Blind Bargains

#CSUNATC18 Audio: The BrailleSense Polaris Mini and More from Hims


HIMS announced a new 20-cell BrailleSense Polaris at CSUN and we anted to learn more about it and how it stacks up with its bigger sibling.
J.J. is joined by Damian Pickering, Vice President of Sales for HIMS in the United States and Jenny Axler of HIMS in Korea to learn more about the Polaris and other recent updates to their products.

Transcript

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Transcribed by Grecia Ramirez

Almost live from beautiful San Diego, it’s blindbargains.com coverage of CSUN 2018, featuring team coverage from across the Exhibit Hall and beyond, brought to you by the American Foundation for the Blind.
On the American Foundation for the Blind web site, you’ll find everything you need to know about blindness and visual impairment. Search our national job bank, discover the history of Helen Keller, read our blog on current issues, find professional resources, and even more. Our site is completely accessible. Check it out at www.afb.org.
Now, here’s J.J. Meddaugh.
J.J. MEDDAUGH: CSUN 2018, the Blind Bargains suite. It would not be a complete conference without talking to our good friends from Hims. We have Damian Pickering, vice president of sales; right? For Hims North America --
DAMIAN PICKERING: That’s right.
JM: Jenny Axler, all the way from Korea, working from the Korean office of Hims. And, I think she was trying to make up titles just a second ago here. Welcome, both, to the podcast.
DP: Hey, thanks.
JENNY AXLER: Great to be here.
JM: We have a new thing – we’ve already done a text post on this, but it’s more fun to do audio on this, the Polaris Mini.
DP: The mini me.
JA: Woohoo.
DP: The mini me.
JA: Yes. I totally wanted to name it that too.
DP: It’s here. Finally.
JA: That’s really funny.
JM: All right. One of you two, I guess, or both of you at the same time, in stereo – who wants to tell us a little bit about the Polaris Mini, which happens to have 20 cells, eh? It’s not 18.
JA: Yeah.
DP: It does. I’ll let you go, Jenny.
JA: Well, I personally love this model. I always love these mini models, and this one is -- to me, it just seems to bring the Polaris to the next level. I don’t know why. There’s just something that feels premium and great about it.
It’s a nice little rounded shape. When you hold it in your hand -- it’s really interesting. When you hold it in your hand compared to the U2 Mini. The U2 Mini’s smaller. But tactilely, if you close your eyes if you can see, or if you can’t, it actually – the bigger one actually feels a little bit smaller. The Polaris Mini is actually a little bit bigger, but it feels smaller just because of its, kind of, rounded body. It’s really nice to hold. It uses USBC, so we have nice, modern technology; micro HDMI; it does use a micro SD card, but all of the other specs are the same as the big Polaris. All the software is the same. So it’s basically just everything you love in the Polaris in a smaller package.
The OCR camera is really nicely positioned in the center, and with it being smaller, I think there’s a real advantage when you’re trying to use this one for OCR. I think it’s a little bit more intuitive than the bigger Polaris. But, like I said, it’s just everything that you love about Polaris a little bit more on the go.
JM: And a little bit lighter; right?
JA: Yes. Definitely. It’s a little bit lighter –
DP: Less than a pound.
JA: Yup. About 14 and a half ounces.
JM: What about the battery life?
JA: 12 hours.
JM: And does that compare pretty similarly to the regular – the bigger Polaris?
JA: The bigger Polaris has about 20 hours –
JM: Because there’s more room for a bigger battery. Of course.
JA: Yes. Yes. The old U2 Mini only had about, I don’t know, six to eight. And I’m not even sure if it got that, depending on what you were doing. So we did at least improve on it, as far as the mini model goes. So – yeah. It’s really great being able to charge through USBC though. Also makes it very easy to charge via an external battery pack. So even the 12 hours, if that doesn’t get you through the day, it’s pretty easy to, you know, just tack on a battery pack and keep –
JM: Yeah. You don’t need anything specialized, so you can get, say, those Anchor battery packs that’s, you know, 20, 30 dollars and then – USBC is being used on a lot of mainstream devices, so – definitely. Very easy to do that.
So of course, the Polaris and now, by extension, the Mini – been getting a lot of updates over the past few months. Tell us about some of the new features you’ve been adding.
JA: What have we been doing? Well –
DP: We lose track, because we’re living in Beta Land. So it’s like, well, wait. What was new? What’s –
JA: What did we do?
DP: -- new? We’ve definitely done some stuff with the math in our word processor. We’ve added the ability to insert the Nemeth symbols when you go to the help system and choose a category and browse down to find, say, the symbol for pi or a particular comparative symbol or currency symbol, if you didn’t remember.
JM: Oh good.
DP: It’ll show you the –
JM: Nobody remembers all codes.
DP: -- dot configuration, and then, you know, if you hit enter, it’ll insert it right into your document so, you know. Prior, we had that ability to search and remind yourself of the symbol, but adding that – you know, input thing – I mean, it was just the next logical step --
JM: Does that work for UEBC and Nemeth?
DP: -- so that’s there.
JA: Yeah. It does. Both.
JM: Okay. Those are the two big math codes, for those who might not be familiar with that.
