Earlier in February Cindy contacted me with a set of requirements I haven’t seen before. Cindy is partially blind and was looking for a PC that could be used with speech recognition, touch and spoken word.
I can see 10% and for outdoor transportation I need a scooter. Outdoors I use a seeing-eye dog. I would like to buy a UMPC for the following reasons: – I would like to have spoken navigation with me – I would like to be able to call with a umpc if that’s even possible – I would like to go on the internet with my umpc – My three year old son is a diabetic. Because of that, I would like to use a umpc so that I can look up the carbohydrates of products in for example an excel-sheet. But of course, this will only work if there is some way of installing a speech or magnifying program. Can you give me some advise? Is it possible to do the things above with a umpc in combination with speech software or is it better to buy a small laptop? The big disadvantage of a laptop I think is that it isn’t easy to bring if I’m on my scooter.
There’s tough one. At first I thought that spoken navigation meant GPS Navigation so I went off on a track that covered devices that included the ability to run GPS navigation software and ‘call’. The Flybook and HTC Advantage were the first two devices I recommended. Unfortunately I misinterpreted the requirements and it turned out that Cindy’s main requirement was to run speech recognition software. She did some good research and ended up with a shortlist that included the Fujitsu U810 and the Belinea S.Book. The final query was whether Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 would work on these devices. It turns out that it doesn’t install on devices where the CPU speed is under 1Ghz so I took a copy of DNS9 and ran it on the WiBrain B1H, a device that runs the same processor as the Belinea S.Book. It worked!
FULL IMAGE GALLERY AVAILABLE HERE
The S.Book is fairly new on the market in Europe and there aren’t many reviews to read so I offered to contribute towards the purchase if Cindy could write up her thoughts in a mini review and take some pictures. Cindy ordered her S.Book from Expansys (aff.) earlier in the week and it arrived yesterday and since then we’ve been communicating about the device. We’re working on a review together and it will be posted tomorrow. Until then I think it’s fair to say that she’s very happy!
I have to admit to a fondness for the S.Book. The styling isn’t exactly thrilling but its got the power to serve as a very nice low-end mini-laptop and the specifications are more attractive than the cheaper Packard-Bell Easynote version that is built on the same platform. The price, some 600 Euro in Europe is very good too. 80GB drive, 1GB RAM, Windows XP Pro, Touchscreen and VoIP module. You wouldn’t be able to upgrade an Eee PC for that price and having used a couple of devices that use the same 1.2Ghz platform, I know it’s fine for browsing, low-end office work and video.
More info in the Belinea S.Book in the portal. Links to more reviews, full specs, commentary etc.
Latest S.Book news here.
and Q&A in the dedicated forum.
