all categories Deals, Sales, and News

Here's one for those who love to have the latest and fastest technology. CircuitCity.com has the D-Link Xtreme N Wireless Router for $119.99 with free shipping. This router features the draft 802.11N wireless standard, which gives longer range and faster speeds than 802.11G networks. It also has three antennas for maximum range and speed and gigabyte network ports for high-speed connections to desktop machines. It is backwards compatible with your 802.11B and 802.11G equipment.

Buy.com has the Wenger Star Computer Backpack for $28.99 with free shipping. That's about $7 less than the Wenger backpack we mentioned in January. This backpack holds notebooks up to 15 inches wide, has a pocket for an mp3 player, and extra padding for support and comfort.

An Ebay seller has listed an I.D. Mate II Portable Bar Code Reader with a starting bid of $450. Even with $25 for shipping, this is roughly $1,000 off the price of a new unit. The I.D. Mate II contains bar code information for over 1.3 million products and features an omnidirectional scanner. Auction ends February 14.

TheTechGeek.com has a recordable message picture frame for $19.99 with free shipping. Or, buy two for $35.99. This frame will hold 4 by 6 or 5 by 7 pictures and will let you record up to four 5-second messages. You can customize the frame to have messages activated when a certain part of the frame is touched. This may require some sighted assistance.

Winning Gifts, a merchant on Amazon.com, has a box of 2.2 pounds of french truffles for $12.99. Add about $9 for shipping. This box has over 120 pieces of delectable-sounding candy. Don't forget about Valentine's day.

A company called MyRadioStore.com is exploring the possibility of creating XM radio equipment with audio feedback. If you are interested in such a device or would like to send them feedback, follow the link on this post for more information.

Humanware has announced direct compatibility between its Braille Note PDAs and Code Factory's Mobile Speak Pocket. Braille Note users will be able to read the screen of many popular cell phone models on their braille display. Humanware is the U.S. distributor for Code Factory products. Note: This news is from a press release, though the Humanware website does not have any additional information yet.

An Ebay seller has listed an Index Basic Braille Embosser with a current bid of $51. The unit is advertised as powering on and the paper censor was tested and appears to work. Auction ends February 7.

Blind Mice Mart is now selling braille Valentine's Day greeting cards for $3.95. This includes shipping to any address in the Continental U.S. The cards are available in several designs and offer several messages to choose from.

As a reader found, Buy.com has the VoSKY USB Speaker Phone for $10.85 after a $15 mail-in rebate. Add about $6 for shipping. This speaker phone works with Internet telephony applications like Skype and is ideal for travel. Deal ends February 17.

A seller has listed a used Pac Mate QX440 40-cell braille display PDA for $2,000 on the Star Technology Exchange. The item is listed in excellent condition and comes with carrying case and A/C adapter.

Back at Buy.com, it's the D-Link 7DBI Omnidirectional Antenna for $13.99 after a $20 mail-in rebate. That's a $2 drop from our last mention and the lowest price we could find. This antenna connects to many 802.11G routers and will increase your wireless range. Check your router to see if it is compatible with this antenna. Deal ends February 11.

An Ebay seller has listed a Braille Blazer embosser with a starting bid of $9.99. Though the item is, as usual, advertised as is, it does power on and speak when buttons are pressed. Auction ends February 6.

TheNerds.net has the Olympus DS-40 Digital Voice Recorder for $141.78. With about $10 for shipping, that's over $50 off retail and the lowest price we've seen. This is the 512MB version of their new line of accessible voice recorders.

A seller has listed an HP Ipaq 2410 PDA running Windows Mobile 2003, 520 megahertz processor, 1 gb SD memory card, USB Cradle with AC adaptor with Mobile Speak Pocket and Microsoft Voice Command for $700. This item is listed on the STAR Technology Exchange a classified ads service that promotes the reutilization of assistive technology.

Thursday we posted a phone that has basic features. Today, we wrap up phone week with a PDA phone from HP with a lot of functionality. The HP Mobile Messenger HW6920, available from TheNerds.net for $524.29 plus shipping, this phone includes many features that make it an attractive option. Supported by Cingular Wireless, the PDA includes a built-in GPS receiver, Bluetooth capabilities and a mini SD slot. It runs on Windows Mobile 5.0 and also has a full QWERTY keyboard. The accessibility comes from Mobile Speak Pocket from Code Factory, and although not all features will be accessible out of the box, the software does include a script language that could allow you to make other features talk. The combination of all of these features in one handheld device is the beginning of where the future of technology is happening, with the buzzword being convergence. Expect many more devices like this one very soon.

TheNerds.net has the 802.11G Wireless Skype phone for $136.91. With about $10 for shipping, we couldn't find this particular item for less elsewhere. This phone will let you use Skype over any 802.11G network without the need for turning a computer on. Note: We are unsure as to the accessibility of this phone, though we'd assume that basic dialing would work fine.

ANTOnline via Amazon.com has the brand new Olympus DS-30 DigitalVoice Recorder for $113.01. With about $8 for shipping, that's $12 off our last mention and the lowest price we could find. This unit records at up to 44.1kHz and is billed as Olympus's most accessible digital recorder. It also includes a detachable stereo microphone, noise cancelation, and automatic downloading of Podcasts.

An Ebay seller has listed a Powerbraille 40 for $89 plus $9.99 for shipping within the U.S. No cables are included and the item is sold as is. Auction ends February 3.

With all of the talk about phones that are made accessible using special software, there continues to be a lot of people who are happy with a more limited amount of accessibility. LG has continued with their line of talking phones with the VX8300, a CDMA phone primarily for Verizon Wireless. This newer model improves on the accessibility features of earlier talking phones including the ability to send (not receive) text messages, more voice feedback while navigating the menus, and a better voice for reading text-to-speech information. The phone itself also includes a MicroSD memory card slot. The prices on these cards are falling dramatically, with a 1GB card available for under $20. The phone can play MP3s and has Bluetooth capability, which I successfully set up without sighted assistance. Check the link on this post to find this phone on Ebay at some very decent prices.