Introduction
Welcome, one and all, to another Atechability review! This time, we are continuing the braille product line, but we are heading up to the full on notetaker. In this installment, we are reviewing the BrailleNote Touch Plus, from HumanWare that came out in 2018. What does it have to offer? Is it worth the price tag? Stay with us and find out!
Disclaimer
This review is going to be much longer than other reviews we have done. This is because, while we will give you the honest opinion of this device, we will go over in summary what each app on the device can do. Along with this, we also will look at the caveats to each app, which will affect the final score of the review. If you, the reader, are still willing to read this review after these disclaimers, then let’s move forward!
A brief history of the BrailleNote Family
Before we dive into the review, it is essential to know the history of how this device came to form and the context of why we are scoring this device like we will at the end of this review.
Companions And First Success
In the year 1996, a company named Pulsedata (Pronounced Pulse Data) came out with a device the size of a standard video tape called the, “ATA Companion,” also known as the “KeyNote Companion.” This personal data assistant, (PDA) was a device that, while having Windows as the main operating system, was modified to be made accessible to the blind and visually impaired. This consisted of an overlay on top of the operating system called “KeySoft.” The companion consisted of a standard computer keyboard, along with a touch screen. Yes, even the 90’s had touch screens, but they were not quite common. This overlay aimed to simplify how a computer was being used by the blind at the time, and it was a HUGE success.
The First BrailleNote
Fast forward to the year 2000, when it was time to upgrade the Companion, and add a braille display to it. The BrailleNote Classic, was born. This device had either 18, or 32 braille cells, depending on your preferred configuration. The exact same overlay was used to be able to operate the device. The touchscreen was removed from the device and was useable with either a standard QWERTY or braille keyboard.
Getting Smaller
In 2004, Pulsedata released the BrailleNote PK, which was a pocket sized version of the previous BrailleNote. This device only had 18 cells. Of course, there were some limitations to this device. You could not print documents, and you had to have a special serial connection. The unit did not have a standard power switch to turn on or off, either. You had to press a combination of control keys that were on the unit’s top face. To add to this, both BrailleNotes had to have separate wireless cards in order to go online and browse the web, check email, etcetera. You could also use bluetooth on this device to connect to a phone.
Em-Powering the BrailleNote
In 2005, Pulsedata merged with another company known as Visuaide (pronounced Vishuade) in Canada to form “HumanWare.” When this happened, a new BrailleNote came with the merge known as the “BrailleNote M-Power.” This model looked VERY similar to the original Classic, but it had different ports. The Classic only had serial, parallel, infra-red and modem ports. It also had a compact flash card slot on the back, and another card slot on its right side called a “PC card slot.” The M-Power removed the old parallel printer port, but kept the rest of the Classic’s ports. They added two standard USB ports and another Micro USB port. You still had to purchase a separate wireless/ethernet card in order to use any kind of web services. Similarly to the PK, you could also use Bluetooth as well to go online if your cell phone supported this functionality.
The Apex of the Notetaker
In 2009, with the modernization of technology, the BrailleNote M-Power was not doing too well. As a result, the BrailleNote Apex was born. This notetaker, apart from being much thinner than previous models, was updated to accommodate the technology at the time. It had built-in wireless and bluetooth radios, three USB ports, an SD card slot, an actual ethernet port, and an updated operating system. KeySoft was STILL the overlay used on this device, but was updated to support things like PDF documents, PowerPoint presentations, and Internet radio. This unit was supported up to 2018, when HumanWare silently ended support for any kind of repairs, along with the last version of KeySoft to support this unit in 2015.
Touch the Screen
in 2016, the BrailleNote Touch was announced. At this time, smart phones were VERY popular, due to them having built-in screen readers and could basically be a full on computer for any user. HumanWare at this point decided to compete with this smart world by updating their BrailleNote line with not only a new operating system, but re-write the KeySoft Overlay to make it even better. The operating system at the time was Android version 4.4 KikKat. This unit had 16 gigabytes of memory built in, along with an SD card inside the unit with the entire software. This was convenient, because if you needed to send your Touch back for repair, then you could just take out the SD card from the underside of the device, and put it into your loaner unit. This touch also had a Micro USB port, (or the “Android charger port)” to charge its battery. Two years later, HumanWare launched the BrailleNote Touch PLUS, which we are reviewing. Since they discontinued the first model, we will refer to it as the Touch to make life easier.
