You've Met Fleur, The Polaris. Now Meet Her Younger Sister: Gabrielle, the QBraille XL!

Introduction.

In July of this year, the inevitable happened. Two cells on my existing Braille display were not functioning correctly. This was becoming a fairly regular occurrence despite cleaning it in line with the recommendations in the User Guide, and this particular unit was quite new, having only been purchased three months previously.

Braille is a medium I rely on for up to 18 hours per day, so I am not over-stating the case in saying it is something I depend upon. I had only recently before this point heard of the QBraille from SELVAS Healthcare (previously known as Hims), and so, while I had not seen the unit, I decided to place an order for it. It's no secret that the Braille Sense Polaris is by far my favourite notetaking device for all kinds of reasons listed in my blog post on the subject, and so I was hoping that the same build quality, care and attention had gone into the development of the QBraille. So I ordered it on 24 July 2020 and received it the following day.

Brief Summary.

The QBraille is without doubt the best Braille display I have ever owned. It is lightweight, portable and sits on my desk taking up minimal space. Before I go into detail as to the functionality of the QBraille, I will describe what I like about it especially.

Build Quality. As with the Polaris, it's just a beautiful thing. You receive a well-made carrying case with the device, and I always ensure at night when I am sleeping that the unit is protected by the case to avoid anything unwanted getting into any part of it. But in terms of the display, it just feels like a quality piece of hardware. When we took her out of the box, my wife and I said, "Oh yes, this is going to be good!" It's that evident.

Little Noise. I've read many Braille display reviews online. Indeed there is quite a thorough review of the new display from APH. But it is not very often that people discuss the noise level of the device as it moves from one line to another, or when moving in and out of Dialog Boxes etc within Microsoft Windows. I cannot understand this lack of attention to detail because for some of us it is critical, so I would like to discuss it here.

In summary, it is just like the Polaris: as quiet as you could need. When making audio recordings or radio broadcasting, we have very sensitive microphones. Whichever is the case, we want our audio output to sound as good as it can be. The last thing I want to hear is the Braille display making a "clack, clack, clack" sound when it scrolls. It is so unprofessional. Hearing a Braille display or screen-reader output in the background of audio broadcasts or recording is so amateur and it spells out "blindness" in block capitals.

I have no worries about the QBraille in this regard. I have to be very close to it in order to hear it scrolling, and even then you have to pay very close attention to it. I have absolutely no complaints.

Quality of Braille Cells. Clearly, this is an important factor, but as with the Polaris, I can read far fluently on this device than any other display I have worked with. When I read text out loud, I do not want it to sound like I am reading. If someone is listening to me, I want it to sound as close as possible to natural speech; in the way a competent seeing individual would read. That is what the QBraille, I hope, allows me to do. Moreover, because of the overall construction of the unit, it seems to me that there is less likelihood of unwanted matter getting between (or interfering with) the Braille cells. To return to an earlier point, the overall feel of it (in the most part) is of the highest standard. Regarding hardware and software, I am ultra-critical. Maybe you've already picked up on that?

The Main Advantage.

One of the difficulties with many displays on the market today is that if you wish to control your computer using the Perkins-style Braille entry keyboard, you need to learn a large number of special commands and strategies. While they are well thought out, noone can deny that for many, the learning curve is steep. I own one of the newer ElBraille devices, and it is a good product for what it is, but it does have this difficulty. I have spoken to many people who have a QWERTY keyboard attached in the event they cannot remember how to execute a specific command. I can fully understand why they would do that. This is where the QBraille comes into its own.

The QBraille not only contains a 40 cell Braille display, but it is also equipped with what is termed as a "hybrid keyboard", which I will describe briefly below. This not only contains arrow keys (such as those you would find on a conventional keyboard), but also keys such as ALT, Control, Windows, Shift and so on. There is even the "six pack" of keys: (Insert, Page Up and Down, Home, End), and finally Delete). The unit also comes equipped with a row of function keys. The end result of this extremely clever design is that the learning curve is reduced to almost nothing. If you want to close down a program, you'll press ALT+F4, in the same way as you would using a QWERTY keyboard. If you want to go to the Windows "Run" Dialog, you press Windows+R. You don't need to think about which Braille dots to press to simulate that keystroke, and in point of fact for some devices, it would take you two key presses instead of one anyway.

