Hi Amy, I haven't followed this thread closely, so my apologies if this has already been covered.
Part of the difficulty in what you are asking is that to a large extent, this is a very subjective choice. What bothers me may not bother you. What you consider noisy, I may not. So it's difficult to anticipate what another person might like or dislike. That said, I don't know if this display was on your list, but I'd strongly suggest that you consider the Hims Braille Edge. To my thinking, the keys are very quiet. It works quite well with both my Mac and my iPhone. It has a Perkins keyboard, and you can do text entry from the display. It has 40 cells, and connects either via bluetooth or USB. I know one person who finds the keyboard set up awkward. I can see why he would say that, but personally I've gotten used to it, and don't even notice anymore. The big thing that I think puts this display ahead of all the rest is that it has a small, built-in word processor. this means, that if you want, you can read a book just using your display without having to use any other device. I use that feature constantly. It's also handy if you need to take notes in a meeting, jot down a note, or what have you. I prefer this when in a meeting, because it avoids the noise of the iphone or iPad and consequently the need for a headphone. the only other displays I know of with this feature are the HandyTech displays, which I would strongly recommend you stay away from If you're in the U.S., I had a horrible experience with the U.S. HandyTech dealer. I will never do business with him again, and would discourage other to avoid him. The other thing I dislike about the HandyTech products is that at least when I tried them, which was several years ago now, the file transfer between the display and computer was very kludgy and slow. The Hims Braille Edge just uses and SD card, so it's much easier to get files back and forth. It also has a built-in calendar and calculator, though I very rarely use that, as I typically perform those functions on my phone. If you're in the U.S. and you can swing it financially, I'd strongly suggest you go to the CSUN conference in San Diego, being held the week of March 17. they have a large exhibit hall, and you would be able to try out each display that you are considering directly. Just my $.02. Good luck! Best, Donna On Feb 25, 2014, at 10:55 PM, Aimee Harwood <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello Jonathan. I actually agree that the prices have come down a good bit. I > am getting the display purchased for me, so I can go for the larger display > if need be. I had hoped that you would have given me some of your wonderful > insight on pros and cons of the displays that I had listed. I currently don't > have any access to JAWS but may in the future. > > I spent the afternoon with the focus 40 connected to my iPad and used it to > type some lengthy notes. To me it was a good bit noisier all the way around > compared to my Refreshabraille. The keys were louder and the display changing > pins around was louder as well. I had to get used to putting my pinkies back > to work again. They don't have anything to do on my Refreshabraille. I did > decide that the 40 cells will be better for me. It took me a bit to get used > to having the space bar further away from my other fingers, but after a while > it was pretty comfortable. > > So is there anyone that can from experience, give me some pros and coms of > the displays I listed in my original message? If possible, please focus more > on Apple products when giving those pros and coms. > > > I really like to do a lot of research and comparing before a purchase is made > so that I don't regret my choice down the road.I greatly appreciate everyones > input so far. > > Aimee > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Feb 25, 2014, at 11:21 AM, Jonathan Mosen <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I think it's also important to remember that there has been downward >> pressure on Braille display prices over the last decade. In 2004, you'd be >> looking at at least $5,000 USD for a 40 cell display. Manufacturing >> processes have improved and you can now get a 40 cell display for $2800 USD. >> I realise that's still a lot of money and it would be good to see prices >> drop further if manufacturing costs allow, but when you take inflation into >> account, that's one massive reduction and manufacturers are not keeping the >> cost savings to themselves and making higher profits. >> Jonathan Mosen >> Mosen Consulting >> Blindness technology eBooks, tutorials and training >> http://Mosen.org >> >> On 25/02/2014, at 3:38 am, Eugenia Firth <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Hi there >>> I don't think it's realistic for us to expect braille displays to go down >>> that much in the foreseeable future. There's just not that many of us, >>> relatively speaking, who need or want them. Even if braille once again >>> became the hottest thing for us the way it should be, we're a highly >>> specialized crowd and there's a lot of braille displays out there. In my >>> case, I actually make more money by spending the money on the braille >>> displays. This is because one of my customers can use email for sending me >>> work instead of brailling it all up. So, I get the work faster from them. >>> This means I can turn in more work as well. >>> >>> The fewer cells the braille displays have the less they are going to cost. >>> The smallest I ever heard of lately is 12 cells, and I don't think it'd >>> want one that was less than that. >>> >>> You might be able to get some used displays. I did once when I needed one >>> but didn't have much money. When I bought the used one, I ended up getting >>> several hundred dollars off the price. Not only that, but the display has >>> lasted and is still going for several years. >>> >>> Regards, >>> Gigi >>> >>> On Feb 24, 2014, at 8:13 AM, alia robinson <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> I have always wanted a braille display, but imo it is nearly impossible to >>>> afford one. I can't see paying *that* much for something, I just can't. I >>>> keep reading about cheaper options soon, but cheaper has simply seemed to >>>> mean less useable, imo. >>>> >>>> Alia >>>> On Feb 24, 2014, at 8:54 AM, Justin Mann <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Yes it does absolutely. You will need to get the feature pack with it >>>>> however in order to get the braille keyboard. However, it is well worth >>>>> the investment. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to [email protected]. >>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to [email protected]. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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