Braille Devices & iOS Devices, what have you used?

By Brandi, 23 August, 2011

Forum
Braille on Apple Products
So, what Braille devices have you used in conjunction with an iOS device? What is your opinion on iOS' functionality with a Braille device? Did you find the experience enjoyable, cumbersome, simple, challenging?... I've used my iPhone 3GSwithmy husband's Braille Sense On-Hand. I have to say, it opens a lot of new experiences for me. I have an app that I use for my online college classes & it works great with the Braille Sense On-Hand. I am a total Braille freak1 & I hate audio output because I find that I miss a lot of what I hear, so I find that using the Braille has actually helped me to betterunderstand the discussion posts for my college app as well as all the other apps & features of the iPhone that I'm able to "see."

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Comments

By mehgcap on Sunday, August 21, 2011 - 19:40

I use my bn apex (bt 32) with my iPod 4th gen all the time. I love it since it is like two computers in one; apps on the iPod, then anything that is better done on the bn can still be done just by exiting terminal mode. The commands in the terminal make sense, for the most part, and I love the ability, especially since it is built in and I didn't pay hundreds for the feature like I would have on another pda screen reader. My frustrations are that the backspace and enter keys don't work, the scroll wheel does not work, and the grade 2 translator can sometimes get annoying when it mistranslates something or thinks, for instance, I wanted dd instead of a period. Overall, though, the experience is positive and helpful in a lot of ways.

By The Pawpower Pack on Sunday, August 21, 2011 - 19:40

I'm Deaf blind so use my iPhone with a display all of the time. I have used Braille Note Apex and Brailliant with it. I'm also looking at getting a Refreshabraille to use with it in order not to run my Apex's battery down so quickly. I really like the accessibility of iPhone with braille and it has made a huge difference in my life. I use relay to make phone calls since I'm deaf and for the first time I've been able to make relay calls from anywhere, just like a hearing person can use a phone. It's fantastic.

By Brandi on Sunday, August 21, 2011 - 19:40

that is truly awesome that you are able to use your cell phone now because of the braille display on the iphone. That must've felt very liberating. glad you both have had good experiences, although I agree, the translation with grade , ç ; could use some help. ând it doesn't always accept capital letters either. But like both of you have said, it is truly awesome the amount of effort that Apple has put in to accessibility.

By David on Friday, October 21, 2011 - 19:40

I am currently using the Alva BC640 refreshable braille display with my iPhone 4G IOS 5, and find it superior to just using voice. The BC640 works well with the iPhone, but has limited functionality, and very little supporting documentation. I could not get the BC640 with the Feature Pack, braille keyboard attachment, to work with the iPhone. We need to get braille manufacturers to focus more effort on iPhone interface drivers. Cheers!

Hi all, I use the Handytech easy braille in combination with my Ipad 2 with the IOS 5 update. It is indeed an great experience using the braille device to control the device and read. But I can't manage it to type some characters with my braile device, like the @ symbol. It seems a different braille translation table is use for the braille input. does anyone of you has this same experience? cheers,

By Rachel Ramos on Monday, November 21, 2011 - 19:40

Hi, all, I have a braille sense plus which I use with my phone on occasion. I absolutely love being able to input in Grade II anywhere on the phone, and reading in Braille is of course such a marvelous thing! Other's have touched on this, the only drawback I can see is the automatic grade II expansion of words and/or contractions if you wait more than 2-3 seconds before putting something else in. Other than that, I can't say enough good things about the ability of a note-taker or primary braille display and the ability to connect to the phone; brings a whole new dimension to input/output. Take care!

By Eileen on Monday, November 21, 2011 - 19:40

Hi, I've only had the Refreshabraille for 2 days. I am finding it very intuitive to use with the  iphone4. It is not the very smallest of the displays, but it feels sturdy enough to withstand  traveling in my back pack for many years. It also doesn't feel cramped to me as some of the truly tiny dispays do.   I have been using a braille lite 2000. While the iphone isn't as convenient as a dedicated notetaker for the blind, I think I can get used to keeping my info on the phone.  One feature of the Refreshabraille is that is vibrates all of the pins up and down on startup and shutdown, and it sounds remarkaby like flatulation!  Also, I'd like to see a featurewhere by the carriage returns and spaces are removed when reading in braille. Its very convenient feature when reading on the braille lite 2000 with just 18 cels of braille. 'm not sure who would be best able to supply this type of functionality. Would it be the ap or tge braile driver? Good luck making your choice. Happily there are quite a few to consider. I found it helpful to do a search on braille in this site to see all the comments others had made about braile support.

By keziah907 on Saturday, April 21, 2012 - 19:40

Hello, just wondering how you managed to connect your iphone to your husbands braille sense onhand, becuase i have been trying to do this but it doesnt seem to want to let me. please tell me what i am doing wrong? thank you