More About The Keysoft Overlay
We have discussed the hardware of the BrailleNotes, now let’s talk about the software portion! As mentioned above, the BrailleNote family of products ran on Windows CE, but to make Windows CE work, there had to be something driving it. Enter KeySoft at stage left. This overlay aimed to make the units easy to use, and it did its job real well! The applications that you would see on these devices had the “Key” prefix in front of them, in order to “stick out” from others. Below is a list of the common app names, followed by the “Key prefix” name. All BrailleNote models have these sets of apps.
- word processor (KeyWord)
- Planner (KeyPlan)
- address list or contacts (KeyList)
- email (KeyMail)
- internet or web browser (keyWeb)
- book reader (KeyBook)
- Database manager (KeyBase only found on M-Power and Apex models)
- calculator (KeyPlus, renamed to KeyCalc on BrailleNote Touch and Brailliant devices)
- file manager (KeyFiles, only named this way on BrailleNote Touch)
- braille editor (KeyBRF, only found on Touch models)
- math editor (KeyMath, BrailleNote Touch models only)
- coding application (KeyCode, BrailleNote Touch Plus Only)
- navigation (KeyMaps, BrailleNote Apex Only. Used to do virtual GPS navigation, similar to Google maps. You could purchase a separate GPS product to unlock even more features, including realtime tracking with an external GPS receiver
- terminal (KeyTerm, only on ATA companion, used to perform old MS Dos commands)
- Chatting application (KeyChat only available on M-Power and Apex) used to send instant messages, just like the old days (AIM, anyone?)
All these apps were very simple to use, and they did not require advanced computer knowledge. To top things off, you could get help from ANYWHERE in these apps, depending on the situation by pressing a command. Now that we got the history set up for you, the reader, let’s move onto the review!
Pricing
The BrailleNote Touch comes in two different configurations. This only affects how many braille characters you wish to read. For the 18 cell, the price is $4795. If you wish to have a 32 cell configuration, the price is $5795.
Technical Specifications
The BrailleNote touch is the size of a standard Android tablet. Think the modern Samsung Galaxy Tab devices that are out now a days. Put them lengthwise on the table, and from left to right, the length is pretty much equal. If you want exact measurements, it’s 9 and a half inches long, by 6 and a half inches wide. The weight of the device is two pounds. It’s a bit heavier than a standard tablet, since those are about half a pound at minimum. The device has four gigabytes of ram, and it runs on a snapdragon processor. The braille display can come in either 18 or 32 cells, as mentioned in the pricing above. The tablet has 64 gb of storage, but it can be expanded with either a thumb drive, SD cards up to 512 gb, or even external hard drives. Internally, the BrailleNote Touch runs Android 8.1 Oreo, and the overlay is the same KeySoft system used on prior devices, only this one is re-written for the Touch with a more modern look.
Unpacking and Orientation
It’s now time to see what this device looks like, and more importantly, what all comes in its box!
In The Box
Once you receive your notetaker and have either cut open the packing box with a key or knife, or if you wanted to be “funny” by using your teeth, you should have the following items in the package.
- BrailleNote Touch Tablet
- USB C Cable
- charging block
- carrying case (already installed on your touch)
- neck strap
- printed warranty sheet
- braille and print getting started sheet
Now that we looked in its box, let’s look at how this baby is laid out!
Orientation
Let’s begin looking at all the ports and keys of the BrailleNote Touch. We will start at the front, from left to right. From here, we will work our way until we end up at its left side.
Front Edge
On the front edge, starting from left to right, you will find seven buttons. If you have read our previous braille display reviews, you will notice that on the front of those, are the four “Thumb Keys” that HumanWare puts on their displays. The Touch is NO exception. It has the two shorter and longer thumb keys. The thumb keys from left to right are: “Previous, Left, Right, and Next.” In the middle of the front area between “Left and Right,” you will find three buttons. From left to right, these buttons are “Back, Home, and Recents.” The “Back button is a triangle pointing to the left, and takes you back a level in any app. The “Home” button takes you back to the main menu. the “Recents” button opens your recent apps list. If you are an Android user, you may see a “Recents” button at the bottom of the screen. This button does the EXACT same thing. If you hold down this button and are using a KeySoft native app, it opens an app’s context menu. Think of this menu as, the “File” menu on Windows.
Right Edge
On the right, closest to the back of the unit, you will find abutton with a dot on it called “Action.” This button can have different purposes such as recording, or playing or pausing music. This changes depending on the app used. Above the “Action” button are the headphone and microphone jacks, in that order.
Back Edge
Starting from right to left, you will find a special connection. This goes to the keyboard on the unit, which we will discuss later. Moving towards the left, you will find an HDMI port which supports both video and audio, an SD card slot, and a USB port.
Left Edge
Moving to the left side, from top to bottom is the USB C port, used to charge the unit or connect it to the computer. You can add files and folders this way, as well as using the Touch as a braille output device for the computer. Below the USB C port, are the “Power” button, plus the “Volume Up and Down” buttons. Hold down the “Power” button for five seconds to turn the device on.
Bottom Edge
We normally do not discuss the bottom edges of devices, because we know that all devices have battery compartments and serial numbers. However, there is an important feature of the unit. So, starting from front to back, on either side of the unit, are latches to remove the case from the Touch. Move the latches to the left with your thumbs, and pull the unit out using your index fingers. This is the easiest way to remove it from the case. In the middle of the Touch is another latch to remove the replaceable battery. Move this latch to the left as well to do this. Towards the back, from left to right, are an LED light indicator, a camera, and another LED light indicator. This camera can be used to scan documents and take pictures.
Top Face
Starting from the front, is the standard braille display and cursor buttons that we discussed on other braille display reviews. This display comes in either eighteen, or thirty-two cells. To the left and right sides of the display are the stereo speakers, plus a microphone.
The Keyboard
Above the Braille display, you will find the braille keyboard. This keyboard has the standard keyboard layout. That is, the “Space bar,” and above that the standard braille keys. From left to right: “Backspace, Dots 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, and Enter.” Now, this keyboard actually is attached to the Touch’s case. If you were to pull the unit out of the case, the only thing that comes out is the tablet, hence the keyboard connection at the back of the tablet. If you have the Touch in the case, you can lift the keyboard portion by lifting it using a lip, located on the bottom left corner of the keyboard. If you lift this up, you will see the unit’s touch screen. The whole thing is touch sensitive. There is a seven inch visual display that other people can see. You can use standard touch gestures that you have become accustomed to on other smart devices. We will outline navigation below.
Navigation
As mentioned above, there are several navigation methods on the Touch. We will cover these down below.
Keyboard Navigation
The basic method is to use the Touch’s braille input keyboard to navigate and type. To navigate menus, press “Space” to move forward, or “Backspace” to move back. You can also use the “Next” and “Previous” thumb keys to also move around menus. Alternatively, if you know the letter of the menu item you are looking for, for example, “C for Contacts,” you can press the first letter of the menu item. This works anywhere you have a menu or list.
Touch Screen Navigation
Alternatively, you can use the unit’s built-in touch screen to navigate. This can be accomplished in two methods.
Touch Braille
HumanWare came up with a quite innovative method to use the touch screen as if you were using a physical keyboard. To use touch braille, put all your 10 fingers on the screen as if you were using a physical braille keyboard. You will feel a vvibration if everything was done successfully. From here, use the standard braille commands to operate the unit, but on the touch screen. It does take a bit of adjusting, but it will eventually be second nature. Do not move your entire hand up and down while typing, only your fingers. If you lose your positions, simply take your hands off, and place the fingers back on again. Other smart phone screen readers now have “Braille Screen Input,” which is the EXACT same thing, but without the vibration to inform the user it is ready to go. Plus, HumanWare’s method can be used to control the entire KeySoft Overlay, while braille screen input only works on keyboards for smart phones.
