Hardware & Accessory Reviews

This case is designed so you don’t have to remove the writer for any reason other than if you had to send the unit in for repairs the top compartment is made of a stretchable material that will fit a charging cable. Note it will only fit the charging cable and not a charging cable and charger block. For best results I would recommend using a wire tie to tie up your cable. An example of wire ties you could use can be found at the following link.
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The following review is an adapted version of this evaluation to suit the AppleVis website. You can read the full review on the Technology, Research and Innovation Center's Blog

The linked expanded evaluation includes a comprehensive review of the internal applications and how well the device works with other screen readers not within the Apple ecosystem…

The following review is an adapted version of this evaluation to suit the AppleVis website. You can read the full review on the Technology, Research and Innovation Center's web page. This expanded evaluation includes a comprehensive review of the internal applications and how well the Active Braille works with other screen readers not within the Apple ecosystem.

Introduction

There are a large…

In January of 2018, I reviewed the original Orbit Reader 20 From Orbit Research. It was “intended primarily as a braille display for reading braille files and for connecting to external devices. With a much lower price point than other 20-cell displays, the Orbit Reader 20 does not have onboard translation options, Cursor Routing Buttons or many of the other features found in braille devices that cost thousands of dollars more.” Fast…

I previously reviewedthe Brailliant BI 40X. In that evaluation, I mentioned there was a 20-cell model as well. Unlike when I reviewed the Focus Blue Fifth Generation displays, which are the same display other than the amount of cells, the two models of Brailliants sport some differences. Physical differences aside, the software functions the same. This includes how these…

The following review is an adapted version of this evaluation to suit the AppleVis website. It was originally written in April 2021. You can read the full review on the Technology, Research and Innovation Center's web page. This expanded evaluation includes a comprehensive review of the internal applications and how well the Brailliant BI 40X works with other screen readers not within the Apple ecosystem.

What's…

The Brailliant BI 14 from Humanware refreshes instantly, silently, and reliably. Those three words should be kept in mind in what follows, because they may well overshadow every other quibble and criticism I feel obligated to mention in this review, and they in fact set it apart from the Orbit Reader 20, which was my other serious contender…

This review of the Dot Watch provides an additional point of view to the reviews posted here on AppleVis and Access World. I purchased the watch at the end of 2019, two and a half years after its launch.

The first time I checked the time on the Dot Watch, I was struck by a conviction that a digital Braille…

'Foreword'

Let me start this by saying that, for reasons of morale and ethics, I would never advertise any device—even if I was paid for it. The reason I decided to take the risk, and buy the Dot Watch, is simply that I am a 'braille person'. The more braille/haptic feedback, the less speech, the better for me. So I felt it was worth a try. And, since I have not seen any reviews that make it clear that the author is independent and not in any way benefiting from writing a positive…

The Smart Beetle is a 14-cell display manufactured by HIMS. If you need any sort of internal programs like a word processor, clock, calculator, or other bells and whistles, this is not the device for you. However, it supports the ability to connect to 6 different devices, and is natively supported in iOS 9 and El Capitan. Note that the 6 devices include 5 bluetooth and 1 USB.

What's in the Box?
Obviously, the Smart Beetle, a Micro USB cable for connecting to devices via USB…

The Refreshabraille 18, 3rd generation, is now available from APH. It's an 18-cell display which offers many connectivity options, the ability to flip the Refreshabraille to have the display closer to you instead of the keyboard, and the ability to connect in unsecure or secure mode via Bluetooth.
A Familiar Feeling Device:
For those who enjoyed the solid build of the previous models of the Refreshabraille, you will be happy to know that the keyboard and the material the…

Updated 2/6/17
The VarioUltra, a display sold by Baum and distributed in the US by Baum Retech, is a new comer to the market of what the assistive tech industry is calling "smart braille displays". They're called this, because, while they are not full fledged notetakers such as what you will find in a device like the BrailleNote Touch or Braille Sense, they do some other tasks unlike displays such as the Focus line from Freedom Scientific and Brailliant from Humanware.…

Introduction

The Focus 14 is a very portable display, about the size of a Braille Pen, but it sports 2 more cells than the Pen, along with a slightly higher price tag than the Braille Pen, but that won't be the case for long.

Instead of wizwheels, you have a rocker button located at each end of the display that you can press up to move up or down to move down.

Above these scrol buttons you have a button that allows you to control the type of element the scrol buttons move by such as…

The Perkins mini is a 16 cell display that works with Windows screen readers and mac OSX 10.7 and later. It's also compatible with iOS from 6.0 on. It has both USB and bluetooth capabilities, and also has very similar functions to the Braille Edge. It can take notes, read books, has a calendar, a calculator and supports the reading of brf and txt files. That's where the similarities end though.

The Perkins Mini has a braille keyboard, that, in my opinion is not comfortable to type…