Blind Bargains: Deals & News for the Blind & Visually Impaired

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We mentioned the Talks interview from BlindMind earlier, but it's worth a mention for the website as a whole as well. With a keen focus on mobile technology but also exploring other areas, BlindMind is another new entry in the world of blogs and websites concerning assistive technology. We are especially fond of sites with timely and original content, and this one has impressed us quite a bit so far. We believe that increasing the amount of quality media outlets will only help the industry as a whole in bringing increased awareness, integrity, and accountability to the companies that serve us.

GW Micro has released a public beta of version 7.2 of the Window-Eyes screen reader. Among the list of changes is support for Microsoft Office 2010, months before its official release. Also included are several speed enhancements for speech users which let users hear spoken text and elements faster when typing or arrowing around the screen. Many other enhancements and bug fixes are also included. Check the link on this post for the ReadMe. It's free for users of Window-Eyes 7.0 or greater.

We're trying to figure out what exactly Taskmaster, an upcoming product from Handy Tech in Germany, actually is. The description from the Site City program states: "Taskmaster is the windows task bar for the Braille display. Tasks can be activated easily via cursor routing and with ATC, they can be read out by touching them." So is this a new firmware version for existing displays or a new display entirely? And will existing users of HandyTech displays be able to try this thing out? HandyTech won't be at CSUN, but we'll try to find out more in the coming weeks.

Earlier, we reported on the upcoming VoiceSense QWERTY, a new notetaker from Hims with an LCD display, compass, and other functionality. Now, this translated program from the upcoming Site City exibition in Germany reveals another notetaker from Hims, an 18-cell model with similar features. We would guess the model H318B as it will be known internationally, would feature a Perkins-style braille keyboard. We're not sure if this one will show up at CSUN or if it will be imported to the states, but we have little reason to doubt that GW Micro would not add this to their Sense notetaker series in the near future.

Talks, one of the leading mobile phone screenreaders will soon be releasing version 5.0 with support for a host of new devices. In a recent podcast found on BlindMind.net we heard a 40 minute interview discussing some of the new features being offered in the upcoming release. Check out the interview for yourself by navigating to the blog and please let us know what you think by leaving a comment.

Are the olympus line of digital audio recorders really accessible? In a recent podcast, done by some wonderful folks in Australia, we find out about the accessibility features built in to the Olympus DM420 and DM520 respectively. These small and sleek digital recorders feature enhanced voice guidance and superior recording quality along with extended battery capabilities and increased built in memory capacity. Please navigate to the link above and have a listen to the demonstration featuring accessibility and let us know what you think.

There's more from that juicy advertising program from CSUN. Here's another mention from Hims: The SenseView DESKTOP D650 is a new desktop CCTV with the clear image and a variety of color modes. You can move up & down and tilt the monitor easily as you want. This would likely be the successor to the current D600 model.

According to the advertising section of the CSUN program, Hims will be debuting the Voice Sense QWERTY, a new addition to their notetaker line, at the conference. It features a GPS sensor, digital compass, and LCD display and we assume plenty more features than that. We'll again report more as we learn about it.

According to an advertisement in the upcoming CSUN conference program, Hims is planning to debut a new version of the BookSense, the BookSense DS, featuring a screen which visually displays text. We have no official word from GW Micro currently, but a reception for new products has been announced for March 24. We'll post more information as we find it.

Buy.com has the Aliph Jawbone II Bluetooth headset for $48.99. With free shipping, that's $11 off our last mention and the lowest price we've seen. This slim high-quality headset has received some of the best reviews for noise cancelation. It also charges completely in under an hour and runs for up to 8 days in stand-by mode.

The DAISY Consortium has posted the conference program and menus for the upcoming CSUN conference in both both DAISY format and a downloadable HTML archive. Complete session information, exhibitor lists, and much more useful information is available.