JA: We also have some graphing stuff. It’s actually in the public build, but we call it in beta because we’re still developing it. But we are doing math graphing, and you’re able to do that. You’re able to adjust the size of – or the limitation of the X and Y axes by different amounts before you insert it into your document, so you can decide how detailed you want to be. If you just need a general, you know, graph, or if you want it really long or really short. So that’s kind of neat.
JM: And I’ve also noticed, over the past several months, that you’ve really focused a lot on stabilization, making things a little more snappy with – between the -- your apps and the Android apps, and just kind of making the whole experience –
DP: Yeah.
JM: -- flow a lot more.
DP: Yeah. That’s true. You know, it is fair to say that a lot of our efforts – I mean, we are known for doing our free updates and, you know, that when people invest in a Hims product, you know, we’re going to continue to enhance that for you for the life of the product. And we have an ambitious road map of things that we’re really excited about that Polaris is going to do, but we have been focusing a lot on stabilization and just getting it, like you say, a little more responsive, snappier. We’ve done a lot of work with the word processor so – you know.
I can say that this month, I did purchase my very own Polaris. So not just -- you know, people are like, well, why would you get one? You know, you have a, you know, demo product you can carry. Well, it’s – I really like to own my own notetaker. I am a notetaker user on a daily basis and, you know –
JM: Why are you a notetaker user on a daily basis?
DP: Why?
JM: Yeah.
DP: You know, that’s a fair question. But I just like the ease and the convenience, the instant access, the support – you know, kind of, the back-and-forth support of speech and braille. I know a lot of notetaker users turn speech off and just go with the braille, but I really like that combination, and having that all integrated into a package. And for me, you know, I do a lot of word processing, Email -- I mean, those are sort of, the core notetaker things. And of course, I want to be able to use the media player and DAISY reader and, you know, all those other things as well. But for the, you know, my work and my personal stuff, I’m really pounding that word processor quite a bit and Email.
So it’s -- we’ve come a really long way, and for people that have been, kind of, taking a wait-and-see approach, our friend, Dave Wilkinson, kind of used the analogy of, you know, Polaris was born last June and, you know, he’s growing up real fast, you know. Now, he’s a toddler. Well, I think we’ve, you know, had our first day of school and, you know, come home none the worse for wear, so things are looking really good.
JA: And now, he has a baby brother.
DP: Yeah. Now, he has a baby brother.
JM: Aww.
JA: Which I will purchase when it’s available. So yeah.
JM: And is it available now?
JA: It is – it will start shipping in May, and I already have my preorder in so –
JM: I see the preorder up there. Thirty-nine ninety-five.
JA: Yup.
JM: 200 dollars off at the moment.
JA: Yup. So it’ll retail for forty-one ninety-five. And interestingly enough, I’m a little bit different than Damian. Of course, I use the basic things like the word processor and Email, but I actually love the Android side, and I love not having to connect to another device – use a braille display for another device. I like the fact that it’s all integrated and that I can just go to YouTube and do a search. And I can combine braille and voice, and I can use my Okay Google or my – and apparently, you can too. Or my Alexa Voice Assistant. You know, you can use anything.
So as I was talking about earlier, OCR. I really like the mini model for OCR so -- that’s what’s great about, you know, these Android devices and the Polaris is that they’re so versatile, that, you know, they’re your workhorse, and they’re also your entertainment and your play toy and your accessibility tool. You know, you can get light detectors and money identifiers, you know, that all use the camera. There’s just so much that you can do, and there’s no end to what you can do with them.
JM: Now, I have to ask. You mentioned a road map, and I know you’re probably pretty much an internal affair, but since you put that out there, anything that you see on the horizon that’s exciting that you can share with us now or –
DP: That we can share with you?
JM: Everything. Come on.
DP: I mean, well, definitely, on the list is being able to create and edit Excel files. I mean, we have the Excel viewer, which is really handy. But that will be a -- eventually, a really nice companion to, like, what we’re doing directly with PowerPoints right now. That has come in really handy for me. You know, just to be able to open a PowerPoint, and I have instant access to the braille, and I’m navigating through and giving the presentation. But all the, you know, the pretty pictures and so forth are available, you know, for the sighted audience. So, I mean, that’s been really great.
JA: And it’s synchronized. As you go down the braille display, it’ll automatically just flash really quick, “Slide 2”, and it switches. And this is not through. We’re not talking about using Google Slides here.
JM: Uh-huh.
JA: This is directly in our word processor, with our interface. So there’s no touch screen access or limitation to having to find your place or do these things. There’s this –
JM: So can I hook it up to an external HDMI and do a presentation this way?
JA: You can. Yup.
DP: Uh-huh.
