Hi,
It is fully modular, with three keyboard types, a qwerty, keypad, and
Braille
Thanks for listeninog,
Alex,
On 18-Nov-08, at 5:24 AM, erik burggraaf wrote:
Hi, Just a couple of points. From your description, it looks like
the unit is going to come wih braille input. This will instantly
render it useless for the sighted world, which seems to be a feature
of your product description below.
Second, I don't think that name will work, as It will be easily
confuzed with the IMac. How about the IPad, the Eye-Pad, or the a-
mac? A for accessible.
All right, now I sell these things for a living. Actually I support
them for a living, but I work for a very small company, and we all
have to chip in where we may. That means I'm stuck selling the
stuff once in a while. Note taker solutions have three main
problems. They're bulky. They're expensive. They're proprietary.
There's definitely a lot of interest in them, but that interest
doesn't translate to sales because of the three factors I just
mentioned. The funding for such things is screwey here as well, so
that is another pin prick in your balloon.
Any of my clients who want a speech only, qwerty note taker go with
a pda phone. It's half the price of a blinkware note taker, has
better and somewhat less proprietary features, and has individually
upgradeable parts, so that one piece doesn't lose it's value when
the others are redundant. For example, Suppose you fork out $2000
for a pda phone, mobile speak smartphone or pocket pc, and mobile
geo gps with an external holux m1000. When pda phones with half
again the speck come to the market next year and your current pda
phone works like garbo, you can fork out $500 for a new pda phone,
transfer your code factory licences, and be off to the races. Same
if you decide you want a new gps receiver. If you buy an external
braille display with input for 5 grand, That braille display retains
it's value, because when youpgrade your kit next year, your braille
display is still relevant and you just keep it running on the new
system. I feel sorry for any one who bought the gw braille sense
last year, because this year they brought out the braille sense plus
with gps and a bunch of hardware upgrades, and suddenly your $6000
note taker solution, all be it one that probably still works for you
more or less, is now irrelevant to the market. Therefore, I suggest
you make the thing modular. So, I can remove the qwerty keybord and
buy a slide-on braille keybord or vice versa if I want. When I
trade in my base unit next year, I can just slide off my braille
display and keybord and buy a new base unit. When I buy a new base
unit, I can rip out my modular storage flash and put it into my new
base unit, and all my contacts, appointments, notes, and so on will
be right where I left them. If my battery goes capoot, I want to
wip the module off the back, chuck it in the resycling repository,
and get a new one. On that basis, you could easily bring your price
point up, since your componants will retain maximum value.
The proprietary note takers are bulky. My braille connect 32 fits
in my pocket and weighs a little over a pound, and my phone is
negledgeable. The braille sense on the other hand, which is the one
we sell most often, and has the best hardware on the market right
now, weighs in at over two pounds and is the size of a hard cover
book and the thickness of a tri-county telephone book. It has
ginormous fisher-price toy buttons, and just screams, "I'm a waste
of space". If you can get it down to something the size of a
braille connect that really does fit in a pocket, you'll have
something. There is even room for a qwerty keybord option on
something that size, and the keys don't have to be pocked with a
stylus either.
The three features my clients want most in a note taker are: 1,
quick access to something to write with. Two, gps navigation
system, and Three, ability to use the note taker as a braille
terminal. This is how they justify the expense, since they often
have to lump the entire cost themselves.
If you can do all this with a note taker, then I expect we'll sell
them.
Best,
erik burggraaf
Certified Technician
Assistive Computing LTD Support and training
Sales department: 888-828-2445
Support and Training: 888-255-5194
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website coming soon
On 17-Nov-08, at 7:15 PM, Alex Jurgensen wrote:
Hi,
Would you buy this?
EyeMac -- The next generation of sleek notetakers
The EyeMac features aluminum housing, weighing in at under a pound.
This sleek and shiny notetaker is based on the state of the art
technology, featuring wireless and bluetooth. The six-key input
provides Braille users the ability to legally access the world's
most user friendly and advanced operating system. Built on the
foundation of Mac OS X, the EyeMac is the bleeding edge in
affordable portable computing technology. Costing around $500 us,
the EyeMac is an easy pick for the user with a tight budget. Its
portability make it ideal for not only end users but the
professional who needs a lightweight, portable solution. The EyeMac
measures less than 20 CM long by seven CM wide, and about 3 cm
high. Durable, powerful! Take full advantage of the world wide web.
The EyeMac Pro has wireless anywhere capability. Need a Braille
display? EyeMac Plus models feature built-in Braille displays that
make reading Braille text messages and documents a breeze. The
EyeMac is built on a actively developed Operating System, that
features a well documented programming guide that will ensure your
EyeMac can be customized with the applications that best suit your
needs. Designed for ease of use, this revolutionary device will
change your portability experience.
Project status: Planning
Thanks for listening,
Alex,
