Thanks Joseph. I'm sure many of us will find this info useful.
Could you be kind enough to answer one more hardware question?
What printers are compatible with the different models of the Bn?
Is there any likelihood of stand-alone printer/faxes becoming
compatible with the Apex in the future? I have an Epson one which
I'd love to be able to hook up to my MPower but can't because
it's a stand-alone, which I need for faxing, and I don't want to
have to buy a separate printer just for the sake of the
BrailleNote: one, for economic reasons; two, because I have
little room for it.
Thanks.
Michele for
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected]
To: <[email protected]
Date sent: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:45:18 -0800
Subject: [Braillenote] Frequently Sought Answers on BN hardware
Hi,
Yes, I'm playing on words here for humor... Since a hardware
question came
up (and as I'm the one who usually works on hardware stuff), I'll
take this
time to answer some frequently asked questions on BN hardware:
1. What is the processor speed on the BrailleNote?
It depends on model to model. The classic uses MIPS R4000 at 100
MHz, PK
uses some variant of ARM processor at around 400 MHz, mPower uses
X-Scale
PXA270 at 416 MHz and Apex uses Freescale i.MX31 at 532 MHz.
2. What is the RAM capacity on the BrailleNote?
Again depends on model. Classic has 16 MB, PK has 40 (although
it has 64
MB), mPower has 64 MB and Apex has 256 MB.
3. What is the flash disk storage capacity?
Classic has 8 or 16 MB (depending on hardware version), PK has 16
MB, mPower
has 128 MB and Apex has 8 GB.
4. Are all four models used for different purposes?
Not exactly. The main BrailleNote family is Classic, mPower and
Apex, with
the PK being a different branding and hardware style. Although
Classic and
mPower may look similar, the internal components and back side
allows easy
distinction. PK was marketed for professionals on the move,
mPower for
mainstream users and Apex targets ease of reading and powerful
potential
under new specifications. In terms of basic features, all four
models share
common set of keySoft features.
5. What USB devices can be used on the BrailleNote?
mPower and Apex has two or three USB host ports, respectively.
Some of the
devices that can be used are flash drives, some hard drives, card
readers,
CD-ROM drives (not confirmed), keyboards, a modem (Apex),
wireless adapter
(mPower) and for charging USB devices provided that the device in
question
supports charging via USB (a good example being a cell phone).
6. What Bluetooth services does the BrailleNote support?
Except Classic, all models have internal Bluetooth transceiver.
The support
of a Bluetooth service depends on model. As of 2010, the
following are
supported services: Serial Port Profile (ActiveSync, GPS
receiver, remote
braille display/synthesizer mode), Dial-Up Networking (modem via
cell phone
tethering), printer (except PK), headset (apex only) and Human
Interface
(keyboard).
7. What wireless protocol does BrailleNote support?
Depending on card type and model, BrailleNote supports IEEE
802.11A/B/G (G
is supported on mPower and Apex) with security via WEP (Wired
Equivalent
Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) Personal (PSK) with
TKIP (Temperal
Key integrity Protocol) for security layer.
8. What storage cards does BrailleNote support?
All models support CompactFlash (either directly or indirectly);
in
addition, Classic and mPower supports PC cards and mPower and
Apex supports
SD (Secure Digital) cards with an important distinction: SDHC
(High
Capacity) cards works only with Apex.
I guess I'll ask Alex or other "geeks" to post frequently sought
software
questions later (if he wants to)...
Cheers,
Joseph
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