Tara and list,
Tara, thanks for pointing that confusion
here. Mary Ellen is correct. I'm going to
describe what's really under the hood:
BrailleNote Classic: The BrailleNote Classic
is the original hardware design created in
2000. This is actually the second edition
motherboard (the original edition does not
have a CF slot on the back). The original
motherboard had KeySoft 3.0, build 1510. The
second generation units (the current model)
came out with KeySoft 4.0, build 1983 in
2002. With KeySoft 4.0, HumanWare (then
Pulsedata International) provided Internet
connectivity.
The processor used on Clasic is MIPS R4000
clocked (running) at 100 MHz. When it first
came out in 2000, it was considered the
current processor speed of the day. However,
by the end of 2005, it became the slowest
processor speed on the market. And there are
hardly any computers based on MIPS CPU
anymore. It has serial, parallel, CF slot,
56k modem, an InfraRed port, and a PC card
slot. The memory capacity is 16 MB RAM with
16 MB Flash (upgradable to 48 MB). As of
October 2006, the only announcement from
HumanWare regarding Classic unit is that
there will be one more SMA release, and
that's it (dead end; see note 1 for details).
It has single channel synthesizer (that is
why you cannot listen to MP3 files while
listening to speech).
BrailleNote PK: Originally produced by Baum
of Germany, this unit is a blindness
analogous to a modern PDA. The PK (short for
Pocket) came out in July of 2004. It is the
smallest braille and speech PDA on the market
today. It has Intel X-Scale PXA255 (I
believe so) clocked at 400 MHz. It has 64 MB
RAM with 32 MB Flash (the actually
specification is 40 MB RAM with 16 MB Flash).
It has serial, USB client, CF slot, Bluetooth
receiver, built-in microphone and a dual
channel sound card (meaning that you can
listen to media files while listening to
speech.) It has the same display type that is
used by Brailliant (see note 2 for details on
cell types). It came with KeySoft 6.0, build
23.
BrailleNote mPower: An evolved form of
Classic, BrailleNote mPower is doubted (the
next generation BrailleNote). It has the
latest features that you can expect from a
PDA. It has Intel X-Scale PXA272 clocked at
416 MHz. It has serial, USB client, two USB
host ports, SAID slot, CF slot, PC card slot,
56k modem, InfraRed port, internal Bluetooth
receiver, FM Radio chip, built-in microphone,
and multi-channel sound card (meaning that
you can listen to media files while listening
to speech). It has 64 MB RAM with 128 MB of
Flash (just like modern PDA's).
Notes:
Note 1: The next SMA version after 7.2 will
be the final software release for Classic
units due to technical limitations of the
hardware.
Note 2: Actually, there are three types of
braille displays that are used:
Tieman cells: These cells are the oldest. It
has the rubber touch cursor buttons. It is
found on BrailleNote Classic prior to 2005
and BrailleNote mPower "transplant" units.
Baum cells: These cells are used on
BrailleNote PK units. These are the quietest
cells on the BrailleNote family of products.
These cells usually have a doted touch cursor
buttons.
KGS cells: These are the cells that are
normally found on the nccwer mPower units, as
well as Classic units after 2005. These
cells have a curved, plastic touch cursor
buttons.
I hope this information may help you.
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