Smart Phone Navigation
If you are used to navigating a smart phone’s screen reader, KeySoft also allows you to navigate the exact same way. To change between touch braille and gesture navigation, Press the “Previous and Next” thumb keys together. Once you switch to the gesture navigation, you can “Swipe Right” with one finger to move forward, and “Swipe Left” to move back. “Double Tap” to select an item.
Features
Apart from the standard KeySoft applications mentioned above, there are a couple of items that HumanWare says makes this device “Revolutionary.” We are ONLY covering the basics of these features, but take note that KeySoft already comes with things like “Keyword, Keymail, KeyList, etcetera.” It also has a braille terminal where you can use your unit as a screen for your computer.
Play Store
Since this notetaker has android on it, the BrailleNote Touch comes with the Google Play Store. This means you can download ANY app from said store. Keep in mind though, not all applications are accessible. KeySoft is like any other screen reader. If the app does not have screen reader support, most likely the BrailleNote will not work with it.
Math Input
One common problem with technology now a days for the blind is being able to do things like mathematics. Most students use the old fashion Perkins Brailler to do work in class, and then it took about a week to translate the braille into print by a teacher that has this experience on transcription. HumanWare has previously integrated this ability to do math on an electronic device on their BrailleNote Apex models, but the translation from braille to print was not pleasant. For instance, the fraction “1/2,” the print would read, “open frac 1 over 2 close frac.” with the BrailleNote Touch, this has been fixed. All symbols are displayed correctly. You can either type in the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science (1972 revision,) or in the Unified English Braille standard. You can even create graphs on the unit. When creating graphs though, you cannot view them in braille as a standard graph. The braille display can attempt to show you what it may look like, but it is only one line. Of course, you can print the graphs. You can write math from “Keyword,” and import it into your document. From here, you can turn in an assignment to your teacher, just like any other student.
Optical Character Recognition
The BrailleNote Touch ships with an app called KNFB Reader, now called One-Step reader. This app is available on iOS and android. Use the touch’s camera to read documents. Keep in mind that, the touch is quite heavy and slightly larger. Upon our testing, it did well reading the document, but we had to hold on tight to the unit in order to recognize the document, or it was going to fall over.
Reading Books
Easy Reader is an app on the Touch made by Dolphin Computer Access that allows you to read and download books from select libraries. Of course, since you have access to the Play Store, you can download other apps like Go-Read, that is used to download Bookshare Books, which is a library in the United States that has a large collection of accessible books for the blind and low vision.
Coding
As of 2022, HumanWare has launched a software update for the unit that brings you a coding app called “KeyCode.” Use this application to code using the Python programming language. You can then run the code on a Micro:Bit, connected through USB. This could be bbeneficial for classes in school that use Python to code. Keep in mind, only Python is supported at this time.
Updates
Speaking of software updates, this BrailleNote Touch can receive online updates, if you have Wi-Fi connected. However, as of right now, only KeySoft updates are supported. HumanWare has claimed that, “Android is updateable as well, and we will now be able to update the operating system each year with this new technology.” This has yet to be seen. The Android version this notetaker runs is Android 8.1 Oreo. Now, we are currently on Android 13 on mainstream devices.
TalkBack
TalkBack is the screen reader that comes on all android smartphones and tablets. this screen reader can be activated through the Accessibility settings from the main settings category. This being said, the BrailleNote Touch also, has TalkBack on it. this means you can disable the KeySoft overlay, and you can essentially run this device like a mainstream tablet. HumanWare claims on their manual that, “It is not recommended you disable KeySoft.” This could work for younger students, but for people that know what they’re doing, you can run this unit as if it were a mainstream tablet.
Pro’s and Cons
Now that we have looked at this device in more detail, let’s take a look at the pro’s and cons when purchasing this device.
