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
