Re: Mantis review
Nice review, Scott. Very thorough. Thank you for sharing. Cheers, Donna > On Aug 16, 2020, at 2:57 PM, Scott Davert wrote: > > I didn't have a Mac to test on, but covered iOS. There were some > questions on the list, so I thought I'd pass my article along to this > list. > > Regards, > Scott > https://www.afb.org/aw/21/8/17143 > A Review Of the Mantis Q 40 QWERTY Braille Display by APH and HumanWare > Scott Davert > In the current braille display market, most devices use a > Perkins-style keyboard. This allows for more portability and the > option of typing in contracted braille, which some people find > preferable. One of the disadvantages of a braille display with the > Perkins-style keyboard is that the individual has to learn a series of > specific commands for controlling either the display itself, or its > driving screen reader. > A device has come along to address the challenge of learning new > commands for each operating system. That device, on which I am > currently composing this article, is the Mantis Q 40. Unlike many of > its counterparts, this device comes equipped with a standard QWERTY > keyboard. It also has a set of internal applications for file > management, composing and editing documents, reading books, and > performing calculations. It also provides the option to download > Bookshare and NFB Newsline content directly to the device. Finally, it > has the capability to connect up to five Bluetooth devices > simultaneously, along with one USB connection. > What's In The Box? > Inside the box is the Mantis Q, a USB power adapter, an A to USB C > cable for charging and connecting to external devices, and a braille > and print Getting Started guide. The units shipping now also come with > a protective (TPU) case. One was not included with mine, since there > were delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I asked Greg Stilson, APH > Head Of Global Innovation, to describe the case, and this was his > response: > This is basically a green case that the Mantis sits in, when being > used. It covers the bottom and all edges for protection. It does not > however have a closing flap. APH does sell an optional Executive > Products case made of high quality leather for those professionals who > will be on the move a lot... TPU stands for Thermoplastic > Polyurethane. It is made up of plastic, elastic and rubber and is > extremely common in the smartphone case industry. > Orientation > Placing the Mantis on a flat surface with the braille display nearest > you, it is laid out as follows. On the front of the device, there are > a series of five buttons or “thumb keys.” From left to right, they > are: Previous, Pan Left, Home, Pan Right, and Next. The Previous thumb > key will take you to the previous item, the Pan Left button pans the > braille to the left, the Home button (which can also serve as an > Escape key) will take you Home, the Pan Right key will pan the braille > to the right, and the Next key will take you to the next item. > Along the left side of the device, the closest thing to you is a Type > A USB port, behind that is a small round Power button, and furthest > from you is the USB C port. The USB A female port is used to plug in a > flash drive to manage data. To start the device, press and hold the > Power button for about two seconds. The device takes about fifteen > seconds to start up. The Mantis will indicate “starting” on the > braille display. A progress spinner will indicate that the device is > booting until it is ready. A brief press of the Power button while on > puts it to sleep. Another brief press of the Power button wakes the > device. The USB C port is used to both charge the Mantis and also to > connect with external devices through USB. Along the back edge, you > will find a slot for SD cards. The Mantis accepts SD cards up to 64 > GB. > The closest thing to you on the surface is the 40-cell display. To me, > the braille feels a lot like the BrailleNote Touch and has a slight > spongy feel to it. Behind each cell is a cursor routing button. Behind > the cursor routing buttons you will find the QWERTY keyboard. It has a > very similar layout to a laptop keyboard without the number pad. The > bottom row of keys, from left to right, are as follows: Control, FN > (function), Windows, Left Alt, Space Bar, Right Alt, Right Control, > Left Arrow, Down Arrow, and Right Arrow. Slightly above the Down Arrow > is the Up Arrow key. On a Mac or iOS device, the functions of the > bottom row are slightly different than on Windows and the internal > programs. To the left of the Spacebar, starting at the left edge are > the Control key, FN, Option, and Command keys. To the right of the > Spacebar are the Option and Right Control key. > The remaining five rows of keys reflect what is typically your QWERTY > keyboard layout on a laptop without a number pad. For more details, > you can consult the User Guide, which explains the rest of the layout > in detail. > A Familiar Interface >
Mantis review
I didn't have a Mac to test on, but covered iOS. There were some questions on the list, so I thought I'd pass my article along to this list. Regards, Scott https://www.afb.org/aw/21/8/17143 A Review Of the Mantis Q 40 QWERTY Braille Display by APH and HumanWare Scott Davert In the current braille display market, most devices use a Perkins-style keyboard. This allows for more portability and the option of typing in contracted braille, which some people find preferable. One of the disadvantages of a braille display with the Perkins-style keyboard is that the individual has to learn a series of specific commands for controlling either the display itself, or its driving screen reader. A device has come along to address the challenge of learning new commands for each operating system. That device, on which I am currently composing this article, is the Mantis Q 40. Unlike many of its counterparts, this device comes equipped with a standard QWERTY keyboard. It also has a set of internal applications for file management, composing and editing documents, reading books, and performing calculations. It also provides the option to download Bookshare and NFB Newsline content directly to the device. Finally, it has the capability to connect up to five Bluetooth devices simultaneously, along with one USB connection. What's In The Box? Inside the box is the Mantis Q, a USB power adapter, an A to USB C cable for charging and connecting to external devices, and a braille and print Getting Started guide. The units shipping now also come with a protective (TPU) case. One was not included with mine, since there were delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I asked Greg Stilson, APH Head Of Global Innovation, to describe the case, and this was his response: This is basically a green case that the Mantis sits in, when being used. It covers the bottom and all edges for protection. It does not however have a closing flap. APH does sell an optional Executive Products case made of high quality leather for those professionals who will be on the move a lot... TPU stands for Thermoplastic Polyurethane. It is made up of plastic, elastic and rubber and is extremely common in the smartphone case industry. Orientation Placing the Mantis on a flat surface with the braille display nearest you, it is laid out as follows. On the front of the device, there are a series of five buttons or “thumb keys.” From left to right, they are: Previous, Pan Left, Home, Pan Right, and Next. The Previous thumb key will take you to the previous item, the Pan Left button pans the braille to the left, the Home button (which can also serve as an Escape key) will take you Home, the Pan Right key will pan the braille to the right, and the Next key will take you to the next item. Along the left side of the device, the closest thing to you is a Type A USB port, behind that is a small round Power button, and furthest from you is the USB C port. The USB A female port is used to plug in a flash drive to manage data. To start the device, press and hold the Power button for about two seconds. The device takes about fifteen seconds to start up. The Mantis will indicate “starting” on the braille display. A progress spinner will indicate that the device is booting until it is ready. A brief press of the Power button while on puts it to sleep. Another brief press of the Power button wakes the device. The USB C port is used to both charge the Mantis and also to connect with external devices through USB. Along the back edge, you will find a slot for SD cards. The Mantis accepts SD cards up to 64 GB. The closest thing to you on the surface is the 40-cell display. To me, the braille feels a lot like the BrailleNote Touch and has a slight spongy feel to it. Behind each cell is a cursor routing button. Behind the cursor routing buttons you will find the QWERTY keyboard. It has a very similar layout to a laptop keyboard without the number pad. The bottom row of keys, from left to right, are as follows: Control, FN (function), Windows, Left Alt, Space Bar, Right Alt, Right Control, Left Arrow, Down Arrow, and Right Arrow. Slightly above the Down Arrow is the Up Arrow key. On a Mac or iOS device, the functions of the bottom row are slightly different than on Windows and the internal programs. To the left of the Spacebar, starting at the left edge are the Control key, FN, Option, and Command keys. To the right of the Spacebar are the Option and Right Control key. The remaining five rows of keys reflect what is typically your QWERTY keyboard layout on a laptop without a number pad. For more details, you can consult the User Guide, which explains the rest of the layout in detail. A Familiar Interface When you start the Mantis, you will be at the Main Menu. Just like with Windows, you can navigate among your choices by pressing the Up or Down Arrow keys. If you are in an application, you can press the Windows or Home key to return to the main menu. Pressing Escape will close the application
