Hi Jonathan, thanks for taking the time to answer this post. I guess that there was a serious communication difficulty in the marketing claims about the Braillenote when it first came out. I am aware of the differences between Windows CE and Pocket PC. While Keysoft IS an excellent application suite (I wish it were avvailable for DOS and XP) the frustrating point is that there are NO other applications. Nor is there any way to make applications without a software developers kit. I appreciate your explanation as to the addition of staff on that issue, but the lag time between the announcement when the BN came out and the keeping of the promise is a bit long.
One other thing needs to be addressed. I have a classic BN. In order to get what a new purchaser receives for only a little more than I paid for my unit, I have to spend close to two thousand dollars more than a current purchaser. (For a motherboard upgrade, Keysoft upgrades, and memory, etc) All that just to have Internet access on the BN!!! A third of the original cost!!! I understand that BN had to enter the market at some point with a product to gain a market share, but the upgrade is way too expensive. The early BN purchasers financed the development of the new and improved model on two levels, first by their original purchase and second by the excessive cost of the upgrade. Can't there be some break for classic users whose dollars and pounds made it possible for Pulsedata to develop? Originally, this was about other programs for the BN, so I know that I digressed. I also know that costs get passed on to the consumer, but there needs to be an effort to make those costs reasonable. Not all of our pockets are filled by goverment agencies. Again, thanks for your reply. Gary ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Braillenote List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, February 09, 2004 10:18 PM Subject: Re: [Braillenote] Bible programs for BN??? > Hi Gary, in this case I haven't answered the posts because there is > nothing new to say since I answered them on previous occasions. > > I appreciate however that people do come and go on the lists. So just to > recap, there is a common misunderstanding out there beetween Pocket PC and > Windows CE. Pocket PC is a Windows look-and-feel environment that runs on > Windows CE. We have never claimed to support Pocket PC. The whole > philosophy of the BrailleNote is that we give you a powerful suite of > applications that are designed for the blind and are not graphical in > nature. > > That said, I'm very keen for us to offer a software development kit and > some of the other functionality some have mentioned. We're actively > working on improving the BrailleNote all the time, and I'm very pleased to > say will be expanding our development team significantly this year because > of the phenomenal success of the BrailleNote. While it would be nice to > click one's fingers to make wireless access, USB, Bluetooth etc > materialise out of thin air, sadly that isn't possible. It is important to > emphasise however that we prefer to focus on the ends and not the means. > In other words, you can still access the Internet wirelessly with the > BrailleNote today, and many of us do so with great reliability daily. That > doesn't in any way detract from the fact that there are practical benefits > in offering Bluetooth and 802.11B. What counts for most users is the > extent to which you can be productive and efficient with daily tasks. And > it's those fundamentals that keep the BrailleNote in its market leading > position. We intend to stay there by responding to new technologies, and > we intend to do it in a way that doesn't require you to buy entirely new > pieces of hardware every six months as this is not realistic for blind > people. 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 > ___ > To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit > http://list.pulsedata.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote >
