HUMANWARE ANNOUNCES BRAILLENOTE MPOWOWER, THE NEXT GENERATION INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE BLIND
HumanWare, the world leader in information technology for the blind and visually impaired, is proud to announce BrailleNote mPower and VoiceNote mPower, the next generation of the BrailleNote family of products.
Shipping immediately, BrailleNote mPower is available in 18 and 32 cell versions, with Braille or QWERTY keyboards. VoiceNote mPower is also available with a Braille or QWERTY keyboard. With state-of-the-art connectivity, BrailleNote mPower provides the functionality and ease of use required by today's blind students, professionals, and anyone who needs to access information anywhere with efficiency.
Key new features include:
* expanded on-board storage * USB host and client * great quality stereo sound * streaming media * audio recorder * built-in Bluetooth * and a fast Intel X-scale processor.
Expanded On board Storage. The previous generation of BrailleNote offered 16 megabytes of user storage by default, expandable to 48 MB. BrailleNote mPower allows you to take more information and entertainment with you without even needing a storage card, thanks to its 128 MB flash disk. Because your data is precious, our disk on chip technology means that your data is preserved, even if the battery goes completely flat.
SD Card Support.
Secure Digital cards are becoming increasingly popular, and BrailleNote mPower is the first information management tool for the blind to offer built-in support for them. About the size of a postage stamp, these tiny cards can store up to a couple of gigabytes of information. SD cards are ideal for taking your media on the go. With the SD card slot, compact flash slot, and PCMCIA slot, BrailleNote mPower offers you the ability easily to carry well over 10 gigabytes of storage on cards alone.
USB. BrailleNote mPower features two USB host ports. Connect printers, embossers, keyboards and storage media to BrailleNote mPower for maximum power and convenience. A separate minnie USB client port makes connecting to your PC with Microsoft ActiveSync a snap.
Great Quality Stereo Audio. How does this sound? If you're an audiofile, you'll love the clean, high quality stereo audio you get when you connect a set of headphones to BrailleNote mPower. Whether it's mp3, Windows Media or wave files, on your flash disk, across a network or over the web, BrailleNote mPower provides a superior listening experience.
Streaming Media. Listen to the world! BrailleNote mPower offers you access to thousands of Internet radio stations with its enhanced Media Player. Its support for mp3 and Windows Media streaming means you can listen to Internet radio anywhere you have an Internet connection. The new "create favourite from link" feature in KeyWeb makes it easy for you to quickly assemble a collection of your favourite Internet radio stations, and surf between them. Braille-note mPower's streaming media capability includes full support for ACB Radio.
The new Media Player not only allows you to adjust the volume of the media separately from the speech anywhere in KeySoft, but you can also pause and resume the playing of audio anywhere, without the need to switch back into the Media Player application.
Audio Recording. Use the microphone built into BrailleNote mPower, or the external microphone of your choice, to record voice memos. You have full control over the quality of your recordings, and the ability to set your recording levels from within the Media Centre. Just press the handy record button on the side of BrailleNote mPower, and the virtual tape is rolling. Replay your last recording from anywhere in KeySoft with a single key press. It's ideal for recording a phone number or appointment and then easily playing it back later when you need to enter the data into KeySoft.
Built-in Bluetooth. Use a printer, a cell phone as a modem, an external keyboard and more with our completely integrated Bluetooth technology. No need to consume a valuable card slot for this important feature, Bluetooth is with you wherever you go.
Fast Intel X-scale processor. With the fast processor in BrailleNote mPower, documents load faster, BrailleNote GPS routes are plotted quicker, and performance all round is snappy.
BrailleNote mPower includes an updated version of HumanWare's award-winning KeySoft suite of applications, now at version 6.2.
Quick Summary of connectivity. BrailleNote mPower includes: SD card slot, two USB host ports, one USB client port, serial port, infra-red port, compact flash slot, external microphone jack, headphone jack, PCMCIA slot, 56k dial-up modem, Bluetooth transceiver. Wireless and Ethernet are supported through optional cards sold separately.
BrailleNote mPower and VoiceNote mPower will be available for hands-on demonstrations at the national conventions of the American Council of the Blind, and the National Federation of the Blind during the first week of July. It will also be demonstrated at Sight Village in the UK in mid-July. Frequently Asked Questions.
Q. Does BrailleNote mPower replace any existing products? A. Yes, BrailleNote mPower replaces the BrailleNote BT, BrailleNote QT, VoiceNote BT, and VoiceNote QT. BrailleNote PK continues to be sold and developed as our ultra-portable solution.
Q. I just purchased one of the products BrailleNote mPower replaces. Can you do anything for me? A. Yes. Products will be updated occasionally, and sadly, there will always be those who purchase just before this happens. However, your existing product is not obsolete (see the next question). If you've purchased one of the older products in the last three months, IE on or after 1 April 2005, we have a very competitive upgrade package for you. Contact HumanWare for details.
Q. So does this mean that if I want new versions of KeySoft, I have to buy BrailleNote mPower? A. Not at all. We're sure you'll like BrailleNote mPower. It's hardware means that there's so much more we can offer you with this product. However, KeySoft will be updated for the existing product for the foreseeable future. Because of hardware limitations however, we cannot offer all features of new KeySoft versions on the older product.
Q. Is there anything special you can do for existing BrailleNote users who want a BrailleNote mPower? A. There certainly is. The HumanWare way is to make sure you have a clear upgrade path to keep your technology current. BrailleNote mPower is a brand new product. However, there is one important part of your existing BrailleNote we can use, your Braille display. We will be offering a Braille display transplant service. Send us your old BrailleNote, and we'll take the Braille display out of it and transplant it into a brand spanking new BrailleNote mPower. This service will be available from 1 October 2005. We will offer further details, including pricing, shortly.
Q. If I get my Braille display transplanted into a BrailleNote mPower, what about my SMA? A. Your SMA will carry over, so you will be entitled to KeySoft for BrailleNote mPower.
Q. I note that there is no parallel port on BrailleNote mPower, but I have a parallel printer that works with my existing BrailleNote. What can I do? A. You can purchase a USB to parallel converter, which will allow you to use printers and embossers that require a parallel port.
Q. I'm curious, what does the m in mPower stand for? A. Mobile. BrailleNote mPower gives you true mobile power. But obviously, it is a tool that is empowering blind people to succeed in all walks of life.
For more information on BrailleNote or VoiceNote mPower, shipping immediately, please contact your nearest HumanWare office or visit us on the web at http://www.humanware.com.
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:guispeak-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** guispeak-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:guispeak-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** guispeak-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
