Review: LevelStar Icon

The Icon, manufactured by LevelStar, is a Linux-based screenless PDA designed for the blind. Therefore all of the applications installed on the Icon are guaranteed to be completely accessible to the blind.

This is a strong advantage to users who like using PDAs but do not want to buy an off-the-shelf PDA which may contain inaccessible third-party software. The Icon comes with a text-to-speech program already installed. Since users have to depend on speech output only, LevelStar has made a commendable effort to help them become familiar with the telephone-like keypad and the Icon’s features by providing a keyboard-learn mode and a context-sensitive help feature. Users can activate the context-sensitive help feature from within any application, and only help content related to that particular application will be spoken. LevelStar also provides a Braille quick reference guide with every unit.

When the unit is turned on, users will be presented with the following applications: address book, music player, library menu, Internet menu, tools menu, utilities menu, and games menu. The arrow keys located at the front of the unit are used to cycle between these menu items. To select a specific item, press the select key located at the center of the arrow keys. Once the desired application is launched, the menu key located right below the down arrow can be pressed to obtain specific user options relevant to that application. For example, if the address book application is selected and the menu button is pressed, users will hear “new address” for adding an address or “delete address” for deleting an address.

Even though the Icon is a Linux-based PDA, synchronizing contacts, the planner, and emails is easy using the proprietary software provided. When connected to the computer and in the disk drive mode (which can be selected from the utilities menu), the Icon will behave like a removable drive. Users can easily transfer files from the computer to the Icon. The Icon has many nifty features, but perhaps none is better than the library menu. In this menu users can access the bookshelf containing downloaded books, or an Internet book search option can be selected to perform a real-time search from the Web site. Users can search by author, title, or category; books can then be downloaded directly onto the Icon. Using Newsstand, a user can subscribe to news periodicals and designate a number of days to keep them in memory. Note: in order to take advantage of the Newsstand features, one must be a member of Bookshare.

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