Hi Andy
But it isn't ridiculous if you consider the hifi market as a whole. As I
wrote to Barry in an earlier Email, if you want to buy a tuner for your
system, depending on the make and what its features are, you could be
paying
upwards of £400. I've just bought a Denon separates system. I got an amp
and a CD player, as well as a pair of Wharfdale speakers. I looked at the
price of the tuner, and I could have bought one to match it for £299, but
it
only had AM and FM, no DAB. To me, it just wasn't worth the money. Then
the tuner with WiFi access so you could have an Internet radio, completely
inaccessible, was over £400. We hardly get a DAB signal here, so just
decided to go for the Sonata Plus instead.
I agree a lot of assistive technology is expensive, but the problem is
that
being blind doesn't come cheap, and while these companies make a good
mark-up on what they sell us, we either get it to enhance our lives that
bit
better, or do without and make a stand. I'd rather consider whether I
really want or need a product, and make a decision on whether I can afford
to buy it. If I can't, tough shit. If I can, then I gain. We have very
little sighted help, so the more speech there is on gadgetry round our
house, the more power to our elbow, (smile).
Kind Regards,
Jackie Cairns
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of
ANDY COLLINS
Sent: 29 May 2012 10:18
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Sonata ++ again.
I think I saw it on the 'Wireless for the blind' website for £349.
Ridiculous in my opinion! -
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Barry Toner" <barry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2012 11:26 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Sonata ++ again.
Hi jakcie,
How much was it? Sounds ideal and something we'd like to have in our
living room! The Netbook I sat up as a media box 3 years back is getting
a tad old and sluggish now with it's clunky old XP.
Cheers,
Barry.
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Jackie Cairns
Sent: 28 May 2012 09:46
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Sonata ++ again.
Hi Billy
In my honest, humble opinion, straight from the horse's mouth, I think
it's
ace!!
This unit is a big improvement on its predecessor, even though it is
great
too.
1. You can put multiple network keys in with a spoken menu. So, for
example, if you take your Sonata Plus to someone else's house, you could
use
their WiFi service by putting in their key easily with full speech
access.
2. The motherboard is much faster, so response times are quicker.
3. There is now built-in TTS, the voice for which I have no idea, except
he
is a posh git but ok nevertheless, and a change from Daniel!!
3. The fact that TTS is built into the unit means that everything you
stream isn't tagged from the server like it used to be. And because you
now
have two USB ports to run hard drives and pens, plus an SD card that
supports 32GB of storage, your TTS will speak all your music filenames
etc.
I've tried the SD slot and it definitely works with a 32GB card on which
I
put a lot of music in folders and sub-folders as is my general layout.
It
enabled me to drop down to folders within folders and arrow up and down
the
MP3 files.
Luke told me that you can run a USB drive on it through one of the ports,
whether the drive is powered or relies on the internal workings of the
unit.
So Billy, I hope this has wet your appetite. I decided to get one
because
I
recently bought new hifi separates, and didn't see the point in going
down
the road of purchasing a tuner with WiFi and all that built into it when
I
wouldn't be able to access the thing. So I bought the new Sonata Plus
and
use it for my tuner. We have such a crap DAB signal here that it's not
worth having a DAB radio, hence the reason why I need to stream.
I'm delighted with it, plus the service Luke and John provide, though
Luke
is undoubtedly my favourite and so terribly helpful.
Kind Regards,
Jackie Cairns
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of
BlueNose
Sent: 25 May 2012 08:24
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Sonata ++ again.
hi guys, I realise this subject has been discussed on this list before,
but
Now I will be getting one of these Sonata ++ for myself.
It would be great if I could get some feed-back from blind users. I
always
like to get it straight from the horses mouth if you like lol.
Are there any tutorials or podcasts been done on this product?.
I would sure like some fee-back from users, I feel this is always best,
Billy
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