Humanware's Brailliant Braille Display

AccessWorld reviewed Humanware’s Brailliant Braille display, here a summary of the findings on this Baum product. The Brailliant Braille displays are sleek Braille displays available in 24-, 64- and 80-cell models. This assistive technology product is distributed in the US by HumanWare.

Hardware

The Brailliant is a sleek, slender display with a power button, three other buttons and a routing button above each Braille cell. There are three connector ports for the AC adapter, the USB connection and the propriety serial connection cable. The Braille dots have a firm feel to it making it easier to read.

The Brailliant display can be connected through a USB port, Bluetooth (10 to 100 meters range) or the proprietary adapter cable that facilitates connection to a serial port. The display does not have a keyboard stand, which is workable as one can easily reach the keyboard over the display.

It is lightweight and portable, but lacks a carrying case, which can be a useful add-on.

Menus

The Brailliant display is equipped with menus that offer options to choose how the display will connect, set power-save options, and enable or disable sounds. There is also an option to reverse the display is available, in which the Braille cells are closer to the computer keyboard.

Connection

The Windows-Eye 5.5 supports Brailliant display. It can be installed in JAWS 7.0 with some additional steps. The Brailliant manual is equipped with JAWS and Windows-Eyes command assignments in Braille as well as in electronic format.

The Brailliant can be connected through the USB port by installing the USB driver or by setting up the screen readers to work with the Brailliant. The USB driver can be installed in the conventional way. To install JAWS support, a second installation needs to be run, while with Windows-Eye the display only needs to be connected with the communications port in the Control Panel.

The Brailliant can be connected through Bluetooth by first setting up the connection type to Bluetooth in the menu, followed by pairing with the Bluetooth adapter on the computer and culminating by setting up the screen readers.

Assigned Commands

Brailliant display has comprehensive commands for JAWS and Window-Eyes. Many commands like to open start menu, to move to desktop, to display time, tab, shift-tab, escape, etc. are the same for JAWS and Window-Eyes.

The Brailliant has impeccable responsiveness in both USB and Bluetooth connections and also in JAWS and Windows-Eyes.

The Auto Poweroff feature is not the best feature of this assistive technology product. It turns the display off if no activity is happening, even while its running with the AC adapter connected. However, the Auto Poweroff period can be set anything between five minutes to two hours, but it cannot be disabled.

The Brailliant displays are available at USD $ 3,795 - $ 10,995 depending on the model. Although cheaper options are available in the market, Brailliant’s Bluetooth connectivity and impeccable display quality give it an edge over other products.

Source: AccessWorld®