Hi Joseph, Thank you for this info. Your-ts have been invaluable over the period I have been on this list. I did appreciateyr putting some of this in terms we non-techies can understand for the most part. Thank you for the time you put into compiling this comparison. It would be nice if yactually had a Braille Sense to see what you thought of it hands-on. Thanks again,
Colleen Roth ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph Lee" <[email protected]> To: unknown <[email protected]> Date: Monday, Jul 19, 2010 20:43:56 Subject: [GWN] So, how are other units doing so far... > > > Hi folks, > Thanks to a suggestion from a list memeber, I'm posting some comparioon > notes on some of the popular devices BrailleNote Apex, Braille Sense Plus > family and PAC Mate Omni series. Note that the comparisons are based on > announced features as of July 2010 and may contain errors. > * Operating system: Windows CE 5.0 (BSP family), Windows Embedded CE 6.0 > (Apex), Windows Mobile 6 Classic on top of Windows CE 5.2 (PAC Mate Omni). > * Software interface: HIMS interface (BSP), KeySoft (Apex), Windows Mobile > with JAWS for Pocket PC (PM Omni). > * Processor: Intel X-Scale PXA272 at 540 (actually 520) MHz (BSP), Freescale > i.MX31 at 520 MHz (Apex), Intel X-Scale PXABLEBEE at 400 MHz (PM Omni). > * Memory: Depends on unit configuration (BSP; see note 1), 256 MB RAM/8 GB > Flash (Apex), 64 MB RAM/128 MB Flash ROM (PM Omni). > Note 1: 128 MB RAM/8 GB Flash (BSP and BSQ), 128 MB RAM/1 GB Flash (Voice > Sense), 128 MB RAM/4 GB Flash (VSQ and BSH), 64 MB RAM/64 MB Flash (BSO). > Here, BSH is the designation for Braille Sense OnHand. > * Braille display length: 18 or 32 (18 on BSH, 32 on others), 18 or 32 > (Apex), 20 or 40 (PM Omni). > * Braille display scrolling: via scroll buttons (BSP), thumb-keys (Apex), > navigation buttons and whiz wheels (PM Omni). > * Keyboard configuration: Braille or QWERTY (bSP), Braille or QWERTY (Apex), > Braille or QWERTY (PM Omni). > * Ability to change synthesizers: No (BSP), yes (Apex), yes (PM Omni as of > announced firmware 6.5). > Note 2: By default, all units use Eloquence. In addition, Apex has KeyNote > Gold and PM Omni uses Realspeak Mobile (according to 6.5 press release). > Specific software features: > * Word 2007 support: Yes (BSP as of firmware 5.5), upcoming (Apex), yes (Pm > Omni via Word Mobile). > * Comma Separated Values (CSV) support: Yes (BSP as of firmware 5.5), yes > (Apex), yes (PM Omni via Excel Mobile). > * Stereo audio output: Yes (BSP), Yes (Apex), yes (PM Omni though it only > has one speaker). > * USB Mobile Disk: Yes (BSP), no (Apex), no (PM Omni). > * USB braille display mode: Partial (BSP), yes (Apex), yes (PM Omni due to > the fact that it uses detachable braille display, which uses USB for > connection to a computer). > * Multitasking: Up to seven programs (BSP), limited (Apex), unlimited > except number of meximum processes allowed (PM Omni). > Note 3: Apex can handle simultaneous media playback and browsing > capabilities, while other functions of KeySoft requires switching to the > dedicated process due to the executable architecture. PM Omni allows > unlimited multitasking limited by the process handle number under CE5.2 (up > to 32 user processes at once). > * Monitor connectivity: yes (BSP has both internal LCD monitor and VGA > port), yes (Apex has a VGA port on its back), yes (PM Omni can utilize a CF > to VGA adapter). > Note 4: There are PC programs for both Apex and PM Omni which allows a > sighted person to see the interface on the screen. > Storage considerations: > * CompactFlash: yes (BSP), yes (Apex can handle CF cards via USB card > readers), yes (PM Omni). > * Secure Digital: yes (BSP family except BSO), yes (Apex), yes (PM Omni via > SD to CF adapters). > * USB flash drives: yes (BSP), yes (Apex), yes (PM Omni via USB mini A/But to > host A adapter). > * NTFS support: No (BSP), no (Apex), no (PM Omni). > Connectivity features: > * Wi-Fi: yes (built-in IEEE 802.11B/Go on BSP, BSQ, VS, VSQ, BSH, external CF > for BSO), yes (built-in 802.11B/Go on Apex), yes (PM Omni via external CF > cards). > * Bluetooth: yes (built-in Bluetooth 2.0 for BSP, BSQ, VS, VSQ and BSH, > external dongle required for BSO), yes (built-in Bluetooth 2.1+EDR on Apex), > yes (PM Omni via CF cards). > Technical observation and notes (mostly for techies and > engineers/programmers or would-be ones): > * External applications development: yes (BSP under Korean builds via > Microsoft Foundation Classes), no (Apex), yes (PM Omni using a variety of > tools and languages). > * Virtual memory size per process: 32 MB (BSP), 2 GB (Apex), 32 MB (PM > Omni). > * Storage card encryption: no (BSP), no (Apex), yes (PM Omni). > Note 5: In other words, only a given unit can read or write to a particular > storage card. > * GPS: yes (BSP), yes (Apex), yes (PM Omni). > Note 6: All these modules use Sendero Group's software underneath (SenseNav > under BSP, Navigation under Apex, StreetTalk VIP under PM Omni). > These are my notes and observations so far. > Cheers, > Joseph P.S. Now you know why I am subscribed to all three lists... > > If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, visit: > > http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv If you wish to unsubscribe from this list, visit: http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv
