All Deals

Independentliving.com has their EZ 3-In-1 Talking Timer for $6.85. With about $5 for shipping, that's $3 off list and the lowest price we could find. It features six alarm sounds and announces the time regularly as it counts down from up to 24 hours. Deal ends March 20.

Dolphin reminds us that there are more screen access programs that are worthy of our attention. Version 9 of all of their reading and magnification products, such as HAL and Supernova, has been officially released. It boasts better Internet navigation, simplified browsing of page elements in Word and Excel, and the introduction of online quick keys. Thanks to the Ranger Station for the press release.

An EBay seller has listed a Voice Note MPower QT notetaker/PDA with a current bid of $450. With $25 for shipping, that's about a quarter of the price of a new unit. It's running Keysoft 7.0 which is only two versions off the current 7.5 and comes with all cables and standard accessories. The QT has a QWERTY keyboard and is ideal for those who want a notetaker but don't need a braille display. Auction ends March 16.

For the second consecutive year, Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind, a Michigan-based nonprofit providing outdoor recreational programs for blind youth, and Leader Dogs for the Blind are teaming up to give away several Trekker GPS units. Applicants, who must be between 16-19, must submit an application including an essay and, if selected, attend a Trekker Camp where they will learn to utilize their new device. The deadline is March 31.

GW Micro has released version 5.0 of their Braille Sense notetaker. this free update upgrades the operating system to Windows CE 5.0, adds support for the SenseNav GPS application, and includes numerous other enhancements and bug fixes.

If you're going to get a Braille Sense Plus and want to expand on its already large amount of memory, try this PQI 4GB secure digital high-capacity memory card for $16.99 with free shipping from MeritLine.com. It also works in the Victor Reader Stream and many other devices.

Speculation has run wild ever since the release of a GPS product for GW Micro's Voice Sense that a similar offering may soon be available for the Braille Sense. Now, this and much more is available with the pending release of the Braille Sense Plus. This 2 pound notetaker includes a large 8GB of built-in memory, built in wireless and Bluetooth capabilities, and a software upgrade which allows for the use of the SenseNav GPS software. The intro price is $5,995.00 and GW Micro expects to start shipping the unit in May.

Serotek, who perhaps produces the screen access program with the most frequent updates, is back at it again with version 2.4 of System Access and System Access to Go. The latest release allows for magnification up to 6X the original size, which can be adjusted in .25x increments. Also, many of the media content features found in the Victor Reader Stream will now also be coming to LevelStar's Icon. This will happen once a firmware update for the Icon is released. Many of these features are available both on System Access and the free online System Access to Go product.

We have staff on the scene at the CSUN conference in Los Angeles and have just learned of the first major announcement of the week, Humanware's Trekker Breeze. The breeze weighs less than a pound and includes a built-in GPS receiver. The possible down-side, however, is the lack of point-to-point directions. So it basically serves as a tool for gaining information about your surroundings, which may be a tough sell compared with the many other GPS options available. That being said, for those looking for a simple solution without a lot of required setup, this may be the perfect product. Retail for the new unit is expected to be $895. It won't be released until at least the summer, and we'll post more as we find out. Note: The link has been updated with Humanware's press-release.

Buy.com has the Oregon Scientific Talking Blood Pressure Monitor for $38.99. Plus, shipping is free. It not only speak your blood pressure, it will also announce the pulse rate and the mean arterial pressure. A memory function is also included, though we are unsure how well that works with speech. It requires a single AAA battery to run.

Normally, we wouldn't mention a print book, but this one may be of some interest to those studying the assistive technology field. Assistive Technology for Visually Impaired and Blind People gets to the heart of what makes specialized technology work. It gives primarily an engineering background and is ideal for those looking to creat their own devices or systems and perhaps for students as well. It's a hefty $269, but Amazon.com gives 5 percent off for preordering the book now, which makes it $255.55, shipped free. No word yet on an EBook or other accessible formats.

For nearly two years, the Blind Bargains Auction Gateway has provided an easy way for people to find blindness-related items on EBay in dozens of categories. Today, we've extended this functionality to three additional EBay sites. The gateway's same useful features are now available for EBay Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. You can use links near the bottom of the page to change your country at any at any time. If you've never used the gateway before, it lets you search for items on EBay in categories ranging from braille printers to talking watches andcalculators.

As one might expect, the Ranger Station blog is starting to pile on CSUN coverage. Already, several press releases are posted, and we'd expect to see more as the week unfolds. Be sure to check out this great resource for CSUN news and commentary.

The highly anticipated update for the Victor Stream digital book player, version 1.2 has been released. The free update adds several enhancements to the music player, a built-in SD card format utility, support for NIMAS textbooks and content from the Serotek System Access Mobile Network, and several other improvements.

An EBay seller and Blind Bargains reader has listed a new-in-the-box Pac Mate Omni QX400 PDA/notetaker for a BuyItNow price of $1,000. With free shipping, that's roughly half the cost of a unit direct from Freedom Scientific. The Omni is the latest version of Freedom Scientific's line of accessible notetakers and includes a QWERTY keyboard. All cables and standard accessories are also included, according to the description. Listing ends March 18 if not sold sooner. Update: This item has now sold.

NVAccess, the nonprofit largely responsible for the development of the free NVDA screen reader, will be demonstrating their new speedier support for Firefox version 3 at CSUN. Two members of the development team are attending thanks to a grant from the Mozilla Foundation. Read the complete details by checking the link on this post.

GW Micro has released their schedule of events for the CSUN conference in Los Angeles. Sessions on March 13 and 14 include Window-Eyes scripting, the SenseNav GPS, the portable SenseView, among others. The announcement also hints at some new products and enhancements.

The CSUN pre-press has definitely started to roll. Freedom Scientific is giving a huge push to their low vision products including offering CSUN attendees a free MAGic version 11 trial that will work until August. Other sessions for the Pac-Mate Omni, magnification aids, and a happy hour are also announced in this press release. We're unsure if those not attending the conference can obtain the MAGic trial.

First it was Sendero GPS for the BrailleNote. Then, Sendero reached out to the Voice Sense by GW Micro and hinted of more GPS partnerships to come. Now, Code Factory will become the third technology company to bring Sendero's award-winning GPS products to a new device, this time to the Windows Mobile platform. More details about this and other Code Factory releases wil presumably be available during CSUN next week.

Future Forms still offers coupons good for discounts on braille paper by filling out an online form. At last check, this included a coupon good for $5 off your order, which would make many of their prices for a box of paper at the lowest price we could find.