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#CSUN14 Audio: Harpo Lets you Type with One Hand with the BraillePen, Introduces New Mountbatten


Harpo was at CSUN 2014 showing off the latest updates to the BraillePen 12 Touch including a one-handed mode for input as well as an updated Mountbatten brailler called the Braille Whisperer. Jarek Wiazowski, Expert Manager at Harpo Poland, joins us to explain both of these new products in this podcast. Blind Bargains audio coverage of CSUN 2014 is generously sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Transcript

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Direct from San Diego, it’s BlindBargains.com coverage of CSUN 2014. The biggest names, provocative interviews, and wall-to-wall exhibit hall coverage, brought to you by the American Foundation for the Blind.

On the American Foundation for the Blind website, you’ll find everything you need to know about blindness and visual impairment. Search our national job bank, discover the history of Helen Keller, read our blog on current issues, find professional resources, and even more. Our site is completely accessible. Check it out at www.afb.org.

Now, here’s J.J. Meddaugh.

J.J.: We are here at CSUN 2014 with Jarek Wiazowski. He is the Expert Manager at Harpo Poland, and he is an expert right here on this new BraillePen 12 Touch and new Mountbatten. Welcome back to Blind Bargains. Tell us what I’m looking at here.

JW: Hi. What you’re looking at right now is the new BraillePen 12 Touch. The latest addition to this device is one-handed mode. It allows people who have only one functional hand to easily use the BraillePen, and through BraillePen they can also now easily operate external devices, like for example iPhones.

J.J.: Right. How does the one-handed mode work as opposed to how it works on other devices?

JW: What you do is you can use literally one finger to turn it on, turn it off, and also use that same finger to enter text and also to navigate an operating system. From app to app, open apps, edit those apps, save text, and do pretty much all the operations you can do –

J.J.: So do you just use one finger and press the keys that you need, and then press a key to indicate that you’ve finished typing the letter?

JW: Yeah, you press the dot, and then you push the spacebar, and then you push another dot, spacebar. You push the dot individually. When you’re done with the dot combination, you push the spacebar. Then it makes up the character.

J.J.: And then it will send it – so it would work with any device that the BraillePen already works with, such as iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac computer, whatever.

JW: Yes, exactly.

J.J.: Anything like that. So this new feature, for people who have a BraillePen 12 now, are they able to get this as an update?

JW: Yes, they can get a free firmware update, and if they have a need for it, they can update it even at home.

J.J.: Does it just work with the BraillePen 12 Touch, or would it work with the other BraillePens as well?

JW: No, it only works with the Touch.

J.J.: Okay. So Touch is 12 cell. And of course, it has a little Braille keyboard as well, the six dot keyboard and the little scroll wheel in the middle, or –

JW: That’s the joystick.

J.J.: Joystick, that’s the word I was looking for. And three buttons underneath that, and also one button to the left and the right of the Braille, what’s those?

JW: Yeah, those are two pan buttons, so you can pan.

J.J.: Pan left, pan right?

JW: Pan left and right, yes.

J.J.: What’s the battery life like?

JW: It’s about eight hours.

J.J.: So I guess a full day of work. Is it regular wall charge? It doesn’t look like it’s USB.

JW: Actually, yes, we have a new charger, too. Although it looks like a standard jack on one end, on the other end you have the regular USB jack and you can just plug it into the computer and charge it off your computer.

J.J.: What was the reason for choosing this rounded jack as opposed to say Micro-USB or something?

JW: Because it’s been there since the very beginning, so we didn’t see a need for redoing it.

J.J.: Got you. Since you already have the mold and everything. Sure. How much is this costing?

JW: Currently in the U.S., the standard price is $995, but Flying Blind, who are the U.S. distributor, have a special until the end of March, and it’s $875.

J.J.: It’s called the Touch; does this have the optical recognition?

JW: It does not have the OCR. That active touch is the active touch cursor routing.

J.J.: That’s what I’m talking about, yeah.

