I will write something up for AppleVis at some point soon.

But, starting from physical comparisons.

1. It is no louder while refreshing.

2. The keys are louder than those on the 20.

3. The keys are laid out more like you would expect from other displays, in that the 8 dots are kind of fanned out ergonomically. So unlike the 20, dots 7 and 8 are very comfortable for your little fingers to land on.

4. The space bar is on a slightly angled lip at the front, then the braille cells, then the keyboard.

5. there are cursor routing buttons above each cell.

6. It has a USB slot so you can use a thumb drive for alternate storage.

On my web site, I have samples of the alarm sounds under the heading Orbit Research information. 

www.turner42.com

I really like the display. Like the 20, it is the best feeling braille of any display.

You do have to install a driver to run it with JAWS so it emulates the Vario Ultra 40. Vispero says it is up to Orbit Research to fix the driver ...

But it works great with Jaws, or NVDA.



Hello list,

So I was thinking of upgrading to the Orbit Reader 40 display, but haven’t really been able to come across any reviews on the product. Write ups on the Orbit Reader 20 Plus yes, but not much for the 40. Can I just assume that they’re the same, but for amount of Braille cells?

There was one review I came across on Apple Vis but it was more focused on the device's sound than anything else. I did find one YouTube video, but it’s in French and well… I don’t speak French.

I was thinking of the Mantis 40, but honestly, I’m pretty happy with my mechanical keyboard for my desktop and I already have an 80 cell display connected to it, so this would be a more portable option for my laptop and iPhone for reading mostly. I don’t need another keyboard for that.

Anyway, if anyone’s got an Orbit Reader 40, I’d be curious to know their thoughts on how it’s holding up and general usage.

Thanks,

Cristóbal