Hello, I'll try not to repeat the opinions already expressed by others. Last Friday I got my first look at the Apex. It is far thinner than the mPower, about the thickness of the width of one of the mPower keys. It is also shorter if one were to stand it on its thumb keys, though the smaller stature does not detract from the efficiency of the keyboard. Having been exposed to all three leading Braille notetakers, I can confidently say that the Humanware product remains the most sturdy. The Pac Mate seems somewhat hollow inside and, to me, presents a sense of potential risk if one were to handle it too roughly. The Braille Sense Plus, though still potentially my favorite, is too slick for its own good and makes me worry about scratches. Granted, it's not as if you're going to take your notetaker out camping, but when laptop manufacturers have learned to use protective materials, you can't help but compare.
I'm not exactly sold on the new navigation wheel. It doesn't get in the way except for certain one-handed keystrokes when used in combination with the Backspace key, but even those moves remain mostly unhindered. My thought though is that even if I wanted to use the wheel, it is more of a hassle to correctly turn it than it would be to just use familiar keystrokes to achieve the same navigation without ever leaving the keyboard. The problem is that it is flush against the body of the machine. An idea worth considering is applying the wheel to the side of the unit similar to what Motorola did with its Q smart phone. People can navigate up and down and press to select as needed. The thumb keys are still my favorite feature of the Humanware product. Getting used to their thinner structure might take a little time, especially if you try to use the unit on your lap, but I would say this too is something one can get accustomed to. The keyboard response is better but not altogether superior to the BSP. There is no real adjustment required to type smoothly on the Apex. I think the aim was to try to make the keys sound comparable to a laptop keyboard, but every laptop I've owned has had quieter keys than the Apex. A huge plus for the BSP is that no matter how fast I type, the keys remain mostly muted. The Braille display was rather pleasant. I am using one of the older mPower displays, and to me it might take some getting used to the little dot cursor routing keys. I think I prefer the meatier routing keys I have now, but this point is mostly dismissive. The quality of the Braille continues to impress me. The software remains unchanged. As we know, this was mostly a hardware upgrade, and so the familiar Main Menu and subsequent menu structure has been left alone. The Apex has returned to be a leading contender for me mostly because of my local dealer. ITG in Falls Church, Virginia puts the device in a positive light because they perform repairs on site and offer a loaner program comparable to GW Micro. I say this only to point out that one might get additional benefits by going with a dealer as opposed to purchasing directly from the company. Anyway, I did not mean for this to be a list of reasons why or why not to buy the Apex. If I could have the form factor of the BSP, the menu structure of the Apex and the compatibility of the Pac Mate, I might pay double the price of any of those products, but I thought you might appreciate another perspective on the new notetaker player in town. Best, Joe Orozco "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd."--Max Lucado __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4778 (20100116) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com ___ Replies to this message will go directly to the sender. If your reply would be useful to the list, please send a copy to the list as well. To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [email protected] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
