When you are thinking of buying a new braille display, there are many important factors to consider. Whether you use braille for work, in education, as a parent or are simply a bookworm, there is a lot to keep in mind when deciding on the best braille device for you. This guide aims to help you navigate those decisions by suggesting some questions you may want to ask before you buy.
Funding
- Braille displays can be expensive for individuals to afford. In many countries financial support is available for specialist equipment. Your national blindness organisation can advise what if any state support is offered to help cover some or all of the cost of a new braille display.
- If you are studying, ask your school or education service if they provide devices on loan during your course. Regular access to braille reenforces literacy skills including spelling, punctuation, grammar and layout. Plus, braille helps with access to technical subjects such as: mathematics, sciences, computer coding and musical notation.
- If you are in work, finance to buy a braille display for carrying out your job may be available through a government or employer assistance scheme. A braille display is widely recognised as a reasonable workplace adjustment for blind employees. The support available to you varies from country to country, and may depend in-part on the size of your employer’s organisation.
- In some countries support to buy a braille display may be available from a medical insurance company, either social security insurance or private health insurance.
- Some charitable organisations may have grants available for individuals with limited incomes. You may also be able to borrow a basic braille display from your national braille library service.
- Braille display suppliers may also be able to help with funding advice. Ask your supplier about funding options, special offers, spreading payments and trading in older or competitor devices.
For further information on the funding options available to you, contact the national organisation for blind and partially sighted people in your country. You can find your organisation among the national members of the European Blind Union.
Where to Buy?
You can find a list of braille display manufacturers on LivingBraille in the article List of Braille Display Manufacturers. Sometimes it may be difficult to purchase the specific braille display that you want from another country. Therefore, manufacturers often supply displays via a network of local dealers. Search for suppliers of specialist assistive technology for blind people in your country, or ask the braille display manufacturer for contact details of your local dealer.
Compatibility
The braille display must work with your screen reader to show information from your computer, tablet or smartphone. Most popular braille displays work with most screen readers with very few exceptions. It is essential to confirm the braille display works with your screen reader before purchase.
Try before you buy
You must ask suppliers for a hands-on demonstration of the offered models. Feeling button placement and cell technology is helpful for making the correct purchasing decision. Not all suppliers can offer in-person demonstrations. But where possible, consumers benefit from such experiences. Always ask your supplier for this. You could also ask other blind people if you can get some hands-on time with their braille display.
Display Dimentions
You can find braille displays in a wide range of shapes and sizes. The smallest devices are about the size of a regular print paperback book and weigh just a few hundred grams. The largest single-line displays measure twice the width of a standard laptop computer and are designed to stay on your desk between you and your computer keyboard. Multi-line displays are often about the size of a large gaming laptop and weigh several kilograms. Which one is best for you depends on where you are most likely to read in braille. Is your braille display for your desk, at the office, on your sofa or while traveling?
- Consider, if braille displays with less than 20 cells provide enough space for fluent reading for you.
- Consider, how often would you need to transport the braille display and use it on-the-fly.
Number of Braille Cells
Single-line braille displays remain the most popular type of device, typically offering between 12 and 80 braille cells, the number of braille characters that can be shown simultaniously. Multi-line braille displays can show hundreds of braille characters at once, but check that spacing between braille dots, cells and lines meet your needs. When considering a single-line display, you must find the correct balance between portability and reading fluency. Popular sizes include 20, 40 or 80 cells. The number of cells you choose depends on your lifestyle and where you need to read in braille.
- Up to 20 cells: convenient size well-suited to travelling. Often these smaller displays work as a stand-alone device with internal memory for making notes or reading books. They can also connect with your computer, tablet or smartphone.
- Up to 40 cells: the most standard size for braille displays. 40 cells is well-suited to work applications or studying. This size offers sufficient space for more information to be displayed at once and more fluent reading. This form factor works well for reading and editing documents. Many 40 cell models include additional functions such as connecting to multiple devices. Although 40 cells means a bigger device, it can still be transported comfortably in most laptop bags and cases.
- Up to 80 cells: these braille displays are intended for desktop work, coding or proof reading longer documents.
Speaking of cells, it is very important to also consider the braille cell technology used to raise and lower the braille dots. The most common cell technology is piezoelectric. This has several advantages – compact size, light weight, quiet and rapid to refresh. However, piezoelectric displays have traditionally been expensive to produce. Alternative technologies include: electromagnetic, pneumatic, piezoelectric polymer, ceramic bending actuators, shape memory alloy, ultrasonic motor, ER fluid, solenoid-based refreshable braille cell. You can learn more about the different braille cell technologies in the article A piezoelectric Braille cell on ResearchGate.net.
