UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion
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thought some might be interested in this innovative solution for the blind or partially sighted
That's fantastic Steven! I will put something out via Twitter to let others know. Thank you for the onfo and happy reading! x
Wow! There are times when the tech people get things right. Absolutely brilliant.
I can't even begin to imagine how that works, but how fantastic. I hope you discover some great books, Steven,and enjoy getting involved with the threads.:D
Wow, that's truly brilliant. I'm impressed.
That's wonderful Steven - enjoy your new freedom!
thanks all! i'll definetely be checking out the various threads on here to get book ideas etc!
Thanks for the information Steven, one of my past candidates recently took up a position in a sensory centre working mainly with visually impaired clients. I will let her know!
Wow, isn't technology amazing? I know a few partially sighted people that will be happy to hear about this. Great stuff!
Yay! Technology doing it right! How fantastic!!
That's such a breakthrough with technology, did you chance on it Steven or did you push for something like that. However you found it - it sounds brilliant.
How absolutely wonderful!Such a great thing!
I'm in the car at the moment, but once I get home I'm going to shift this thread and change the thread title slightly to make it more visible. Hope that's okay with you Steven. :)
i found out about it via the rnib actually! it's all down to Apple peally building the technology in to their iphone.
Happy to hear this, Steven. Enjoy your reading,
that's fine Patte i wasn't sure where it should go really! I'm on my phone at the mo but when i'm on the laptop i'll post a link to the gadget in question for people to look at.
That is great. I am running a serious of posts about these issues on my blog. The choices for those who are of limited sight is woeful. That is very good news that you have found something to suit you.
That would be great Steven, thanks!I was going to tell you about this thread Alexandra. Glad you've seen it.
Alexandra i'd be interested in reading your posts. the way i see it is that the choice for those quite us with limited sight is poor, but it's a lot better now than it was even a few years ago. Apple in particular are leading the way in building accessibility features free in to their products. anyone who buys or gets given a recent version of iphone or ipad can see ;the access features in the general settings mennu. I'm hoping other companies may follow suit. amazon started well with their keyboard kindle but have phased this out now.
Where do you think it should go Patti.... I am poised
I'm just gonna knock it straight up to the top of the group for a few days.
Alexandra, please feel free to link to your blog in here, lovely.
as promised, the link to the Braille Display. Lest I be accused of free advertising for this particular company, I should say that other braille displays are available... lol!http://www.sightandsound.co.uk/shop/p...
I was bracing myself for it costing a few hundred quid...Two.
Thousand.
Pounds.
Plus VAT.
A lot of money but worth it I'm sure for someone who gets to do something the love!
Yes, I mentioned in my first post that it was a lot of money and its something I've been thinking about buying for a while but the price tag held me back. two things swung it for me in the end:
firstly, I'm going in to hospital at the end of this month to have a cochlear Implant as I have siver hearing problems as well as being blind. This means that I'll be unable to hear my computer for the time before the implant can be activated (can be as much as a month) and while I get used to the different sound from the implant (another slow process). The Braille display means I'll still be able to access my computer for internet emails etc.
but, the thing that sealed the deal for me was an article on the RNIB website talking about how Apple had built in braille display accessibility in to their Iphone/Ipad and the articule made specific mention of the Kindle app meaning that I could have full access to the books in the kindle store.
We did research to see if there are any grants available to help with the cost but their weren't and we were in the fortunate circumstance of being just about able to afford it!
I'm aware this solution won't suit everyone as not all blind people are braille readers, and, even if they are, the huge cost will price a lot of people out but I just thought I'd mention it. :(
sorry for such a long post by the way!
I just can't get over how truly wonderful this is. I mean, if I would of thought about it I'm sure I could of imagined it but I really didn't think about it before. I had no idea such a thing was possible!!
Thought I'd chip in and support what Steven has said (I'm his wife for those who haven't encountered me yet).The Braille display is truly amazing. I was very sceptical about how good it would be and was terribly worried that 2 thousand pounds would be a huge loss if it didn't work out. The company that we bought it from were kind enough to offer a demonstration service where they sent a rep round to show Steven how it works and teach him some of the tips and tricks. That made it easy to decide, as once Steven had seen it in action, we could be sure that it was as good as the hype.
