A BrailleNote is a computer made by HumanWare for persons with

visual impairment Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

s. It has either a braille keyboard or a

Qwerty QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden t ...

Keyboard, a

speech synthesizer Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal languag ...

, and a 32- or 18-column

refreshable Braille display A refreshable braille display or braille terminal is an electro-mechanical device for displaying braille characters, usually by means of round-tipped pins raised through holes in a flat surface. Visually impaired computer users who cannot use a s ...

, depending on model. The "VoiceNote" is the same device without a braille display. The BrailleNote GPS is an 18 or 32 cell BrailleNote with an External GPS module, BrailleNote GPS. BrailleNote can use only the software provided by the manufacturer, although this can be upgraded. Use of BrailleNote is suggested by the State University of New York Center for Assistive Technology and is sometimes purchased by colleges for use by disabled students. The BrailleNote product series, introduced in 2000, is regarded as being the first of its kind. It is possible to obtain a visual interface to the data on a BrailleNote by attaching a computer with a

terminal emulator A terminal emulator, or terminal application, is a computer program that emulates a video terminal within some other display architecture. Though typically synonymous with a shell or text terminal, the term ''terminal'' covers all remote term ...

such as Hyperterminal.

Classic

The first "Classic" version of the BrailleNote was released in April, 2000. It used Windows CE 2.12 to Windows CE.NET 4.2 on a MIPS R4000 at 100 MHz Processor.

PK

Introduced in 2004, this small, purse-sized computer has an ARM processor, 40 MB of RAM, 16 MB of Flash, Bluetooth and USB connectivity. This unit also has a Compactflash slot.

mPower

The BrailleNote mPower was introduced in June 2005 and had 128

megabytes The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Its recommended unit symbol is MB. The unit prefix ''mega'' is a multiplier of (106) in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one megabyte is one million bytes o ...

of onboard memory and used DiskOnChip memory to avoid losing data if power is lost.

Apex

The BrailleNote Apex, released in November 2009, is a thinner and lighter version of its predecessors. It runs Windows CE 6. It uses the

i.MX31 The i.MX range is a family of Freescale Semiconductor (now part of NXP) proprietary microcontrollers for multimedia applications based on the ARM architecture and focused on low-power consumption. The i.MX application processors are SoCs (Sys ...

processor. It usually sells for about $5,500 with the 32 Braille cell display.

Software and supported formats

The Apex's internal software suite is called KeySoft. The current version is 9.5. It includes a

word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current ...

, book reader, Web browser, email client, voice recorder, media player, and an

XMPP Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP, originally named Jabber) is an open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Based on XML (Extensible Markup Language), i ...

-based IM client called KeyChat (which can also be used with popular non-XMPP protocols such as MSN, but the setup process is complex). The book reader supports English text files (it can convert these to Grade 2 braille automatically if required),

Braille ASCII Braille ASCII (or more formally The North American Braille ASCII Code, also known as SimBraille) is a subset of the ASCII character set which uses 64 of the printable ASCII characters to represent all possible dot combinations in six-dot braille ...

files that specify the dot patterns precisely (these usually have the extension .BRL or .BRF),A phone call to HumanWare technical support 2011-01-24 confirmed that you can email an Apex user a text file with the .BRL extension and it will be assumed to be Braille ASCII and audio books including the DAISY format.

Connectivity

The Apex has

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

, and three

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

host ports for connecting to printers, embossers, and storage devices. The Apex has a fourth USB port that can be used to connect it to a computer for ActiveSync and for operation as a Braille terminal for the computer. It is capable of interfacing with Bluetooth

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

receivers. Apex has a built-in VGA (monitor) port for viewing information on a monitor. The Apex has removable battery on its underside.

BrailleNote Touch

There are two models of BrailleNote Touch, itself being the newest model in the BrailleNote line. The original, the BrailleNote Touch, was released in spring of 2016. The later version, the BrailleNote Touch Plus, is its more powerful successor, sporting more memory and various improvements to its technical specifications. Unlike earlier versions of BrailleNote, these two models support "touch braille", a system which can be utilized by calibrating the finger positions on the touch screen, and then typing braille normally. It also has a keyboard case which can be attached for classic-style input. The other significant difference between the BrailleNote Touch and Touch Plus and the earlier versions is that the Touch and Touch Plus run android, whereas the earlier versions run Windows CE. KeySoft has been reprogrammed and runs as an accessibility service under android, but can be turned off and on to operate the BrailleNote as if it were a tablet running Android, either with a triple-click of the home button or by holding down the volume keys depending on the model. The BrailleNote Touch and Touch Plus also include KNFB Reader free with the purchase. The included camera is used for optical character recognition, allowing for easy reading of print documents by those with severe blindness.

References

External links

Sachin Describes BrailleNoteBrailleNote Educational Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braillenote Braille technology