MeritLine.com has a USB Sound Adapter for $3.99. With free shipping, we couldn't find it for less elsewhere. They usually cost about twice this amount. This device is about the size of a flash drive and will be recognized as a sound card by Windows. No driver is required for Windows XP, Vista, or 7. It includes volume and mute buttons as well as microphone and headphone jacks. It's a great way to add an additional basic sound card to your computer. We've tested these ourselves and are quite satisfied with the results.

Amazon.com has the Nokia X6 Unlocked GSM Cell Phone with a 5 Megapixel Camera, a capacitive touchscreen, and 16 GB Memory in black for $349.99. With free shipping, we couldn't find this newly-released phone for less. It is supported by Mobile Speak and Mobile Magnifier version 4 and also includes 3G support, Wi-fi, and up to 9.5 hours of talk time. The 5 megapixel camera includes Carl Zeiss optics and has similar specifications to other phones supported by the KNFB Reader Mobile, though no news about this particular model has been forthcoming as of yet.

Marlin P. Jones and Associates still has a Talking Digital Multimeter for $39.95. With about $8 for shipping, we couldn't find it for less elsewhere. It measures voltage and current and speaks the results. Three AA batteries are required.

Most people would argue the time machine has not yet been invented and offer plenty of arguments to back up that claim. While they may be correct in a physical sense, one need only look at some of the assistive technology companies and their system of sales territories to find plenty of examples of philosophies that should be left in the past. We contend that companies that still rely on territories to protect their dealers in 2010 are engaged in a backwards and outdated line of thinking. Read more

Overstock.com has 25 feet of CAT6 Grey Ethernet Cable for $4.49. With a buck for shipping, it's one of the better deals we've seen for this quality of network cable. Cat6 cable will allow you to transfer files at closer to 1 gigabit in speed, compared with CAT5 which is 100Mb cable.

Envision America will soon release a smaller and faster version of the I.D. Mate. Called the I.D. Mate Summit, it retails for about the same price as its prior models and includes a 2GB memory card. Other functions such as inventory management and voice tags are still included. BlindMiceMart.com is taking preorders for this unit for $1,199.99. With free shipping, that's $100 off retail. Expected release is the first part of April.

Another chapter in the patent lawsuit between Freedom Scientific and GW Micro was concluded last December when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected Freedom Scientific's appeal of the original ruling which would, in essence, wipe out the place marker patent. Freedom Scientific is allowed another appeal of the ruling, and filed this appeal in February. We have provided links to the October appeal and the resulting decision handed down in accessible plain text,. Read more

The Independent Living Aids online store has the Snapfon (TM) ez ONE Unlocked GSM Cell Phone for $99.95. This phone is small enough to fit in a pocket and it has large print and bright easy to see buttons, making it simple to use. The phone displays numbers in a 28-point font and it has a speaking key pad for easy dialing. The phone includes an S.O.S feature. If there's an emergency, a five second press of the button will send out an alert and consecutively call 4 programmable numbers until you receive a response as well as calling your local emergency response center when the S.O.S. button is first activated. Other features of the phone include a high-intensity, LED flashlight that works up to 20 feet, 3-5 hour talk time, a Hi Fi headset, and a digital FM tuner. Note that sighted assistance is needed for setup and the phone requires a sim card for operation. It also works with pre-paid SIM card providers, so it will work without a contract. It is compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile, and other GSM providers in the USA. Shipping is free on all orders over $75.

A tentative settlement was reached in the trademark infringement case involving Freedom Scientific and Enhanced Vision, according to court documents obtained by Blind Bargains. The out-of-court settlement means the case will not go to trial. Last november, Freedom Scientific aledged that Enhanced Vision wrongfully used their name to profit from their business, for instance, by buying the Freedom Scientific keywords on advertising platforms and linking to the Enhanced Vision website. Enhanced Vision has also used Freedom Scientific in their metatags, which are often used by search engines. No further details are known about the settlement, and we will report when we learn more.

