Notetakers/PDAs Deals, Sales, and News

Today only for Prime members, Amazon.com has the Fire Tablet with 7-inch Display with Special Offers in magenta for $33.33. That's over $16 off list and the lowest price we've seen for this tablet. This is the 8GB Wi-fi model which is made accessible with the free Voice View screen reader. This deal is a part of Amazon Prime Day, a series of sales for Amazon Prime members only.

Hims continues to offer a variety of items on its clearance page, most for half off the original retail price or more. Items include used or demo notetakers, book players including the BookSense, and both portable and desktop video magnifiers. Check the link on this post to browse the complete list.

HIMS has just released a new version of their firmware for the Braille Edge 40. The upgrade includes additional braille tables including Danish and Hebrew, the ability to read and edit TXT, RTF, DOC, and DOCX files in contracted braille, ability to save text in TXT format, and automatic battery warning when the unit has 10% of battery life left. See below for the entire list of new features and instructions on how to upgrade your unit.

Back in October, we learned of KeySoft 9.1, the first major upgrade for the BrailleNote Apex family including support for WPA2 wireless encryption, Microsoft Word files, epub books, and NLS audiobooks. The update appears to be nearing release, as Humanware will be presenting on this week's Accessible World Tek Talk program. Interested persons can learn more on Monday at 8 PM eastern. We'll give you a full report as a part of our ATIA coverage next week.

According to several sources, Humanware is planning to raise the price for two of their popular notetakers in September. the 32-cell version of the BrailleNote Apex will list for $6,379, a $184 increase over the current price. That's nearly $400 over the price of a Braille Sense Plus and just under $800 over the retail price of a PAC Mate Omni, the latter including 8 more cells.At the same time, the price of the 18-cell version of the Apex will jump to $4,529, a $134 increase. Finally, the price of the VoiceNote Apex, to be released in September, has been set at $2,049. That's just over $50 more than the price of a VoiceSense, but nearly $350 under the price of a PAC Mate Omni without a braille display.

GW Micro has anounced the Voice Sense QWERTY, a version of their voice Sense notetaker with a qwerty computer keyboard. The device also features a built-in GPS receiver and compass, WiFi and Bluetooth, and more. Pricing and a ship date are still to be determined.

An EBay seller and Blind Bargains reader has listed a Pac mate QX400 notetaker with a starting bid of $325. By comparison, a new Pac Mate Omni retails at over $2,300. This QWERTY keyboard unit is one generation removed from the Omni, but can be easily upgraded through Freedom Scientific's trade-in program. Auction ends November 7.

There's another Trekker GPS system on EBay with a starting bid of $400 plus shipping. This one is running version 3.0 and also includes other PDA functions. These sell for nearly $2,000 new. Auction ends today.

An EBay seller and Blind Bargains reader has listed an almost new in box Humanware Maestro Trekker talking GPS system with a current bid of $400. These retail for nearly $1,900 new and includes a fully-functioning accessible GPS software and PDA functions. It has been barely used and comes with standard accessories. Auction ends October 14.

An EBay seller and Blind Bargains reader has posted a working Pac Mate QX400 personal digital assistant with a starting bid of $100. Plus, shipping is free. This unit includes a QWERTY keyboard and is running the latest version of software available for this edition, version 4.1. It is also upgradable to a Pac Mate Omni for $695. Two 2GB memory cards are also included. Auction ends November 25.

An EBay seller has posted a working Braille Lite 2000 with a current bid of $66. With about $12 for shipping, it's one of the best recent deals we've seen on this popular vintage notetaker. Auction ends May 27.

Normally, we wouldn't waste space for a mention of a minor revision of a product, but revision 29 of Keysoft 7.5 for the BrailleNote family of PDAs is certainly worth a mention. Humanware has quietly rolled out support for the much faster and current 802.11G wireless protocol, with included drivers for a couple of different wireless cards. Other minor bug fixes are also included. The update is free for users of Keysoft 7.5.

Freedom Scientific has returned their popular open plan, where owners of HumanWare notetakers can upgrade to a PAC Mate Omni for half the cost of a new unit. This brings the prices down to $995 for the basic unit, for example. Owners of BrailleNote MPower, PK, or classic units have until October 31 to opt for the plan, and the units must be returned in working condition.

Our classic notetaker category on the Auction Gateway currently lists several Blazie models, all for great prices. A Type n Speak and Braille n Speak are both listed with starting bids of $80 while a Braille Lite has a starting bid of around $10. All auctions end May 7 or May 8.

There's another VoiceNote QT on EBay with a starting bid of $195 plus $20 for shipping. This one is a classic running Keysoft 6.1 and comes with manuals, but no charger. The unit has been tested and does hold a charge. Auction ends April 6.

An EBay seller has listed a Braille Lite 18 notetaker with an opening bid of $9.99 plus about $10 for shipping. It's being sold as is, but comes from a government surplus auction so may work. No power supply is included. Auction ends April 1.

An EBay seller has listed a VoiceNote QT notetaker with an opening bid of $49.99 plus about $12 for shipping. This unit powers up, but is being sold as is. It comes with standard accessories, but not much further information is given. Auction ends March 31. Update: The item has moved to a new page and is relisted for $0.99.

GW Micro has announced the availability of an upgrade program for current owners of the Braille Sense. Any Braille Sense owner may purchase a Braille Sense plus for $3,200 plus a trade in of their old unit. For those who just purchased the Braille Sense since March 1, 2008, the cost is $500 plus the unit. The upgrade gives you an 8GB internal storage card, the ability to record MP3 files directly, built-in Bluetooth and wireless support, and the ability to use the SenseNav GPS software for an additional price. This price will get you a brand new unit which will not use any of your old parts, according to the message. The deal lasts until 30 days after the release of the Braille Sense Plus, which is expected in May.

An EBay seller has posted a Braille Lite M20 notetaker with a current bid of $78.88 plus about $18 for shipping. It was factory serviced in 2006 and the seller is offering a moneyback guarantee if it doesn't work. Though it's not as classy as today's notetakers, we still believe that a machine such as this one would make a great first computer for a blind child or a nice backup for anyone. Auction ends March 21.

An EBay seller has listed a Voice Note MPower QT notetaker/PDA with a current bid of $450. With $25 for shipping, that's about a quarter of the price of a new unit. It's running Keysoft 7.0 which is only two versions off the current 7.5 and comes with all cables and standard accessories. The QT has a QWERTY keyboard and is ideal for those who want a notetaker but don't need a braille display. Auction ends March 16.