Hi Paul. It would I think be good to seek an explanation from the company
first rather than jump to the conclusion that Pulse Data International is
out to rip customers off. After all, what would be the sense in that? Apart
from any moral issues involved, it doesn't make business sense for us to
leave customers with sour tastes in their mouths.
Let me first say that what you get when you update your Flash Disk to 48 MB
is not RAM. Indeed, your 16 MB Flash Disk isn't RAM. What you get is a disk
on chip. This is a big advantage over the BrailleNote compared with many
PDAs for the sighted, and even some others for the blind. Many other
devices store files in RAM, Randem Access Memory. The disadvantage of this,
as Dean has pointed out, is that when your unit goes flat or is reset, you
say bye bye to your data. When the BrailleNote was designed, we took this
issue extremely seriously. With some devices on the market today, if you
don't have a backup of your data or if you don't connect the unit to AC
power within about a half hour of the battery going flat, all your precious
documents, contacts, programmes and other files are gone. You can leave the
BrailleNote in a flat state for an indefinite period and not lose data in
this way thanks to the disk on chip technology we use. It is a bit
proprietary, it can't be user fitted, and yes, it's more expensive than
we'd like, but it sure beats the alternative in our opinion.
When we get inquiries about the 48 MB upgrade, we talk people through the
pros and cons. For example, clearly you can get much more bang for your
buck if you purchase a compact flash card. For the same price as our 48 MB
upgrade to the Flash Disk, you could get a gig worth of storage on a flash
card, or even more with a microdrive. Some people prefer the extra on-board
storage for convenience and for keeping large amounts of mail for example,
so we attempt to establish what the user's requirements are and recommend
accordingly.
All the best.
Jonathan Mosen
BrailleNote Product Marketing Manager
Pulse Data International Ltd
DDI: +64-3-373-6192
Fax: +64-3-384 4933
Mobile: +64-21 466 736
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Internet: www.pulsedata.com