It's quite refreshing to see some quality posts from some of the new technology blogs on the scene. Access4 Us has impressed us with their series which gives an in-depth technology review on a product after spending a week with the device. This time, they spend a week with the newly-released Book Port Plus from APH. Check the link to read the review.

The American Printing House for the Blind has released the Book Port Plus, the successor to the Book Port digital audio book player. The player currently costs $299, although we have heard the price will go up in September. Orders must be called into 800-223-1839. The catalog number for the Book Port Plus is 1-07191-00. Orders outside the United States may be placed by calling 1-502-895-2405. Update: We have received official word that the $299 price is effective until further notice.

MeritLine.com has these portable folding scissors for $1.49. With free shipping, we weren't able to find a better deal on this item. The scissors are made out of stainless steel.

An EBay seller has listed a Viewplus Tiger Advantage braille embosser with an opening bid of $499. Or Buy It Now for $599. The embosser and power chord are included, and it powers on to a ready state. Auctino ends March 11 if not sold sooner.

MeritLine.com has a 1800mAh external battery pack for the IPhone and IPod touch for $9.99. With free shipping, we weren't able to find a better deal on this item.

Humanware is now selling an accessory which will allow users to play and rip CD's on the Victor Stream. The new accessory connects via the unit's USB report and costs $125 for existing users. New customers can buy the stream with the drive for $449 plus shipping. According to the company, plugging in other external drives is not an option, as the stream may get destroyed in the process. By contrast, the Plextalk Pocket rips CD's with no limitation on the type of player, while the Booksense supports playing CD media, but not ripping.

The AirZooka ain't got nothing on this. A.B. Johnson via Amazon.com has the MegaZooka for $24.95 plus about $5 for shipping. It shoots air farther and has two shooting modes, including a semi-automatic capability. Let the battle begin.

A meeting has been scheduled for current and perspective users of the KNFB Reader mobile to discuss tips and tricks as well as to answer questions about the software. Representatives from the company and some of its distributors will be on hand, and the meeting can be accessed via phone or online. Check the link on this post for details.

Freedom Scientific has made another major cut on the price of one of their braille displays. This time, they've sliced the price of the Focus 40 Blue to $2,795, a $1,700 savings. It now ranks as the cheapest 40-cell bluetooth display and near the price of the cheapest 40-cell display period. FS did a similar drastic price cut with the Pac Mate displays a few years back.

We wish we knew more, but we are stuck with a one-line teaser about more device support for the Sendero GPS software package. Sendero will debut their software for two new platforms at CSUN in Sandiego, according to this company post on the GPS-Talkusers mailing list. We're not sure if this message refers to an upgraded platform like the Braillenote Apex or something entirely new like support for Symbian phones or the iPhone. Nevertheless, we'll report more as we learn about it.

The National Library Service (NLS) digital talking book player, the free alternative to such players as Humanware’s Victor Reader Stream and GW Micro’s Book Sense offers a free update to its firmware. Libraries and patrons can upgrade players to the latest software in the following manner: 1. Obtain the latest software from the NLS web site. 2. Extract (unzip) this file onto a cartridge or USB drive so that the directory “upgrade” appears in the “root” directory of the drive. 3. Turn on the player. 4. Insert the cartridge or USB drive containing the software. 5. The player will announce “Upgrading your player’s software.” 6. Wait until the upgrade is complete and the player restarts (about 10 seconds), then remove the cartridge. 7. The upgrade will only occur if the player’s version is older than the version of the software on the cartridge; reinserting the cartridge will not repeat the upgrade. To access the latest player firmware, version 2.1.3 (November 25, 2009) click the link on this post. Don't forget to check the site for future updates.

Amazon.com offers 100 MP3 albums for $5 each. Normally, 50 albums are offered. These are delivered as a digital MP3 download. This month’s selection includes Paramore, Coldplay, Lil Wayne, and many more.

