I rely on a voice note Apex, having retired the Empower for a newer Humanware model. I am just as pleased with it as I was with the first device and plan to use it for many years to come. It is an intuitive little machine, lightweight, portable, and able to interface with my personal computer with improved software tools. What impresses me the most is the improvements in internet accessibility and the ergonomic wrist rest below the QUARTY keyboard. This design improvement allows my hand to rest upon it so I have less wrist fatigue when typing for extended periods of time. Thank you Humanware for providing this great machine so people like me can continue to lead independent, productive lives.

The Smartview 360 was invaluable in helping me adapt to my new way of life. Finally without struggles, I could do paperwork, read lengthy documents and do everyday tasks such as mail and paying bills at the office. The camera ability to see distances allowed me to use it to see the speakers and powerpoint presentations at medical and other meetings. On a personal level, it has been great for my home life too in applying makeup, threading a needle to sew, doing crosswords which I terribly missed and in general, giving me my life back as it was before the loss of vision.

I use my victor reader to record voice lessons, choir rehearsals and mp3 files of music I am rehearsing. The variable speed control allows me to practice slowly until i get the part perfected, then, speed it up to the designated tempo. I really am pleased with the amount of material I can store on the victor reader and the book mark feature allows me to locate passages in music I want to review.

I have quite a few players but I would like to highlight 2 of them from your company. I use the first generation Stream which is wonderful to use for many of my reading needs. It’s like always having someone around to read print books to me and I simply love it’s ease of use. For my recent Birthday my husband got me The Stratus. I absolutely love using it since I can read tons of books on a 32 gig card not to mention being able to put memory sticks into my Stratus but also keep the 32 gig card in my Stratus if I choose to flip to one of my books on the flash card from the memory stick. The Stratus’s sound quality is fabulous as well. I wish that these wonderful electronic servants had been out when I tried to go to college since my study time would have been far more rewarding then they were back then.

Compared to other blindness products, the new Victor Reader Stream provides a level of personal and professional empowerment unparalleled for the relatively reasonable cost. As a certified teacher of the visually impaired who does consulting work, it is gratifying to demonstrate the Victor Reader Stream to parents and to students who are blind and to let them know the wide range of options that are available. As little as ten years ago, if a student was losing his/her vision and had not entirely mastered the skill of reading Braille, it would most likely be necessary to pull the student out of the classroom in order to provide them with an accessible reading experience. Now, thanks to bookshare.org and NFB Newsline, along with the amazing bookmarking feature of the new VR Stream, I can confidently assure many pre-Braille readers of their continued ability to remain in and to participate in a mainstream classroom environment. Without the staggering cost inherent in the majority of blindness products, HumanWare has put the reality of auditory accessibility into many more hands and lives than would have otherwise been possible.