>> Does the machine have any Bluetooth capabilities? It would be nice if you
>>> could stream audio from the unit to say a B&W T7, headphones, hearing
>>> instruments or similar.
>>>
>>> Conversely it would be nice to stream to the machine from say another
>>> mobile device.
>>>
>>> I like Chrome very much, I use it here on the Sony xPeria in the Android
>>> world and on the Windows PC.
>>>
>>> I have to admit that - for me personally - I'm not at all interested in a
>>> Note Taking device with a Touch Screen, I'm thinking about the purchase of
>>> an ElBraille though I do like the Hims Inc way of doing things.
>>>
>>> I had a Voice Sense a number of years ago and I do miss that machine in
>>> several ways though the software could no longer be updated so it was
>>> pointless keeping that device.
>>>
>>> I sincerely hope Hims Inc have done some work in the Wireless connectivity
>>> department, on the Voice Sense the Wi-Fi was truly and utterly dreadful.
>>>
>>> Anyway thanks for letting us know about the device.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 23/06/2017 7:20 PM, Gordon Smith wrote:
>>>> Good Friday to you one and all
>>>>
>>>> I've just spent a happy couple of hour teaching a client to use her new
>>>> Braille Sense Polaris, whilst at the same time gaining an insight into the
>>>> product myself.
>>>>
>>>> Whilst the Polaris has some interesting facits, it isn't a device that's
>>>> on my own shopping list, for a number of reasons. So, let me tell you a
>>>> little about the device, and why I've formulated my opinions of it.
>>>>
>>>> Firstly, like the Braille Sense U2, there is no touch screen on this
>>>> tablet. I use that word very guardedly, for that very reason. Hims do call
>>>> it a tablet though, so I guess I must also.
>>>>
>>>> The Polaris has a very Braille Sense look and feel. It has 11 physical
>>>> keys on the keyboard. One key is a Return key, and there are also control
>>>> and Altogether keys, harping back to Windows. The device is powered by
>>>> Android 5.1 Lollipup. However, as the operating system evolves, so will
>>>> the Polaris, to a degree. Some of the frameworks of Android are not yet
>>>> updated for accessibility, which prohibits the same kind of rapid growth
>>>> that we are seeing with Android.
>>>>
>>>> As I was saying. Their are 11 physical keys on the keyboard, plus
>>>> touch-sensitive function keys which, again, resemble quite closely the
>>>> Braille Sense U2.
>>>>
>>>> The Braille display has 32 cells. Interestingly, the display itself has a
>>>> Braille cell cover, protecting the display from dust and other possible
>>>> harm whilst not in use. That is, I must admit, a very welcome a.ition.
>>>>
>>>> For reasons best known only to her, my client did not bring her case with
>>>> her. So I didn't get to see that. But I am given to understand that it is,
>>>> like the U2, a nice soft leather case with reinforced plates where the
>>>> controls are located.
>>>>
>>>> The device looks almost identical to the U2. With the noteable exception
>>>> that the LCD unit is flipable, enabling easy access for someone with
>>>> vision.
>>>>
>>>> The technical specifications ofthe device are very interesting. It has an
>>>> Octa-core Samsung processor, clocked at 3.1GHZ. It has 3GB of RAM, and a
>>>> 64GB flash disk. The SAID-XC card reader is just the same as that of the
>>>> U2.
>>>>
>>>> Network support is good. It supports the new ACCORDING dual-band protocol,
>>>> and is backward-compatible. It has the usual built-in software tools
>>>> typical of the Braille Sense family, including electronic scientific
>>>> calculator, word processor, UEB and Nemath compatible
>>>> braille math support and a schedule manager. There is also the usual
>>>> Contacts app, and all the other things you would expect of a Braille Sense.
>>>>
>>>> I'm given to understand that all of the Sense tools have been re-written
>>>> from the ground up, so they are not just ported from Windows Mobile. As I
>>>> said earlier, the processor is a 64-bit Samsung Octa-core, <meaning it has
>>>> 8 cores>, and one thing I will say is that it is us very very very fast!
>>>>
>>>> It came out very favourably when I loaded a -plex PDF document into the
>>>> reader. The rendering took just a fraction of a second. On the old U2, it
>>>> takes upwards of 5 seconds to process the same ducument.
>>>>
>>>> It directly supports wirless charging, has a USB 3.0 host port and can be
>>>> charged wired using either it's own charger, <same charger as the U2>, or
>>>> via the USB Micro client.
>>>> On the front of the unit are the same media keys that you'd find on the
>>>> U2, and the media player is handled in the same way as the U2.
>>>>
>>>> Needless to say, Google is fully supported, so it is possible to import
>>>> all of the apps you'd find in the Play Store.
>>>>
>>>> The stereo speakers on the device sound quite good. I only had a quick
>>>> listen, as I spent most of the time first sejting it up for my client,
>>>> then showing her around the device. For me, as somebody used to the Hims
>>>> way of doing things, it took no learning time. That, for some reason,
>>>> amazed my client. She expected that she's have to leave the device with me
>>>> so that I could set it up for her. No need for that. I was also a# to
>>>> import her own network profile, so she can go home and start using it
>>>> right away.
>>>>
>>>> The web browser is quite interesting. those who like Chrome will be
>>>> pleased that learn that the Hims browser is just a modified version of
>>>> Google's browser. Modified so as to enable accessibilyoung right out of
>>>> the box.
>>>>
>>>> In summary, whilst I'm looking forward to helping Claire familiarise
>>>> herself fully with her new device, it is not a device that I personally
>>>> will be considering. I still believe that the BrailleNote Touch, whilst
>>>> lacking in some respects, is a better all-round Android device. My main
>>>> reason for saying that is because the Touch adopts a much more main stream
>>>> approach to tablet uie.
>>>>
>>>> Whilst the Braille display itself supports multitouch gestures on the
>>>> Polaris, I still like to be able to utilise the fully-fledged touch screen.
>>>>
>>>> I hope to acquire an ElBraille shortly, so will give you my thoughts when
>>>> I do on that device. I'd give the Polaris 7 out of 10. I'm sure Hims have
>>>> their reasons for their apfroach. But it isn't an approach for me.
>>>>
>>>> ==============================
>>>>
>>>> My Compliments And Kindest Regards
>>>> Gordon Smith
>>>> 'Accessibility And Information Technology Support Specialist
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>>>> �W��� |8�z�[j�!��^~��+
>>>> ����W��� �֛����,j��ל�z ��]���ל�z ��gz���z�^��.��^jǬzwZnV��g��� ��^r�r���zל�z ��gz��r��i�m��.��+��]��,~��+
>>>> ����W���+��˩�����!��!j��t===
>>> --
>>>
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> **********
> "Live each day as if you were goiing to die tomorrow, learn each day as if
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