Apple get a lot of stick but they have really forged ahead with these advances in tech. Many of the other apps in the app store are also accessible, so as well as being able to read whichever book he fancies without begging authors for a Word copy, he can also access weather apps, news apps, radio apps and so on.
It wows everyone who sees it in action! It's a huge amount of money, but I would definitely say that it's worthing saving for as I think it could be transformational for many blind people, and even more so for some deaf-blind people.
I've read this thread with interest. It's fantastic news! I'm curious about how it works though, does the screen actually produce bumps that you can "read" with your fingers??
Surely you don't have to pay VAT on it?
Hi Kew. it's not actually a screen the braille display is a flat surface and it connects to my phone via bluetooth. there are various buttons on the display which enable me to navigate the screen and perform the commands sighted people would do by tapping, swiping etc! i'll see if victoria can post a picture of me using it. Lynn, you are correct, i didn't have to pay vat.
That is great. Would you be willing to chat about it on my blog? It is great that at least one provider is taking the needs of those of us with restricted vision into account. Even if it is expensive.Here are the articles on my blog.
http://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/2...
https://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/...
hi, yes would be happy to talk on the blog. Let me know what you need.
I have made a pinterest board with a few pics on it. Hope this will work...http://pinterest.com/daisyduck1976/br...
Thanks. I will put a link to the pinterest on the blog. Steven PM me with your email so I an send something to you:)
What a brilliant piece of kit!
Yes,I am very glad to learn there is something available.
thanks all! Alexandra, i'll pm you sometime inthe next few days, can't work out how to do it from my phone so will need the laptop! maybe if this isn't naughty taking the thread of topic you could all recommend me some great books to read with the braille display lol!
seriously though one of the coolest things was being able to take advantage of all the amazing deals amazon have recently had on kindle books. i got the two Hilary Mantell butooks for 99 p as well as the latest conn iggulden for the same price.
hilarious txpo on my last post... blame the braille display!
It does sound amazing. So glad people are doing such worthwhile research. Still can't get my head around how it works tho!
Best of luck with the cochlear implant too.
Have you ever had sight Steven? If it's not too personal a question. I'm just trying to imagine how a blind from birth child learns to read and how they are taught.
This is great news! I never really thought about e-readers and partially sighted or blind readers.I love the Hilary Mantell typo Steven, it's a bit selfish of you to take both butooks though.
Is this where we attempt to tease Steven by writing things that come out really funny in Braille... A sort of modern equivalent of putting numbers in a calculator then turning it upside down so it says buttocks.
simon... your a very naughty boy! lynn, not a personal question at all, yes i was born blind though my hearing loss has devoloped during my leafetime. i'd say the blindness have been easier to manage than the hearing loss as the blindness have stayed the same all my life whereas my hearing changes.
Simon (Highwayman) wrote: "Is this where we attempt to tease Steven by writing things that come out really funny in Braille... A sort of modern equivalent of putting numbers in a calculator then turning it upside down so it ..."I think you mean 55348008
BOOBLESS!
I've just read this and was blown away. Hat's off the steven, I'm I awe.And finally technology has done something I can approve of. We can only hope that with sales, the price will come down
i suspect the price won't be coming down any time soon sadly will. the braille display isn't actually new technology. i was using one with my work cumputer in 2007 and they've been around longer than that! what is new is apples building compatibility into the iphone ipad ect meaning that they can be paired up with these devices to access things such as the kindle app. the ibook stuff works as well but i don't use it as the books are nearly always cheeper on amazon!
Yes, it is great you have found something you are able to use. I will look out for your email.
It does sound like it is worth the money though, especially if you are an avid reader.
I really just wanted to post this quickly as it may be of interest to some and may be a help to any other blind book readers who join this forum inthe future.
some of you who have seen me post before may remember that i am blind you a big frustration was finding books ina format i could read. thanks by the way to the authors who were kind enough to send me w versions of their books. well, i'm now able to read my kindle books in braille... any kindle book i want from the kindle store. this is thanksto apple and kindle. i've recently purstased something called a braille display which converts the text on a computer or iphone screen in to braille. this means i was able to connect by braille display via bluetooth to my iphone, download the kindle iphone app and read kindle books. this have obviously opened up whole world of reading to me which is pretty amazing. the braille display was very expensive but it's already started paying it's way with the amt of reading i've been doing... i'm even reading this forum in braille! only problelem with so much choice is i can't decide what to read...