David - any chance you could pass me the details of the mantis you had the
chance to purchase at a good price please? I have been searching for a used one
in my price range for awhile but not really sure where to look. Thanks
Kind regards Sophia
On Friday, April 28, 2023, 5:09 am, Tim Noonan <tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
We are all just speculating, but I will note that the Mantis has different
internal hardware than the Braillant devices, essentially it seems to be an
earlier generation of chipsets, which no doubt was to meet a particular price
point for the device. That may also mean a less capable version of Android to
run device applications. NLS is incredibly strict regarding Bard access apps.
Tim
On 28 Apr 2023, at 1:08 pm, William James <wiljames72@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
It probably won’t happen but I would love to see a way to transfer a file from
the phone or computer to the Mantis via bluetooth. That would be nice.
Sent from my iPhone Pro Max
On Apr 27, 2023, at 11:03 PM, William James <wiljames72@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The Brailliant has it so why not the Mantis? I test-drove a Brailliant 20 and
it had all three services: NLS BARD, NFB Newsline, and BookShare. From what I
understand, the firmware released for the Mantis Q40, the Chameleon, and the
Brailliant are all in the same file, so why not? I have the Mantis and love
the QWERTY keyboard. I have stopped using a Perkins keyboard a long time ago
and have graduated to a QWERTY keyboard for typing and prefer it. I’m like
David Goldfield in that regard.
I also asked about EPUB support and was told a couple years ago that supporting
that format was on the to-do list. Well, it’s not off that to-do list yet. We
haven’t seen any updates or heard about anything new for the Mantis Q40 in
almost a year.
Don’t get me wrong, I am still happy with this product and sing its praises
when talking with our clients about braille displays. I am just a concerned
user who is afraid the goings-ons of the eBRF format and the monarch has pushed
the Mantis and Chameleon off to the back burner.
Sent from my iPhone Pro Max
On Apr 27, 2023, at 9:56 PM, Victor Lawrence <victorelawrence@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Yes, it’s definitely great that we all have choices. Personally, I don’t care
if I can download bard books to a braille display or not, as I’ve never had
that ability. When I had a braille display, I always used it with an iPhone,
and iPad or a computer. I didn’t have a choice because the braille display I
had could not download anything.
I want a Mantis because it will meet my needs for work and some other things.
The fact that it cannot download bard books yet is not a priority for me
because I can use the mantis with a mobile device.
My iPhone is my personal assistant. Using it in combination with a Mantis
display would be the perfect combination for me. But these are the things that
meet my needs.
Victor.
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 27, 2023, at 6:50 PM, Rebecca Skipper <skipper8218@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
That is a fair question given the price point and the fact that BARD is on the
Brilliant.If I had to guess maybe assumptions were made about who would likely
use the Mantis?Your question could extend to the Chameleon as well.
From:
aphmantischameleonuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<aphmantischameleonuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2023 9:05 PM
To: aphmantischameleonuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [aphmantischameleonuser] Re: Wondering Why the Mantis Q40 Lacks NLS
BARD Download Capabilities Rebecca, I understand your point and I get that
having direct access to BARD is not a major priority for you. The NLS E-reader
only has 20 cells and I like the idea of a QWERTY keyboard. The Brailliant
units provide direct access to BARD and so I’m just curious as to why this was
omitted from the Mantis. David Goldfield,Blindness Assistive Technology
Specialist<image001.png>
NVDA Certified Expert Subscribe to the Tech-VI announcement list to receive
news, events and information regarding the blindness assistive technology
field.Email: tech-vi+subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From:
aphmantischameleonuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<aphmantischameleonuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
On Behalf Of Rebecca Skipper
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2023 9:01 PM
To: aphmantischameleonuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [aphmantischameleonuser] Re: Wondering Why the Mantis Q40 Lacks NLS
BARD Download Capabilities NLS has a Braille eReader so why would this service
be offered on other products?If downloading BARD materials is a top priority
for you se if you can get the NLS eReader.I don’t care about downloading books
to the device.I’d rather use my PC and an SD card.In fact, I find it easier to
download talking books to my iPhone than the Victor Reader Stream second
Generation because of the slower download speed. From:
aphmantischameleonuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<aphmantischameleonuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2023 8:44 PM
To: aphmantischameleonuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [aphmantischameleonuser] Wondering Why the Mantis Q40 Lacks NLS BARD
Download Capabilities I recently had a chance to purchase a slightly used
Mantis for an excellent price. I decided not to purchase it and I’ll explain
why. While I’m aware that Braille files from BARD can be transferred to the
Mantis from a PC or an SD card I would much prefer that it offered direct
access to BARD as it does with Bookshare. I got the sense that this was a
deliberate decision and I’d really like to know the reasoning behind it and if
BARD access will ever become a feature. If it did I’d be more inclined to
purchase a Mantis. David Goldfield,Blindness Assistive Technology
Specialist<image001.png>
NVDA Certified Expert Subscribe to the Tech-VI announcement list to receive
news, events and information regarding the blindness assistive technology
field.Email: tech-vi+subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