Auntie Arwen's Spice Blends sells a wide variety of spices, rubs, seasonings, and many more items to make your food taste better. They also offer teas, coffees, chocolate, and other miscellaneous items. The site will ask if you want braille labels on your order during checkout, although we wish they advertised this service more throughout their site.

Another Captcha solving solution exists for Firefox users. Webvisum.com offers visually impaired users the chance to solve captchas without sighted assistance. According to the website, some of the features are • Community driven tagging and page enhancements. • Automated and instant CAPTCHA image solving, sign up to web sites and make forum posts and blog comments without asking for help! • Built in helper functions for easier page navigation and less confusion. • Numerous under the hood page tweaks designed to help screen reader users. • Visually Impaired users benefit from features such as high contrast page viewing, link and focus highlighting, and more. The service is available in English, German, Russian, Italian, Slovak, Bulgarian, Dutch, Croatian, Romanian, Portuguese, Turkish and Spanish. To use the service, you have to have an invitation, which can be gained in two ways: Request an invitation on the website by providing your name, email address, and a comment so you can prove that a human is making the request. The other way to gain an invite is to ask your friends who use the service already to email an invite code to you. Next, create an account, which requires the invitation code to be entered. Then install the add on in Firefox. The service is relatively easy to use. Note that there is a limit to how many captchas can be solved a day because spammers have discovered the service.

Walmart has the DreamGear i.Sound 2X Power Portable Speaker System, in black, for $7.77 + 97 cent shipping. Opt for free shipping with the site to store option. These speakers feature a foldable design just right for easy travel. It is Compatible with all iPod models, PSP’s, laptops, mp3 players or any other device with a standard 3.5 mm headphone output jack. It has a custom Ipod docking station but also supports newer models like the Ipod touch, which doesn’t fit in the docking station but still works great. Custom adapters are included for the Ipod video and Nano. The speakers are powered with 4 AAA batteries, which aren’t included, or the supplied AC adapter.

For the proud pooch owner and the guide dog user, Dogpoopbags.com offers an alternative to the pooper scooper and trying to avoid stepping in the mess left on the sidewalk. This website provides the opportunity to purchase black EZ tie and rolled dog waste bags. Bag count starts at 100 but quantities vary depending on how many bags are needed. All US orders are shipped via UPS or USPS the same day or at the latest, the next day they are received. The amount of shipping depends on the order. Ordering seems simple enough and the company seems to respond promptly to email. Note that these bags are bio-friendly.

With all of the technology blogs which just reprint press releases without comment, it's refreshing to see a new voice adding their opinion. Corry Ballard has launched Access4 Us, a new blog focusing on assistive technology and product reviews. In his "A Week With" feature he plans to spend an entire week trying out a piece of assistive technology and then writing a review on his findings. Ballard is an adaptive technology specialist for the Badger Association, a Wisconsin nonprofit. We wish him success with his new project.

Here's a few remaining notes from this year's ATIA coverage which weren't covered elsewhere. First, according to Freedom Scientific's Jonathan Mosen, development is continuing on the Pac Mate Omni, despite rumors to the contrary. A new major update is forecast for the coming months, though little detail was given on functionality. Serotek launched a Hotspot version of their Accessible Event service. Where we see use in this is in a presentation which includes Powerpoints or other media. Users with a computer could log on to the appliance, essentially a souped up router, and follow along on the Powerpoint right along with the presenter. It's potentially groundbreaking for businesses. Duxbury will have a major update to their popular braille translator this summer. Included are support for newer Microsoft Office documents including Excel as well as new options for printing tables. I love the idea of being able to print a table in its original form, even if it would stretch across multiple braille pages. KNFB Reading Technology had a prototype for a portable stand for the KNFB Reader. No decision has been made on future plans for this stand though the company is actively soliciting feedback.

Dolphin has released a free major update to their Hal screen reader and Supernova screen reading and magnification products. Among the new features in this release is the inclusion of quick navigational keys, enhanced spell checker support, and improved hotkey announcements in Microsoft Word. Support for other Office applications is also enhanced. Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit are also officially supported in this release. It's a free update for all 11.X users.

