The Braille Edge 40

Contributed by Joel Zimba, Special Projects Coordinator, MDTAP

Recently, MDTAP  has received several inquiries about refreshable Braille displays.  As their name implies, these devices have one row of Braille pins which refresh themselves to reflect the output from a computer or mobile device.  We have several examples of this species available for your examination.  The Brailliant, Braille Pen and Alva BC640.

The primary differences between refreshable Braille displays are portability and the amount of Braille which can be displayed at one time.  The Braille Pen has 12 Braille cells and is intended to be used with mobile devices, while the Brailliant has 32 cells and works well with either a mobile device or a computer.  There are larger displays, which usually top out at 80 Braille cells.  These are stationary and usually only connect to one computer.

I recently purchased a Braille Edge 40, produced by Hims Inc.  The Braille Edge is larger that many portable Braille displays, having 40 Braille cells.  It connects either via USB or Bluetooth.  The Braille Edge has features which set it apart from other refreshable Braille displays.  It has built-in applications, such as a notepad, calculator and alarm clock.  In a sense, the Braille Edge is a hybrid between a Braille display and a Braille note taker. To me, this is a vital difference.  Large documents, in a variety of formats, can be read directly from the device rather than from a host computer.

For those who prefer to read Braille output rather than relying on synthetic speech as their interface, Braille displays are the way to go.  Refreshable Braille is currently quite expensive.  It would be a good idea to compare various devices in the MDTAP equipment library before deciding which one is right for your purposes.