Review of the BT Speak
by Drew Weber
April 20 2024
I’ll honestly never forget the night, a state worker from the state of Missouri brought over a Braille N Speak 640 wen I was about 8 years old. She showed me how to use it, at least several commands.
I had used an Apple 2 e computer, and at that time, for some reason the Braille n speak felt familiar and I seemed to learn it quickly.
A year or so later, I got a grant through my Elementry school, and received a Braille N Speak 2000. I was so proud, and excited. It was my constant companion up into high school, that’s a lot of years for me, and one device.
I remember, before accessible cell phones, I used to store phone numbers on it, write a Journal, take notes at school, etc.
I remember finding out about Blazie’s website, and being able to download games, updates and the Bible. I had received the Disk drive and a Blazer Embosser through another state style grant. That disk drive really opened up other worlds for me.
A few years later still, Around the same time, I had gotten a Windows 95 computer, Jaws and Open book scanning and reading software.
I used to go to the public library, check out books, bring them home, scan them in, and put the text file on a floppy disk. I would listen to the books on my braille n speak.
I think the coollest thing for me about the device, was that I was the only one who new how to use it in my family. I never had to worry about anyone else getting into my files.
Then, one day, it stopped working. I put it into my closet, it was old technology, and I moved on, sort of. I never found another device that did for me,, what the Braille N speak did, sure, their were devices that tried, I had the Pac Mate, Then, years later, the first generation el Braille, but nothing, was like, the Braille N speak for me.
Now an adult, I had forgotten the eas of note taking, every thing in one spot, one device, I have never been happy with taking notes on iOS. I built a Qwerty Note taker, and quickly remembered what I had forgotten. It got pulled off a desk when I was using it in training at work, it broke. I missed it sorly.
I then developed and programmed a Braille Note taker, Notey, which is cool, but still, not the Braille N Speak I once had. I was considering purchasing an old Braille n speak from Ebay, but, it was old technology, no way to get files off the device with todays tech, easily.
Then, my world changed.
It was Early March of this year, 2024. I heard an Episode on the Living Blindfully Podcast, hosted by Jonathan Mosen, interviewing Dean Blazie. The same Dean Blazie who had had so much influence on the Braille n speak product so many years ago. He was developing a new product, the Bt Speak, which, he said, would be a modern braille n Speak.
Their it was, what I had been longing for, for so many years and updated! with todays technology. I had to have it, and it’s the best decision, I’ve made so far early 2024.
I placed the order for the BT Speak Basic. It was still pre order time, and it took a few weeks for it to ship and get to me. The web site said it would ship UPS, but, it shipped USPS. This isn’t really a problem, accept, I felt funny having an 800 dollar product coming through postal mail. I wish that would have been disclosed. I have another post office box that I would have had it shipped to.
I kept a good eye on tracking, and it got to me on a Saturday. The box was packed well, and still in good shape. The unit was so small. I turned it on, and already new how to use it. Yes in deed, it is a modern Braille N Speak.
One thing that I loved about the Braille N Speak, that, I guess I always expected about every other braille input product, was for input to be accurate. I have used several other braille in Keyboards. None, to me are super accurate. They hit the mark with that with the BT Speak. The keyboard is a bit louder than I’d like, time will tell how I feel using it in a meeting, but I’m a key pounder when my fingers are racing.
The unit is for sure smaller than the Braille N Speak. It sports Usb c, Wifi, Bluetooth, Micro SD slot, a very small pare of Stereo Speakers, and Hdmi. You do not have an eighth inch headphones jack, which, has it’s perks.
The unit feels light but stirty. It does in a way feel like the Braille N speak. You have raised lettering on the top, the keys are not as wide as the Braille N speak, but the way they are layed out, at least with my fingers, is really perfect. It is an 8 dot style keyboard, which I have grown to love and expect over the years.
The only draw back for me, as far as hardware is concerned, is the power button. It is a button not a switch. I have heard that with this case, their have been instances of the button breaking off inside the unit. The outer case which you press feels fradjule, in a sence, so, I power down, and or sleep with sofftware, which, puts less presses on the button’s life cycle.
The battery life is in my opinion very good. I get about 10 hours of use in basic, recently renamed, tridissional mode.
You do pick up in a file where you left off just like the Braille N Speak.