Different braille cell technologies may change your reading experience. Some questions you may want to ask your suppliers include:
- Which braille cell technology is used by the braille display?
- What is the process for performing repairs? Can individual cells be repaired? Can repairs be carried out by the local dealer?
- How noisy is the braille display refreshing and how important is this for you?
- Can the cells be touched while the display is refreshing? (this question may be more important for some multi-line braille displays)
- How fast does the braille display refresh and how important is this criteria for you?
Additional Features
Many braille displays feature extra functions over simply raising dots. Carefully evaluate if you really need these. Think about your usage, will it be mostly at home or school or do you expect a lot of travel? Will it be a device for studying, editing texts, working, or mostly for reading short messages? Will you need it to work as a stand-alone device with internal applications? Do you expect to use the braille display for operating a computer or smartphone? Will you be just reading or is writing important? Do you expect your needs to change during the life of the braille display?
Which additional features are important for you? Here is a list for you to consider:
- Cursor routing buttons: a small button near each braille cell for quickly and easily moving the cursor to the desired position. Cursor routing is essential for text editing. Not all displays have routing buttons, so if this is important for you, check the display has them. Routing buttons are the braille display equivalent to clicking with a mouse.
- Position of scroll/panning buttons. Moving forward and back through text is perhaps one of the most important functions. Depending on the number and placement of scroll buttons, braille displays can navigate by various amounts. For example, next braille line, next print line, next section etc. The exact position of scroll buttons varies between displays. For example, at left and right end of the braille cells or at the front under your thumbs. Check if the position and dimensions of these keys is comfortable for your personal reading style.
- Input keyboard: Qwerty or cbraille six-dot or eight-dot entry. As well as writing you can usually use the keyboard to control your screen reader and computer. In the case of a braille keyboard, chord commands (space + dot combinations) navigate through text and change settings on your display or connected device. For experienced typists, the familiar Qwerty keyboard is an easyer option.
- function keys: some braille displays have many additional keys for operating your computer, tablet or smartphone. Consider whether you need many dedicated buttons or if you just want to read.
- finger detection for automatic scrolling to a new line: automatic scrolling may be important for some readers, although according to the survey of Braille display usage the automatization of scrolling is not so popular.
- Connection: USB, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. While you can usually connect a braille display with your computer via a USB cable, you may need Bluetooth for a connection with a smartphone or tablet. Some secure working environments such as banks may restrict the use of wireless connections, so check with your employer what is allowed. Some displays include Wi-Fi for conveniently downloading content directly from libraries or cloud services.
- Applications: how much do you need a built-in word processor, book reader, media player, web browser, email client, instant messaging, dictionary, calendar or calculator etc? Are you able to add additional apps in future?
- Does the display offer internal storage and can you plug-in external storage such as SD memory cards or USB thumb drives?
- Does the display have an internal battery? Can the battery be replaced by the user? What is the typical operating time while using the battery? What is the cost of a replacement battery?
Single or Multi-line?
How many lines should your display have? While the answer will usually be one, several products are appearing with multiple lines. Multi-line displays raise lots of questions including: size, refresh rate, dot spacing, screen reader support etc. Important additional questions to check may be:
- Does the multi-lined display offer areas for braille reading and tactile graphicss together or separately?
- are dots distributed uniformly (more suited for tactile graphics,) or is the spacing correct (following the proportions for braille)?
- Is the multi-lined display supported by your screen reader or do you need extra software to operate it? Is such software accessible for you?
Service and Support
- How long is the warranty, and can it be extended?
- Can servicing and small repairs be carried out locally?
- What is the cost of annual cleaning and servicing?
- Can the battery be replaced by the user? If not, what is the cost of a battery replacement?
- Is it possible to repair one damaged braille cell? If yes, is the local dealer able to order the cell unit and replace it?
- When was the product first launched?
- What is the software/firmware update schedule?
- What is the recommended cleaning process while in the user’s care?
- Are the manuals, videos or other training materials available in the purchaser’s language?
Accessories
Which accessories are necessary and what is included with the braille display? Accessories to consider:
- USB cable: assuming the display has a USB connection. Is the cable sufficient length for the needs of your workstation.
- Outlet power plug: can off-the-shelf plugs work if the original is lost?
- SD card: if the display does not have internal storage?
- protective cases, covers, sleeves: useful for transporting, important for keeping the braille display in good condition. Braille cells are sensitive and need protecting from damage or dirt when not in use.