Hi Mo and all,
Though I haven't seen the Asus unit and, indeed, am not sure when it
will be out, I have been using these stick PCs as my portable computers for
about six months now. I have two, one is the MeegoPad t01 and the other the
Vensmile IPC002 (these units go by a ton of other names, the usual sources
for Chinese machines, gearbest.com, dealextreme.com, geekbuying.com,
maketheone.com... will have them). They generally work very well with both
Jaws and NVDA. Obviously, I'm speaking of the Intel units with Windows,
though the Android ones are also fairly good with Talkback. Android 4.4 or
above is absolutely necessary though because of the better keyboard support
Talkback has under that version of the OS. They are not the fastest machines
on the planet, but if you're not transcoding audio/video, they are more than
usable. I often use them to OCR a few pages from a sheet-fed scanner or from
PDF and OCR is slow but possible. Their benefits are the small size,
compatibility with standard software and hardware (including braille and
scanners), almost unlimited battery life because they run from USB
batteries, and, of course, the rock-bottom price. The disadvantages are the
few USB ports (I haven't found anything with over three ports), the fact
that they aren't very fast (I have OCRed PDF books of several hundred pages
but it took quite a while), the lack of support (any trouble and the best
you can expect is your money back and often not that), and the small amount
of disk space available on their main drives. I'm afraid an additional drive
isn't really optional with them. This is taking care of itself, though, I've
seen a few with 64 and 128 GB internal drives if you want to pay for that.
As for the headphone jack, most actually do have headphone jacks, in
my experience at least. When they first came out, about a year ago, it was a
rarity, but the manufacturers seem to have lost any aversion they had and
are now putting them on most devices. Even if the device that catches your
fancy doesn't have one, keep in mind that HDMI to 3.5 MM/VGA adapters are
available, though they do cost a good 20% of the price of the computer.
Also, this may well be paranoya on my part, but I like to wipe
everything that comes into my hands and install Windows from my own
installation media. I know that one device came with Chinese spyware, I
wasn't able to read it but when I did a search, I found the producer to be
an advertising service. I would, some months ago before the Lenovo disaster,
have said that Asus wouldn't have this problem, but I don't think anyone is
immune. I hope, though, that they will provide some sort of support.
If you're looking for reviews you might like to try
http://liliputing.com/
http://androidpc.es/
http://www.minimachines.net/
The last two are in Spanish and French but, though I have very
little French and no Spanish at all, they are quite easy to understand.
As for pocket keyboards, I really like the Microsoft folding
keyboard. It's expensive, but the key travel is OK, the size is excellent,
and the connectivity isn't at all bad. There are also those tiny keyboards
which can literally be run from the pocket, they're all much of a muchness
and work well with the sticks.
HTH,
Aman
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2015 3:50 PM
To: BCAB Discussion List
Subject: [access-uk] The Asus Vivo Stick is a cheaper, better Windows 10
pocket PC
Hi. The hole concept of having a fully fledged computer in my pocket is
certainly intriguing. This device will apparently have a built in headphone
jack, and can be powered by a USB battery pack. it has built in WiFi,
bluetooth, and 2 full sized USB ports. best of all, its running windows 10
out of the box. I can't wait to get my hands on one. its amazing to think
that you could install all your favourite apps either as portable versions
using a pen drive that you'd plug in, or on to the device it self, and have
a full PC experience discreetly in your pocket.
Its a shame they didn't include a Micro SD card slot, but maybe that'll be
included by the time they release this. All the other devices i've seen of
this type don't have built in headphone jacks, but this one certainly does
meaning that someone VI wouldn't even have to plug it in to a monitor. just
hook up your bluetooth keyboard, plug in a pear of earphones and you're
away! now to find a decent pocket sized bluetooth keyboard. any ideas
anyone? the link to the review is:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2978182/ifa/the-itty-bitty-asus-vivo-stick-is
-a-cheaper-better-windows-10-pocket-pc.html
all the best,
Mo.
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** unsubscribe
** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
** immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
** or send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** unsubscribe
** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
** immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
** or send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
