BrailleNote PK review

AccessWorld tested Pulse Data’s BrailleNote PK for their January edition and are positive on the overall performance of the PDA device. The world’s smallest Windows-based PDA with Braille display, Bluetooth, CF-card and speech synthesizer was tested in detail by the editors from the American Foundation for the Blind.

Pulse Data International released the BrailleNote PK in summer 2004 as the latest member of the BrailleNote family of products. The BrailleNote PK is a powerful PDA with Bluetooth, USB, optional WiFi, Internet Explorer (KeyWeb), Media Player a 18-cell Braille display, eight key Braille keyboard, Compact Flash Card slot, pop3 Email Support, PS2 connection and Serial Port (custom cable and connector).

The BrailleNote PK offers both Braille and speech output and a full software package also known as the Keysoft suite. The BrailleNote PK can be controlled with the one-finger joystick at the front of the device. Left of the joystick, AccessWorld found a small button that was not mentioned in the user manual but the audio tutorial mentions that it will be used for future applications. The user manual is also vague on the exact use of the control buttons that you will find just in front of the 18-cell refreshable Braille display. That Braille display was built with new cells from a different supplier than Tieman and AccessWorld is impressed with these new quiet cells from KGS.

Unlike other BrailleNote products, this PK is equipped with a Bluetooth antenna that replaces the parallel or infrared port. Another difference with the other BrailleNote products is the lack of printing command in the KeyWord application; the user must transfer the document to the PC before printing.

All manuals are provided on CD in PDF and HTML formats and both explain all the products features in great detail. In addition to the written material, Jonathan Mosen, the marketing manager of Pulse Bata’s Blindness Products, produced a nine-part tutorial with an excellent overview and brief demonstration of the main features of the BrailleNote PK.

The KeyPlan is BrailleNote PK’s planner that is a valuable program since it synchronizes with Microsoft’s Outlook calendar. KeyPlan provides a fully accessible calendar but has a minor abnormality. An all-day appointment is set as free time and it is required to specify the full time as busy instead of using the KeyPlan and Outlook feature to plan an all-day appointment.

The editors tested the BrailleNote PK with a Nokia 6620 and connected to the Internet and accessed their email. WiFi is also an option with the PK but an additional WiFi Compact Flash card must be purchased. Once connected to the Web, KeyWeb (Pulse Data’s browser) showed an occasional crash, such as on the CNN website. The KeyMail offered all main email functions, although the commands are not as intuitive as other Keysoft applications.

The overall opinion of the BrailleNote PK is very positive. The compact size and powerful features and WiFi and Bluetooth options make this a professional PDA. There as some minor problems, but AccessWorld is convinced that, “if you are considering the purchase of an accessible PDA and are looking for a powerful product that is small, you should definitely consider Pulse Data’s BrailleNote PK.” The BrailleNote PK is available for around $4,995 USD.

Source: AccessWorld – January 2005