So, What Does She Look Like?

Gabrielle, (our name for the QBraille), consists of a long, thin, rectangular box. The dimensions are 12.2 inches wide, 4.69 inches deep, 0.71 inches high.
She weighs 1.8 pounds.

The top face of the unit contains the keyboard and Braille display. Along the front edge of the top panel are 40 refreshable Braille cells. Just above the Braille display. There are 40 small, oval-shaped buttons corresponding to each of the 40 Braille cells. These buttons are the cursor routing keys.
Each 5th cursor router is marked with a dot for easier orientation. This tactile marking, which I shall return to later, in itself just goes to prove how much thought has gone into the design of the product; that is a very nice touch!

On each side of the Braille display are two capsule shaped keys. These are the "UP" and "DOWN" scroll keys. The scroll keys are used to scroll the
Braille display through menus, fields, lists or text. You can use the scroll keys to scroll by display length or line.

The largest portion of the top face is taken up with the unique Hybrid keyboard, consisting of a 9-key Perkins Braille keyboard along with several standard QWERTY modifier and function keys, and a couple of special keys specific to QBraille.

In the center of the keyboard is a traditional Braille keyboard made up of Braille dots 1 through to 6 as well as Space, Backspace and Enter. On the same row as the spacebar are several modifier keys, located in similar positions as they would be on a standard QWERTY keyboard. From left to right are Control, Function, Windows, Alt, Space, Alt, Application (Or Context Menu) key.

Above the Braille Keyboard, on the top row, you will find the Escape key in the top left corner, and the standard F1 to F12 keys in groups of 4 to the right, with F4, F8 and F12 tactilely marked. Again, this tactile marking is of benefit for orientation purposes. Using JAWS for example, the keystroke to read the time is Insert+F12, and with such marking, there is no issue at all in locating F12 in order to do that.

On the far right is a group of 6 keys arranged in 2 vertical rows of 3. This is where the design slightly deviates from that of a QWERTY keyboard. Imagine that the six keys are resembling the shape of a Braille cell. That is how they are constructed. These keys are equivalent in terms of functionality to the standard 6 pack on a QWERTY keyboard. The left column, from top to bottom, contains Insert, Home and End. The right column contains Delete, Page Up, and Page down. Below these keys are the Up, Down, Left and Right arrow keys.

On the far left, below Escape and F1, is another set of 5 keys, arranged in 2 columns. Below F1, to the left of the Backspace key, from top to bottom,
are located Tab, Capslock and Shift. Below Escape are 2 additional keys specific to QBraille.

Just below Escape is the Pairing key. This key is used in conjunction with other keys to perform several functions related to device connectivity, including switching to specific connections, getting information about the current connection, and accessing the Pairing List.

Below the Pairing Key is the Mode key. The Mode key allows you to switch Hybrid Mode on and off and has additional functions when used in conjunction with other keys.

The LED lights are located above the arrows on the right side of the top face. The left LED light shows Bluetooth status; when Bluetooth is activated, this LED light turns blue. The right LED indicates the status of the power; when you are charging the unit, the LED turns red. When the QBraille XL is powered on, the LED turns yellow. These LED lights help a sighted person easily determine the status of the unit when working with students or work colleagues.

The right panel contains 2 items. Near the rear of the unit is the SD card slot. The QBraille can accommodate high capacity SD cards up to 32GB.
Nearer the front of the unit is the USB C port. You can use this port to charge the QBraille or to connect to a computer as a USB keyboard/Braille display.

The left panel contains only one button, a small, rectangular button marked with a small dot used to turn the QBraille XL on and off.

The rear panel of the QBraille XL contains 1 very small reset button.

Applications.

The QBraille comes equipped with a number of dedicated applications. I have not used these and will not be doing so. I need this display for two purposes: to read from my computer in conjunction with JAWS, and to send text messages on my iPhone. That is all.

