APH has announced via it's mailing list for the Orbit Reader 20 that they will start taking orders tomorrow for the much anticipated braille display/notetaker.
In the message, Ken Perry of APH stated: "Once we have received orders for our available stock, no further orders will be accepted at that time. We expect to sell out quickly. Rest assured we will have additional quantities available in the near future, and will keep you posted!" Because of the limited availability of units, APH is restricting purchases to two Orbit Readers per account or individual.
The cost for an Orbit Reader 20 is $449 and you will be able to order in several ways:
- through the APH Shop online for non-quota orders only
- calling customer relations at 800-223-1839
- emailing a purchase order at po@aph.org
- faxing a purchase order to 502-899-2284
At the time of writing, the Orbit Reader is not yet available online, but is expected to be available tomorrow.
This day has been a long time coming, with the first official announcement of the Orbit Reader 20 during the CSUN 2016 conference. For more information about the Orbit Reader 20, you can [read a review of the device in the January issue of Access World.
Tangela Mahaffey contributed to this report.
Category: NewsI am glad that more people will be able to get their hands on this. I just wish it was in my budget for the month though. Then again, it could be in a few months. I am just wondering when we will see more of them. Later on, I am planning on hunting down the bailing list and joining so I can get these announcements first hand if possible when it comes to this braille display.
darknexus Monday, 05-Feb-2018 3:52 PM ET:
There's something just a little odd about this method of doing business. Rather than making enough units to cover all the orders they would receive, it's as if they're trying to force an order rush. I can't think of any sound business reason to do this, especially after so many delays, unless they're trying to offset the cost of something else or are selling the displays far below the cost of manufacture. Either way, something just doesn't click.
DebeeArmstrong Monday, 05-Feb-2018 4:55 PM ET:
Until we hear more about the drawbacks of such an inexpensive Braille display we will not truly know if the tradeoffs are worth it. I think people who never used a Braille display believe it is like reading paper Braille, and that is not true. EveryBraille display has drawbacks, features you tend to dislike. If the Orbit has limitations you can live with, the price is great, but until you know the limitations, you will want to be careful. Fpor example, I personally find it frustrating with the displays I have owned that there are too mamy little buttons all clumped together. It is too easy to accidentally press the wrong one. I also found that 14 or 20 cells is just not enough for me, but 40 is perfect.
aliar4 Saturday, 17-Feb-2018 7:58 PM ET:
I got one, cells didn't work. it was unuseable. I couldn't read more than 2 lines w/o a missing dot, and most of the units that shipped out had the same problems. I sent mine back, hope they would have worked these kinks out before shipping, but obviously not. I wasn't impressed!
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