An AccessWorld Review of the Maestro
Published: Jun 20, 2007AccessWorld tested HumanWare’s Maestro and Trekker functionality in July. The Maestro is the first accessible off-the-shelf personal digital assistant (PDA). Mainstream PDAs include word processors, appointment calendars, address books, email capabilities, Web browsers, media players, and multiple ways to connect with a personal computer and other devices.
“Rather than designing a product specifically for people who are blind or have low vision, some companies are working on different ways of adapting mainstream PDAs. The major advantage of adapting an off-the-shelf product is a drastic reduction in price. The primary disadvantages are the inaccessibility of the PDA’s touch-screen and the visual nature of indications of when the PDA is on or off and whether the battery is currently charging. The Maestro solves these problems by adding speech output to selected applications through the Eloquence synthesizer and uses a tactile keypad overlay as an alternative to the PDA’s touch-screen for data entry,” according to AccessWorld.
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“We tested the Maestro on an HP iPAQ PDA” and found that “clever adaptations and the inclusion of Trekker on the same PDA will make Maestro an enticing option for people who already have a computer but are searching for a small, lightweight device for keeping track of contacts, staying on schedule, and reading documents. The installation procedure, the time-consuming way of entering data on the keypad, and the need to connect Maestro to a computer make it difficult for us to recommend it as a device for beginners. Increasing the number of accessible applications on the PDA will make Maestro a much more attractive product.”
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Source: AccessWorld