JA: And I’ve done it too. So yup. We both have.
DP: I know a big question we get is the exchange Email, so, I mean I think it’s – we can share that that is definitely on the road map without committing to a specific timeframe. But we’re really looking at that one.
JM: The tech users, of course, will ask about Android version now that you’re still on Lollipop 5, and 9 is coming out this summer, do you see yourself staying with 5 for the foreseeable future or –
DP: As -- you know, until we have a really compelling reason to move, I mean, we can, so it’s --
JM: I guess the –
DP: -- kind of a matter of –
JM: -- one that jumps out at me is, yeah. Some developers, they target a certain version on up. So mainstream apps, at some point, you know, they’re already saying, oh. We’re not going to support 4.4 anymore.
JA: Right.
JM: And 5 would probably be the next one.
JA: At some point, yes. Right now – and I don’t remember who it was, but one of our staff was just saying, you know, I just looked up a bunch of apps to try and find one that isn’t supported, and I didn’t. So, you know, that’s kind of – we’re not there yet. When we need to do this for security reasons or for, you know, when things aren’t supported anymore or whatever might be the reason, then, you know, we can do that when we need to, but we’re not going to update just to update for the sake of it. You know, of course, you have to port things, and it’s not an instant process, you know, to make this happen. It’s not like, you just, poof. Install it and you’re good. It does take some work to do that. But, you know, right now, we’re okay. Everything is supported that needs to be, and we’re not lacking anything or missing anything. But certainly as that becomes a necessity, we have that opportunity.
DP: On the road map, one of the discussions is always, U2 users are wondering why we don’t have some of our apps, like our Google Search or our Dropbox app or our Bookshare app that were so streamlined and user friendly, and are we going to do those things. So the answer is we’re considering all of them, but because there are third-party apps available on the Play Store, it really allows us to focus on other things, a combination of things that we have to do and priorities that, in order for Polaris to really, you know, be the professional and recreational tool that it is designed to be – I lost my train of thought there.
JA: We have to focus on things that are not already available or are really not easily accessible somewhere else, that are, you know, more difficult so –
JM: Sure. Not re-inventing the wheel, essentially.
JA: Right. Right.
JM: Yup.
JA: So these things are available. So it’s not that we won’t ever do it, but because you can already use the other apps to do this, you know, Android apps. And you may not want to use the same Twitter app, you know? You may want to use something different. There’s so many options, so –
JM: And that was one of the limitations before, sometimes. Okay. You might have the Twitter app on the U2, but then you would look at a mainstream one – oh, my gosh. It does lists, and it does, you know, favorites. All these things –
JA: Right.
JM: -- and having to add every single one of these new features, you know, when Twitter adds it to their system –
DP: Right.
JA: Yeah. Or –
JM: -- it becomes very time-consuming.
JA: -- when Twitter or Dropbox change their interface, then, you know, it’s also a problem for us. Or even Dropbox, you know, we were limited in that we couldn’t play directly from the Dropbox app, you know, play files or open them. So now, you can do that on the Android app. So there are advantages to using the mainstream apps too. And it’s not that we may not bring them into the, you know, into our interface at some point. But we want to make sure and focus on the things that you really can’t do or are really more difficult or for sure, our foundation. You know, we’re always going to focus on putting things like the file manager, word processor, Email – you know, these are main functions, so they’re always going to be ours. Even though you can use Gmail for Android, you can use various things. But we’re always going to make these our own. And so they are our first priority to stabilize and also enhance.
JM: Let’s switch gears a little bit, because some other developments have happened recently. If you want to get a HandyTech braille display, you are now the ones to call, at least here in the U.S. or everywhere or –
DP: North America.
JM: North America.
DP: So U.S., Canada, for sure. Yeah. And that, you know, it was kind of a – wasn’t literally a package deal but might as well have been. We’ve hired a number of new staff since December, so a lot of big things going on, but Earl Harrison is one of the latest additions to our team, and he had been the national distributor for HandyTech.
And so it kind of – when we got Earl, it was a logical next step to see if we could negotiate the distribution for the HandyTech displays, which really broadens our braille net, if you will. It emphasizes our commitment to being a strong braille company, a strong provider. The HandyTech brings some unique features. We really like the Active Tactile Control, where the –
We did a – we’re doing a presentation at AER this year. And I paraphrase the title, but it’s, you know, when you read braille and braille reads you. I mean, because that’s almost what the experience of reading on Active Tactile Control is, where it’s different than auto-advance, where you kind of have to pace yourself and the display is moving itself. Because literally, the display knows exactly where your fingers are and how much pressure you’re applying and if you’re pausing on a word. And then, as you go back to the beginning of the line, there you are. I mean, it just refreshes itself, so you’re not scrolling, pushing buttons. You know, you’re not risking Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as you read “War and Peace.” I just –
