Re: The BrailleNote Touch is Getting a Much Deserved Upgrade
$12 is incredibly steep without at least offering a trial. I have nothing against apps being over $10 if they have to, but if there's no trial then...well at least Google offers a safer refund policy than Apple does if it doesn't turn out to work well. If it's $12 with no trial I'm expecting an exact touch braille replica in that case, because touch braille impresses me (I use it regularly.)
As for the mPower's cells, I have a feeling this is a case of luck between units. My old mPower cells shows signs of aging when I had one. Didn't exactly break persay, but they definitely weren't what they used to be, in a very noticeable way. Surviving drops? My Touch has survived a few of those, accidentally of course, and they weren't outside the case, but it fell on the keyboard/braille side of the case.
They don't outsource their phone support, I've seen them continue to use the same staff they've had for years plus some new folks who do a good job as well.
As for the braille display costs, it's not just the manufacturing, it's also repair cost since that isn't gonna pay for itself, Acapela is a yearly contract cost for Humanware, of course on older units Eloquence was near constant royalties to Nuance. Duxbury, who is known for monopolistically expensive braille translation software, probably charges Humanware a sum still, due to the fact the Touch includes a duxbury sobmodule for contracted braille (libluis is not quite there yet.) Of course it kind of is now but it's rough around the edges, as exhibited by NVDA/Brailleback grade2 entry. Again, I think it's the media and various competitions not providing nearly enough support that so many research efforts either go under, or stagnate. The media covers it for like one or two articles before, quote, the novelty wares off. I'm not sure how much funding people get for winning hackathons, but I should think if a product is determined to be such a cult hit that it can't pay for itself, then an outstanding winning effort should be awarded what is estimated to be enough funding to bring a product to launch. Or at least a significant boost up the ladder for an indiegogo campaign, or what have you. It's why the orbit reader had so much problems during launch, because of manufacturing costs with such a new technology. Why the rumor of the Graphiti being halted is around, because there is said to be not enough funding. It's the price of doing business...in an unfriendly braille market, with only like two singular constant cell-manufacturers.
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