Pro’s
- Android tablet, which will allow you to run apps from Google Play
- able to write math and turn in assignments properly to the math teachers
- accessible KeySoft overlay that all BrailleNote users are comfortable with on prior models
- built-in braille display and touch screen with a visual display for maximum productivity
- touch braille feature to still use a touchscreen as if it were a physical keyboard
Cons
- Android system is now outdated and has not been updated
- some of its apps are not up to date
- Must have a google account to even use this device
- slightly heavy to use for things like scanning documents
- functionality to format documents is not supported in KeyWord such as fonts
- can create graphs in the KeyMath applications, but cannot read or listen to them properly
- lags when typing on both keyboard layouts when using the text-to-speech voice, similarly to the issue on Brailliant devices
Rating and final Thoughts
If you have made it this ffar, you are now ready to finish this lengthy review. If you “skimmed” this review, we recommend you read it in depth prior to reading this rating and why. that being said, let’s give you the rating and final thoughts! We are giving this unit, a 2 out of 5! This is actually the first unit we have given this rating in the history of Screenless Allies Atechability reviews, and here is why. The first and foremost reason is, you NEED a Google account to even use this device. HumanWare targets this device to all blind or low vision audience, but there could be seniors that do not know much about computers, but would like something like this, either because their previous BrailleNote models no longer work, or they want something that is semi-familiar to them. Some seniors do NOT want to learn something that requires account creation, or something similar. I tried exitting the start-up wizzard that the device starts you up with when setting up for the first time, but I could not go anywhere but the options menu. Apart from that, Android is not up to date on this device, and it seems HumanWare has only been concentrating on working with what they have, hence only launching KeySoft updates on the current 8.1 Oreo version. they have claimed that Android is updateable on the Touch in the past, but we have not seen this come to reality yet. In fact, the first generation model had Android 4.4 KitKat. To be able to use a newer Android version, HumanWare released the BrailleNote touch Plus, the device we are currently reviewing in order to have a more modern Android version. Now, we have passed Android 8.1 Oreo, and are at Android 13, 14 coming soon as of 2023. The question for HumanWare is, are we expecting another model of the BrailleNote Touch with Android 13 or 14 on it, and pay ANOTHER, $5700 to obtain it? We mentioned that the Play Store was available on this device, along with TalkBack. You can essentially download apps onto an Android Tablet such as Google Docs, some printer apps to interface with braille and standard printers, and even Google Classroom! All these applications are accessible on a standard Android, iOS or PC. Connect a braille display to these things, and you have a FULL workstation. Not only that, but a lot of these devices are cheaper to purchase. “But Jose, the BrailleNote Touch can do Math!” Yes, that does save it in that perspective, because you can do equations and graphs. HOWEVER, what would have been nice, was for HumanWare to release a stand-alone application for either iOS and Android, or a PC to be able to get all these done. You can do some of this functionality using a site called Desmos, but it does require slightly more work.
What Could be Improved
The best suggestion for HumanWare from a blind user’s point of view is to ask the question, “What can a BrailleNote do, that NO OTHER mainstream device can’t?” If there’s no answer, then let’s ask, “what can we do to improve the mainstream devices we already have?” A good example is to make that stand-alone math application. Statistically speaking, the only students that use these BrailleNotes are schools for the blind, since there most likely is a contract with HumanWare to put these in the classroom. Most school districts use laptops and iPads for their students, along with one of their braille display such as the Mantis or Brailliant. It’s been said in interviews that their product managers go to schools and watch students in order to research what to put into upcoming products. The company should NOT only check out students’ classrooms, if they want to target these at work places as well. I have yet to see a work place that allows someone to use a BrailleNote Touch, or any notetaker for that matter, as a FULL-TIME device. It is now the year 2023, and companies still are trying to market a notetaker that was quite popular in the days before mainstream technology became VERY accessible. It is time for these manufacturers to concentrate on one goal. “Let’s make already used mainstream technology even BETTER, for someone who is blind or low vision.” A good example is HumanWare’s new Braille displays that have ONLY the basic features like notepads and calculators, but are optimized for use with a computer for the advanced users. HumanWare and all other assistive technology companies, it is time to jump onto the mainstream band wagon and make that more accessible, rather than making expensive “alternatives.” We sincerely hope you have gotten valuable information from this review. You can always contact us if you have any questions. Happy Note taking!