JM: Sure.
DP: -- is a really smooth experience. So we’re really thrilled to have those additions to our portfolio.
JM: What does that too – the HandyTech displays to the other models that you have currently, the Braille EDGE and the Smart Beetle – are they going to coexist, or do you think one wins out over the other eventually?
DP: No. Absolutely, there’s room. I mean – and Earl is a great example. He was a strong dealer for us and was selling the Hims braille products along with HandyTech, and it really – you know, it is – you know -- it kind of gives us a broader discussion. I mean, when we’re meeting with a customer, we can say, you know, what are your priorities here? Is it budget-based? Is it function-based? And depending on their response, I mean, we really have some different product offerings that we can put in front of them, and they make the decision that’s best for them.
JM: Let’s do one more quick hit before we move on or before we leave today. Body fat scale, you have in the booth here? We chose not to do a live demo?
DP: Well, yeah. Because, you know, none of us could decide who was going to be the –
JM: Right.
JA: Right.
DP: -- guinea pig, and you know –
JA: We all said, not me.
DP: So yeah. It – the --
JA: It’s actually called Body Composition Analysis.
DP: Yeah.
JA: I guess body fat scale is somewhat appropriate, but, you know, it’s – so what we’ve done – this is actually a product that has been created on the medical side, but we have made it accessible.
So instead of a touchscreen, it’s using – it has a braille keypad for entry. We have added TTS, so there’s voice guidance all throughout the process. And then it actually prints, right now – or embosses, I guess I should say, to an Index Basic-D. We will support other embossers as well. But – so the whole process is completely accessible and can be done independently because obviously, this isn’t really necessarily something that, you know, you want publicized or you want anyone else to know.
JM: Not really.
JA: But basically – and for those who don’t know what Body Composition Analysis is – basically, what you’re doing is running a low-level electric current through your body. There are electrodes that are capacitive. You touch them with your hands and feet. It sounds really, kind of, I don’t know, medieval torture-ish or, you know, I don’t know, like electroshock therapy, but it’s nothing like that at all. It’s very low-level. You can’t really even feel it.
But basically, what it is -- is that – Body Composition Analysis is measured via the resistance to that current. Different materials in your body, different substances, fat, proteins, muscles -- they have a different resistance level. And so you enter things like your height, weight, and your gender, and it then measures these resistances to the various materials in your body and then can give you this analysis. So that’s how it works.
JM: Cool. And if somebody wants to buy one of these, you go to – you don’t sell these; right? Are they on Amazon or –
JA: No. No. No. We are – our company does sell them, but generally these are going to be purchased by, like, fitness centers, you know, gyms, hospitals, places like that. They’re – I don’t know, between 5 and 6 thousand dollars, usually, and our price point is right in there.
But what we hope for is that the accessibility part of this is actually going to give us, sort of, an edge. And it really should, because obviously, good health should be accessible to all. Fitness should be accessible to all, because it’s certainly a concern for everyone. So that’s, you know, that’s the idea. And we wanted to – as I said, this was on our medical side, but we wanted to, sort of, provide some cross-over into our accessibility, so that’s, kind of, what we’re doing.
DP: It’s kind of a cross-pollination from, you know, different aspects of the parent company similar to the Polaris, the BrailleSense, Polaris being named because of the Polaris Office Suite and, you know, things like that. So it, kind of, just strengthens across company lines to share resources and product knowledge.
JM: Very cool.
JA: For those that don’t know, our parent company actually created the Polaris Office Suite, which is a mainstream mobile – excuse me. I can’t talk. It is a mainstream mobile office suite. And actually, if you purchase an HTC Android phone, you will find it in there. So we have actually taken that and sort of integrated it and made it accessible to Polaris, and then of course, named our notetaker for that.
JM: Very cool. Lots, of course, to talk about and look at. If people want to go and get more information, what’s the best way to do that?
DP: We did launch a new website. So same URL: Www.hims-inc.com. We’ll be at a conference near you coming soon. You know, we had a great showing here at CSUN 2018. It’s been great for us, and we’re hoping to see people, you know, really soon.
JM: Great. Thank you so much, both of you.
DP: Hey. Thank you.
JA: Yup. Thanks for having us.
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Copyright 2018.


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J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.


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