FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Sales Contact: Charlie
Madsen, Inside Sales
Media Contact: Brad
Davis
Blind/Low Vision Group
800-444-4443 or 727-803-8000
www.FreedomScientific.com
Trade in
HumanWare Notetakers with
Freedom Scientific's Open Plan
Trade
in any proprietary HumanWare notetaker and get the features you want
today with Freedom Scientific’s PAC Mate
(St. Petersburg,
Florida, September 15, 2006) – Freedom Scientific’s
Open Plan, announced today, will help blind users of VoiceNote, BrailleNote,
mPower, and BrailleNote PK notetakers upgrade to an open platform
that uses the familiar Windows interface and runs mainstream applications.
For the remainder
of 2006, users in the United States and Canada can trade in one of
the aforementioned HumanWare products and save more than 70 percent
on a PAC Mate™ Accessible Pocket PC. Models
with 20 or 40 cells of refreshable braille will be discounted 60 percent.
Purchase prices
after trade-in are:
- PAC Mate BX400
and QX400 speech-only units: $700
- PAC Mate BX420 and
QX420 20-cell braille units: $1,500
- PAC Mate BX440 and
QX440 40-cell braille units: $2,250
The Open Plan
is especially attractive to 18-cell BrailleNote Classic users thinking
about transplanting their braille cells to an mPower. Transplanting
to an mPower leaves you with the same amount of old cells, but trading
in the old unit for one of the PAC Mate’s 440 models gets you
40 new cells. That’s 22 extra new cells for the price of a
transplant!
If you want to save some cash, instead of upgrading your old 18-cell
HumanWare unit, trade it in for a PAC Mate 420 model, and get two extra
cells and all the benefits of the open platform for $700 less.
The Open
Plan also gives VoiceNote users, who are excluded from the HumanWare
Transplant Program, an inexpensive braille upgrade option.
Those taking
advantage of the Open Plan will be able to choose from more onboard
applications, read from more braille cells, and access mainstream
applications and peripherals. Students learn the Windows operating
system as they use the PAC Mate, knowledge they will draw from for
the rest of their lives.
PAC Mate users
can communicate via MSN and AOL instant messaging, synchronize with
Microsoft Outlook's e-mail inbox, tasks, and notes, balance their
checkbook, and manage spreadsheets. BrailleNote owners are still
waiting to get in touch with those features. While they wait, PAC
Mate users are working with a host of other features BrailleNote
doesn’t have. Features like bar code scanners that identify
and describe many common household items, support for all Word documents,
Skype Internet telephony, reference materials like encyclopedias
and recipe databases, virtual private network access, and support
for a broad range of network cards and other peripherals.
“Since I
became a PAC Mate user, I've used numerous exciting features that
the closed nature of the BrailleNote prevented me from being able
to deliver to customers when I managed that product,” said
Jonathan Mosen, formerly of HumanWare, now Vice President of Blindness
Hardware Product Management at Freedom Scientific’s Blind/Low
Vision Group. “My PAC Mate has become an essential tool for
me. Not only am I more productive on the job because of features
like the full synchronization and VPN support, but it's my accessible
remote control for all our appliances that use a remote.”
Mosen also said he
likes how the PAC Mate gives him such a vast selection of entertainment
options and supports all common streaming media formats.
“A closed platform
can't possibly keep up with all of the innovation being unleashed by
Microsoft and the many third party developers that write software for
Pocket PC devices. I have no doubt that once BrailleNote and VoiceNote
users get their hands on a PAC Mate, they'll be amazed at the world
of possibilities on offer,” Mosen said. “I can even do high
quality audio recordings on it!”
Find out more about
the PAC Mate by visiting the Freedom Scientific Web site. Contact
Freedom Scientific if you have questions or wish
to take advantage of the Open Plan.
This program cannot
be combined with any other discounts. The trade-in units must be
in good working condition, as determined
by Freedom Scientific. Freedom Scientific reserves the right to refuse
any trade-in or to change or cancel any aspect of this
program at any time at its sole discretion.
About Freedom
Scientific
Freedom Scientific is the world's leading manufacturer of assistive technology
products for those who are blind and vision impaired and products for the special
education and learning disability markets.
Freedom Scientific® and
PAC Mate™ are either trademarks
or registered trademarks in the United States and/or other countries. The
names of companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of
their respective owners.
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