The unit does take about 25 seconds to boot up. Their is a sleep mode, but my understanding is, that the processer is slowed down to lowest base speed, and the keyboard is locked, basically just as much battery is used as if it were fully powered on, and it gets warm, so I wouldn’t feel right having it in a backpack sleeping. I use sleep mode, for example, if I know I am going to be going down to take notes, boot it up, create or open the file, put it to sleep as I walk where I am going for 3 to 5 minutes. If I know I am not going to be using it for a while, I shut it down.
You may use Usb audio devices, such as usb c, apple earpods, etc. The cool thing is, the audio will be as good as the device you plug in, so you don’t have to worry that a sub par audio output is in the devices hardware. I really like that.
The tradissional side of the opporating system is quite snappy. You have two different speech synths, ESpeak, and Dec Talk. The unit is noticely more snappy using ESpeak. I had not used Dec Talk prior to using the Bt Speak it took me a couple weeks to be able to easily understand it. I think, as I had used ESpeak, but not on a regular basses, that using Dec Talk, is helping me to also understand ESpeak if that’s possible.
One of the truly interesting sides of this product, is being able to join a mailing list for the product where the company owner, as well as development team are truly active. I have never experienced that, and I have worked closely with several products. I see suggestions being emplimented in updates, and the past while I have had the unit, the operating system has undeniably gotten much stronger. I am very impressed with the professionalism on the list, and the way I see the inner workings, working.
BT Speak Pro
Several weeks ago, it was announced that the Basic only models were going away, and that only the pro model would be sold. The internal hardware is the same, Possibly the case that is used, and the surrounding on the power button may differ. It is to my understanding that only the software is truly different.
The explination on this, was that the company had received much more buz, and purchasing of the Pro model. They said that sofftware for the Basic side would continue to be updated, which I can vouch for is true with the last huge upgrade the unit just received. The price difference of the basic, to pro, is 400 dollars.
I wanted to buy into the basic, because, I didn’t know how the hardware would stand up, first generation devices, it’s always a gamble. The first gen El Braille, in my opinion was offul, and it was a lot of money, 18 hundred, with out, the braille display.
Needless to say, I am very, impressed, so when I heard we as basic owners, had a year to upgrade hardware, I strongly thought about it. The way the upgrade works, is that you receive your pro BT Speak, and send your basic back, so you are not with out a unit. Wow!
I did it, and can say the case between devices, is the same. Hardware is all the same.
The difference in the software, is that you have a full blown, Linux desktop. You have the orca, screen reader, and you can easily switch between Tradissional mode, and Desktop. I had not used Linux before, it for sure has it’s simularities to modern Windows. For the most part I like it, though I do use the tradissional side the most.
The Desktop, seems to really eat through battery. I’d bet I’d get 4 hours of use, and once you load the desktop side, it stays loaded even when you are using tradissional, the battery usage in that case continues, if I know I am not going to be in the pro side, I restart the device.
You can switch between sides with a chord press, and, work in the editor in the basic or tradissional side, keep your spot, jump back to desktop, and do something else, I really like that.
Currently, the Desktop side uses only grade 1, or, computer braille, where we can use translation on the Tradissional side.
Web browsing on the Desktop side is pretty quick, I have used Google Chrome. Email in Thunderbird is fairly slow, but, I am kind of torn, I do like email and Web browser usage better on the Bt Speak than I do iOS. I didn’t expect that.
All and all 12 hundred for the pro, for all you get, I believe it’s worth it. It’s still cheeper really, than most other note takers, and you get so much, and the unit is so small, it’s a dream.
You have a Braille editor, calculater, Calendar, Stop watch, Dictionary, voice notes recorder, music player, and more, all within the Tradissional side.
You have a desktop mode that you can use full blown software, and you can instal sofftware of your choice.
I give the Bt Speak, and the customer support a 5, out of 5 stars. The product still has room to grow, but It has proven that it will continue to do so. If you are a braille in, speach out user, I believe this may be the unit for you. It is no doubt the unit for me.
I use it daily, I journal, I keep personal notes, all the things, I would keep within a Braille N Speak, I keep here. The Bt Speak has changed my life. I don’t know how I lived with out a note taker for so many years, and I’m so happy to have one, that is so close and built off of the principle of the old school Braille N Speak.
Drews Sound 