BrailleNote deaf blind solutions

Greetings. I received the following announcement from an email list regarding a product for the BrailleNote. After reading this, it sounds to me like HumanWare (HW) is trying to play catch up again with the PAC Mate's deaf blind solutions that were released a few years ago. However, I'm glad that HW is giving more options to their customers. I've heard of a number of deaf blind people that use the BrailleNote that have probably been waiting for just such an announcement. Enjoy and pardon any formatting errors.

DeafBlind Communicator to Tap the Power and Simplicity of KeySoft

 The DeafBlind Communicator (DBC) is being designed to provide a simple
way
to handle TTY communications and to be a portable way to deal with
face-to-face communications.

Simplicity
A simple conversation approach is provided through an intuitive Chat
Menu
which is automatically entered when the DBC is first turned on. When in
a
conversation, whether it's Face to Face or TTY, the way you communicate
is
identical.

Our goal is to produce a DeafBlind Communicator that is simple and
straight
forward which any Braille user can learn to use with minimal training.

Hidden Applications Activated
 We realize that some deafblind people will want to do more or grow into
doing more than basic communications, so we have built the DBC on a much
more powerful platform that offers additional capabilities. A secondary
goal
for the DBC is to ensure that any user can choose to activate other,
more
powerful applications (initially hidden from the user), which provide
access
to the kinds of capabilities and functions available in mainstream
technology (note the list below).

Main Menu
Word processor
Planner
Address list
Email
Internet
Chat
Media center
Book reader
Scientific calculator
Database manager
Games
File manager
Utilities
Terminal for screen reader
Remote synthesizer
Keyboard learn

KeySoft, the environment (user-interface) that is used in the DBC, is
the
same one used in the BrailleNote and has reached its celebrated
friendliness
through over twenty years of constant improvement. Once a user chooses
to
activate the full-blown features of the DBC, the Chat Menu noted above
becomes one of the applications listed in the Main Menu. From that menu,
a
simple press of the character "C" instantly takes you to the KeyChat
Menu
and from there everything "looks" exactly the same as the basic DBC.

We plan to start accepting orders in April and shipping in June 2008.

The basic DBC will have many similarities to the TeleBraille in both
feature
and function. Although the KeySoft user interface will "feel" somewhat
different from that of the TeleBraille, it is still very easy to use. Of
course, if the user chooses to activate the more powerful features, the
DBC
will be a fully functional BrailleNote that includes TeleBraille-type
functionality.

The BNPK will not support the DBC. Unfortunately, the PK does not have a
landline connection on it to enable TTY communications. Also, the
BrailleNote mPower, on which the DBC is based, has significantly more
memory
and power to handle the added functions of the DBC.

The DBC will not include the screen reader Mobile Speak Pocket (MSP).
All of
the functions relating to the cell phone (DB Companion) will be
controlled
from the DB BrailleNote. As noted above, if the user chooses to activate
the
full functionality of the BrailleNote applications, the DB BrailleNote
becomes a fully functional PDA on its own that does not require the
complexity of a screen reader or any other additional software.