Can PM Braille Display Be Used With Off-the-Shelf PDA?

Tue Mar 11 00:59:35 CDT 2008

Hi, Rajiv. 
	Nice to see you. You say
In your message, you write:
> The main issues preventing this are that most mobile devices don't have
USB host ports, but only USB clients (indeed, I can think of only one device
among the hundreds of PDAs that has a host port).

Would that one device be the PacMate?

	No, I wasn't thinking of the Pacmate there. I should have made
clearer that I was thinking of only mainstream PDAs. The Pacmate,
Braillenote, Icon, and possibly the BrailleCents all have USB host, I
believe but, as I said, I wasn't thinking of specialized devices. The one
mainstream device I know of which has USB host is the Toshiba E805, though
it may require some sort of extra hardware. That is, when I was doing
research on this a few months ago, I read some things about needing a
"feature pack" to get USB host on an E805. There are probably a few other
machines with those ports, but they're vastly outnumbered by the units which
don't have USB host and, as a result, drivers for PDA/Phone operating
systems are few and far between. Indeed, the only things that work reliably
across different products are devices with more or less generic drivers like
keyboards and USB mass storage devices. Again, there are a few compact flash
and other cards with USB host ports but, even if you had a USB host port
bolted on, such ports wouldn't be of much use given the aforementioned
driver issues. Add on the power required to drive a braille display from the
USB port and, as I said, I would be most surprised if wired braille displays
became usable on many PDAs, and absolutely shocked if wired braille displays
that drew their power from the USB port ever became really usable.
	HTH.
	Aman

-----Original Message-----
From: blindphones-bounces at mosenexplosion.com
[mailto:blindphones-bounces at mosenexplosion.com] On Behalf Of Rajiv Shah
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 8:16 PM
To: 'The Accessible Phones Discussion List'
Subject: RE: Can PM Braille Display Be Used With Off-the-Shelf PDA?

Hi Aman,

In your message, you write:
> The main issues preventing this are that most mobile devices don't have
USB host ports, but only USB clients (indeed, I can think of only one device
among the hundreds of PDAs that has a host port).

Would that one device be the PacMate?

Rajiv

-----Original Message-----
From: blindphones-bounces at mosenexplosion.com
[mailto:blindphones-bounces at mosenexplosion.com] On Behalf Of Aman Singer
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 5:47 PM
To: 'The Accessible Phones Discussion List'
Subject: RE: Can PM Braille Display Be Used With Off-the-Shelf PDA?

Hi, David.
	I appreciate your confirmation that the Pacmate display will work on
the Mac. I did say that it would work on a PC, rather than a Windows system
or some other designation which would eliminate the Mac,  because I knew
that Leopard had incorporated support for braille displays, though I wasn't
sure whether the PM display was among them. In any case, thanks for the
confirmation.
	As for whether the Pacmate display will ever work with a mainstream
PDA or phone, I hope you're right in not being surprised as its happening,
but I should say that I would be absolutely stunned if the Pacmate display
were ever made to work with any current mobile  device. The main issues
preventing this are that most mobile devices don't have USB host ports, but
only USB clients (indeed, I can think of only one device among the hundreds
of PDAs that has a host port). Again, the Pacmate display, and any other
display which powers itself from the USB port, would be a tremendous drain
on a PDA's batteries. Even Bluetooth transmission is quite a drain, and the
power required to work an actual display for any length of time would
probably bring the batteries down with great speed.
	HTH.
	Aman

-----Original Message-----
From: blindphones-bounces at mosenexplosion.com
[mailto:blindphones-bounces at mosenexplosion.com] On Behalf Of David Poehlman
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 3:24 PM
To: The Accessible Phones Discussion List
Subject: Re: Can PM Braille Display Be Used With Off-the-Shelf PDA?

Actually, if you buy a packmate with a detachable braille display, that 
display will work on the Mac.  It doesn't work on any other pdas that I know

of but it has the potential to do so and I wouldn't be surprised if talks or

mss encorporate it in the future.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Aman Singer" <aman.singer at gmail.com>
To: "'The Accessible Phones Discussion List'" 
<blindphones at mosenexplosion.com>
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 5:00 PM
Subject: RE: Can PM Braille Display Be Used With Off-the-Shelf PDA?

Hi.
You ask
In case I choose to buy a PAC Mate now and then to experiment with an
off-the-shelf smartphone or PDA later on: Can I detach the PAC Mate's
Braille display and connect this to a Treo, Motorola Q, iPaq, etc.,
via some kind of Blue Tooth or USB connection when I feel like it?

I'm afraid there's a one word answer to this one and that answer is
no. The pacmate braille display will not, to the best of my knowledge,
connect to anything other than a Pacmate and a PC.
You ask
  Or
am I better off choosing something that is solely a Braille display
(such as BrailleConnect or  BrailleStar) for integrating with an
off-the-shelf device later on?

If you want to integrate with a mobile device at any point other
than one for the blind, you'll have to get a display that has bluetooth
connectivity. There are many displays besides the ones you mention, though
the ones you mention will work well.
HTH.
Aman
  --
From: blindphones-bounces at mosenexplosion.com
[mailto:blindphones-bounces at mosenexplosion.com] On Behalf Of Kane Brolin
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 2:39 PM
To: Accessible Phones Discussion List
Cc: pmlist at pacmategear.com
Subject: Can PM Braille Display Be Used With Off-the-Shelf PDA?

Hello.  This is my first official inquiry into anything PAC Mate related.

I'm just about to upgrade from a Braille 'n Speak 2000 to a truly
21st-century PDA that actually has wireless connectivity built in.
The trouble is, I don't know exactly what I want, being torn between
the PAC Mate and an alternative option that would incorporate an
off-the-shelf PDA (such as Treo or VX6800) with MobileSpeak and phone
capability.  Eventually, I might choose to own both options for a time
so I can find out first-hand which I like best.

The PAC Mate, obviously, is more of a known factor, and I like the
fact that the Omni apparently comes with a detachable 40-cell Braille
display that may be used with a PC as well.

In case I choose to buy a PAC Mate now and then to experiment with an
off-the-shelf smartphone or PDA later on: Can I detach the PAC Mate's
Braille display and connect this to a Treo, Motorola Q, iPaq, etc.,
via some kind of Blue Tooth or USB connection when I feel like it?  Or
am I better off choosing something that is solely a Braille display
(such as BrailleConnect or  BrailleStar) for integrating with an
off-the-shelf device later on?

Just trying to get some opinions and to make a choice that leaves me
as much future flexibility as possible.  Thanks!

-Kane

You received this message because you subscribed to the Accessible Phones
Discussion List.

If you don't want to receive messages from this list anymore, just send a
blank e-mail to:
blindphones-unsubscribe at mosenexplosion.com

You received this message because you subscribed to the Accessible Phones 
Discussion List.

If you don't want to receive messages from this list anymore, just send a 
blank e-mail to:
blindphones-unsubscribe at mosenexplosion.com

You received this message because you subscribed to the Accessible Phones
Discussion List.

If you don't want to receive messages from this list anymore, just send a
blank e-mail to:
blindphones-unsubscribe at mosenexplosion.com

You received this message because you subscribed to the Accessible Phones
Discussion List.

If you don't want to receive messages from this list anymore, just send a
blank e-mail to:
blindphones-unsubscribe at mosenexplosion.com

You received this message because you subscribed to the Accessible Phones
Discussion List.

If you don't want to receive messages from this list anymore, just send a
blank e-mail to:
blindphones-unsubscribe at mosenexplosion.com