JW: Yeah, exactly.

J.J.: Absolutely. Great. Let’s move over here to the new Mountbatten.

JW: The new Mountbatten, it’s called the Mountbatten Braille Whisperer.

J.J.: Braille Whisperer, okay. We’ll whisper about this.

JW: The Whisperer is because the users sometimes complain about the noise it makes while Brailling. Well, pretty much most of them were hard copy Braille machines, so they make some noise. We decided to address that issue, and we changed the mechanism to make it much, much quieter.

J.J.: I’m going to set the recorder down here, and I’m going to type a quick – we’re going to type the website, www.blindbargains.com. There it goes, and a new line, there it is. My Braille is right up there. Oops, I typed “L-l-i-n-d” instead of “blind.” But other than that, there it is. And then obviously you can hear it, but it wasn’t – you could have it in probably a regular office. It wouldn’t be that much louder than a typewriter, right?

JW: Not much louder, or maybe even quieter.

J.J.: For sure. Is it still the same interface? I see you have a serial port on the right side and USB?

JW: Right. It also has low energy Bluetooth that you cannot see on the outside.

J.J.: How would you use that?

JW: It’s built in. We have developed an app; it’s called MB Mimic. Currently we have one version for iOS devices, iPad Minis, iPads 3rd and 4th generation, iPhones 4s and up, and also iPod Touches.

J.J.: Okay, and what does the app enable you to do?

JW: It allows you to interact with the Mountbatten. For example, in the classroom situation where you have teachers who do not know Braille, and yet they want to write either homework or write some note for a blind student, they will use that app and they will use the auxiliary keyboard on the iPad to write, and you just write as if you were writing on the regular QWERTY keyboard, so you don’t have to worry about any contractions.

J.J.: And it will come straight to the printer.

JW: And it’ll come straight to the printer, either contracted or uncontracted Braille, depending on the choice.

J.J.: Does the app have accessibility features built in?

JW: It is voiceover-friendly, so even a blind teacher can operate it.

J.J.: Okay, and obviously that works with the current Mountbatten. What’s the range of the Bluetooth LE?

JW: You probably want it in feet, so that’ll be at least 30, 40 feet.

J.J.: Okay, so within a decent size room or whatever. For sure.

JW: So the teacher can walk around the room. And also, it actually goes both ways. When the student is spelling something, the teacher can see a display on the iPad, so they can give an immediate feedback to the student.

J.J.: Sure. What other features? Anything else we should know about this new one versus the old Mountbatten?

JW: That’s probably the quietness and the Bluetooth. Those are the two new features.

J.J.: Okay. In that case, is this available yet, and how much is it going to cost?

JW: The Bluetooth version, but not quiet, it is already available. The highest trim, which is Mountbatten Learning System, is around $4500. It’s distributed in North America by Humanware.

J.J.: If you wanted, could you get a lower version as well, with just the Brailler minus the…

JW: Yeah, you can get the Mountbatten Braille Writer, but it has fewer features. For example, it does not have the Bluetooth. Among others.

J.J.: So the Learning System is the only one that has the Bluetooth in it?

JW: Yes, that’s correct.

J.J.: Okay, great. Then of course, like you said, get it through Humanware in the United States. If people want to get more information or contact Harpo, what’s the best way to do that?

JW: They can visit our websites. We have the general international Harpo website; it’s int.harpo.com.pl, or they can go to the respective websites for our products. For the BraillePen, it will be www.braillepen.com, and for the Mountbatten it will be www.mountbattenbrailler.com.

J.J.: All right. Hey, thank you so much for coming by.

JW: All right, thank you.

Blind Bargains is your home for the latest assistive technology news and reviews. Visit us at blindbargains.com, or follow Blind Bargains on Twitter for the inside scoop.

This has been another Blind Bargains audio podcast. Visit BlindBargains.com for the latest deals, news, and exclusive content. This podcast may not be retransmitted, sold, or reproduced without the express written permission of A T Guys. © 2014.

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J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.


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