However, the applications will be of value to many people. The applications are a notepad, DAISY Reader, Calculator, Alarm Clock, Stopwatch, Countdown Timer, and Scheduler.
The QBraille has the capability of being able to open DOC, .DOCX, .RTF and .PDF in addition to .BRF and .TXT files for reading.
It is compatible with PC, Mac, iOS & Android devices.

Screen-Reading.

As previously indicated, I use JAWS for Windows constantly when working with my computers. There is a very detailed section of the thoroughly written User Guide for the QBraille which explains how to associate the device with your screen-reader of choice, but in terms of JAWS, it is a matter of connecting the QBraille via USB to the computer, whereupon the Windows drivers are installed. You then, (using the JAWS Options for doing so), ad a new Braille display and select the Braille Edge driver. The final step in the process is to tell JAWS you want to use that device when the screen-reader starts.

The QBraille is capable of connecting to, (and allowing you to switch between), a USB device and six bluetooth peripherals. I say "six" bluetooth connections because for each device, potentially you might need to configure both a Braille display connection and a keyboard connection. This took me a little while to get my head around, but the User Guide does detail why this is necessary and how you go about it.

In terms of using JAWS, most screen-reader Braille preferences are respected, such as suppressing Braille marking etc. What isn't respected is the Braille input configuration. If using the hybrid keyboard described earlier, you need to go into the options of the QBraille and specify the Braille grade and language you want. Don't be caught out by this. You cannot change this in the JAWS settings and expect it to work.

Once everything had been configured however, I have no problems in switching to and from the JAWS screen-reader (being used over USB) and my iPhone (working with bluetooth) and back again.

In the event that you do wish to use the JAWS conventional settings for the display, you can turn the special hybrid keyboard off very easily. Remember though that, if you do, the Windows keyboard layout specific to the QBraille does not function. I just leave it switched on.

There are two special points to note when the hybrid mode is switched on.

1. Braille translation occurs when you press the Space Bar, having typed a word first.
2. When you enter some Windows Dialog Boxes, or special areas where you perhaps would have been notified that "Computer Braille" is required, you will not hear such information. This is because it is not necessary to use computer Braille. You can use the language and contraction status (or Braille grade) specified in QBraille's options.

Criticisms.

So, do I have any criticisms of the QBraille?

One possible criticism is that from time to time, the unit has "forgotten" my grade of Braille input preference. I do not know why this should be, but it has happened on one or two occasions and I have had to set it again.

There is one possible "deal-breaker" which may apply to some people, and this is the location of the Space Bar on the device. As you may recall, it is situated immediately below the Braille entry keyboard. So, on the QBraille, the design is in the following order from top to bottom:

• Braille entry keyboard.
• Space Bar.
• Cursor Routing keys.
• Braille cells.

What this means is that it is not as easy for your thumb to be placed naturally on the Space Bar. In other words, there is not quite the separation between your fingers and thumb so as to be natural when Brailling. Ordinarily, on many displays, the arrangement from top to bottom would be:

• Braille entry keyboard.
• Cursor routing keys.
• Braille cells.
• Space Bar.

In point of fact the arrangement on the QBraille is not quite as bad as it seems. I have heard repeated mumblings and grumblings in some quarters which are a little disparaging, perhaps causing some people not to give this device the consideration it deserves. However, I do wonder why Hims adopted this approach? They are a company who are absolutely meticulous in terms of product design, and it does cause me to wonder about this layout concept.

Summary.

As should be obvious, I have not reviewed every single facet of this product. Our company does not sell it. I am merely a user of it like everyone else. But I hope what I have written has been useful. When I posted to Facebook that I had purchased one of these units, there were some comments posted to the effect that people thought the unit was expensive. In terms of Braille displays, it isn't. Indeed in the UK it is less expensive in price than some of the other "leading" Braille displays.

In summary, this is absolutely a high quality product which deserves some very serious consideration if you are at all interested in having Braille access to a variety of devices, especially if you are a student or professional in demanding study or work environments. I'm not interested in using a device with a QWERTY keyboard. I want a product which is well constructed, allowing me to read text and enter contracted Braille at considerable speed, all of which the QBraille allows me to do with ease and enjoyment.

If you want to take a very brief glimpse of the QBraille, you can do so by watching a short video I produced.