Humanware has released version 3.1 for their Victor Stream audio book player. This new version adds support for nested folders within the DAISY bookshelf, support for the spanish electronic braile format, and it is now possible to copy DAISY books from USB flash media to the stream. Note that the promised support for books in the EPUB format is not in this release. Version 3.1 is a free update for existing Victor Stream customers.

According to the session directory in the CSUN 2010 program, the Plextalk Pocket will soon take advantage of its built-in wireless capabilities, making it the first player in its class and price range to do so. According to the session summary, "The PLEXTALK Pocket offers wireless Internet access to download digital books, magazines newspapers, and pod-casts." Hiromitsu Fujimori will present the session at the CSUN conference this march in San Diego. We'll post more information as it becomes available.

APH is presenting two workshops in San Diego in the days leading up to the CSUN conference. Among these is a half-day presentation on how to use and operate the new Book Port Plus. Available on both Monday and Tuesday, the seminars will be held at the nearby Braille Institute offices in San Diego. As for the release of the player, the announcement states, "Please bring your Braille+ and/or Book Port Plus with you if you have one." This indicates to us the unit will be available before this time.

Code Factory has announced the official release of Mobile Geo 2.0, the upgrade to their GPS product for Windows Mobile phones. This version includes faster route calculation, better distance calculations, improved entering of addresses, and searches by ZIP code among other features. The latest maps found in other Sendero GPS products from 2009 are also included. Learn more from the press release from Code Factory.

This certainly isn't the first article we've seen detailing ways to make some extra money, but this list is a nice compendium of some of the things you could do to bring in some extra dough. And most of these are very feasible options as a blind person. Check out the article for the 24 ideas. Via Coupon SHerpa

In recent months, more and more users have posted comments on the deals and articles we post. We've now added a simple way to keep up with these comments, through a new RSS feed. See what others are saying on the latest deals and news items, or watch for replies to comments you've posted. The comments feed uses RSS a simple way to keep up with websites and blogs. Our comments feed is at http://www.blindbargains.com/rss/comments.xml

ThinkGeek.com has the Airzooka Air Gun for $9.99. Plus, shipping adds about $5. What makes this gun cool is that you'll never run out of amunition, unless there's a shortage of air where you live. It's the perfect way to liven up your office or home.

Amazon.com has the ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005PE-PU17-BU 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook featuring Up to 14 Hours of Battery Life for $366.16. Plus, shipping is free. This recently-released netbook features the next generation Intel Atom N450 processor, which consumes less power and runs at 1.66GHz. It also includes a 250GB hard drive, 1GB of memory, 802.11N wireless connectivity, and Windows 7 Starter. A one year warranty is included, but we recommend an extended warranty from SquareTrade, available near the bottom of the page. They're a highly-rated and well-respected warranty company. In addition, they now offer warranties with accidental damage protection for a bit more.

We've seen a few websites offer a way to search recipes by ingredient, but none as simple and intuitive as SuperCook. Start by typing in just the name of one ingredient, perhaps something you're trying to use up before it goes bad. Then, you will be presented with a list of other ingredients that you can add. For instance, I search for spinach and then it asked me if I had eggs, milk, cheese, and other staples. As I selected the link for each ingredient, the site updated the list of possible recipes I could make. It will show both recipes that can be made with the ingredients on hand, but also recipes that require only one or two other ingredients. You can click on an existing ingredient to limit your search to recipes which must include that item. It uses multiple recipe sites as sources, so there are plenty of options to choose from. The site is largely accessible, though some refreshing of your screen reader's browser buffer may be required after adding new ingredients.

Code Factory has released version 4.01 of their Mobile Speak aplication for symbian phones. This maintenance update adds support for the Nokia x6 and 6700 slide, support for the web browser on touch-screen devices, and more. This is a free upgrade to existing users of Mobile Speak 4.