2017-07-06 20:17:02 (edited by Orko 2017-07-06 20:18:07)

Those of you who follow the Blind Bargains podcast will know about this already, so I'm posting this for those who don't.

Humanware has announced the Victor Reader Trek. It's a blending of the Victor Reader Stream with a Trekker Breeze Plus into a single device that looks like a Victor Reader Stream except that it is about 25% thicker to make room for the GPS.

No, it's not the same GPS chip the Trekker Breeze Plus used but a newer chip that picks up the satelites faster and can more accurately set your position, within 10 feet or 3 meters so they say.

It will have all the functions of the Victor Reader Stream plus all the functions of the Trekker Breeze Plus, plus several new features that both Victor Reader Stream and Trekker Breeze Plus users have been asking for for the past couple of years.

Probably the most prominent new feature will be the addition of Blue Tooth connectivity for output to speakers or headphones.

The microphone jack is gone to make room for the GPS so the headphone jack now accepts headsets as well as headphones, same for Blue Tooth as well.

They have also changed their map supplier. I don't know who they were using for the Trekker Breeze, but for the Victor Reader Trek they will be using maps from TomTom, one advantage this will generate is that instead of having the United States broken up into sections where you could only load 4 sections on the Trekker Breeze, the entire United States will be loaded. There are more than likely similar map expansions for other parts of the world as well, though they didn't mention them.

The current Victor Reader Stream has 8 GB of storage built in, the Victor Reader Trek will have 32 GB, some of which will be needed for the GPS system data and map.

The Victor Reader Stream will continue to be sold and supported, the Victor Reader Trek isn't replacing it, it is just joining the Victor Reader family of products.

The normal price of the Victor Reader Trek will be 699 US dollars, but is being sold at the preorder price of 599 US dollars until the end of the year. They are accepting preorders now and expect to start shipping in late October.

I've already preordered mine. (Big toothey grin)

2017-07-06 20:25:49 (edited by jack 2017-07-06 21:11:14)

Yup, and if it was called the victor Reader Breeze, I'd probably be blown away. lol And let's not forget that it will also support i-beacons, and will support the galileo system that will bring the accuracy down to 1 foot.

2017-07-06 20:38:00

Absolutely! I had forgotten those, but my excuse is that they seemed to have done more adding of features than putting the two products together. The podcast about it was 79 minutes long, that's a lot to remember without notes.

2017-07-06 20:47:21

Hi.
Is the victor stream a mp3 player or what is it?

I am myself and noone is ever gonna change me, I am the trolling master!

2017-07-06 20:58:19

It's a media player designed for the visually impaired. It can play audio books from bard, audible, and in mp3 format. It can also play daisy books from book share, daisy online, the nfb's newsline. Put your music library of mp3 files on it, or Microsoft Word and text files. There's a lot more too.

http://www.humanware.com

2017-07-06 21:11:41

It also has native bluetooth audio support so no more having to use bluetooth transmitters.

2017-07-06 22:26:00

Thanks alot, it sounds good.

I am myself and noone is ever gonna change me, I am the trolling master!

2017-07-07 00:04:25

I'm very fond of my victor reader stream and use it literally every day. Indeed when I gave up on ITunes and started using the victor it was a liberation, I could have all the folders I wanted with lots of playback options, it even does several different formats such as m4b as well as standard mp3 or dazey format.

however the trecker I got on far less well with when I tried one. Far too much complexitry having it built over an existing tablet, with far too many paripherals to be convenient, that was one case where I found the IPhone alternative to be more convenient than the custom device. So I probably won't be looking too much into this, especially if the price is close to 500 quid as opposed to the 250 for the Victor stream.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2017-07-07 00:24:33

The only thing I wish the Victor Reader Stream would do is stay within the folder and sub folders when shuffling music. Instead anything in your $DTD Music folder is fair game for the shuffle. (frowns)

But other than that, the Victor Reader is just about as perfect as you can get.

2017-07-08 00:57:48

Is there anywhere else I can purchase the Trek besides Humanware? I heard that Humanware charges $30 or 40 in addition to the $600 or $700 which is ridiculous! I also want to get this before the preorder period is over.

Grab my Adventure at C: stages Right here.

2017-07-08 01:36:50

I know that the latest victor reader stream was being sold on amazon. As for the victor reader trek. I do not think so, or at least not yet. Now for my thoughts. Oh where should I begin. Yes it is combining the treker breaze with the stream. This makes for a very interesting product see that they throne in IBeacons better location and the like. I just do not see my self paying the price for it yet. It took alot for me to even pick up the latest victor reader stream. Trust me, I get why you would want to have your GPS on a different device then your phone. I also get the buttens and that it is a two in one device. I also get the bluetooth suport that it comes with. I also get that they are talking about adding FM radio to it via a software update later on. I do see things that they can do with it. The thing that is keeping me from buying it is the price. It will be $699 in the US if I remember right and I really do not need it for that much. Now for some things I can see them adding. I can see them adding bluetooth braille display support for one thing. They might be able to add switch support for another if said switches can connect via bluetooth. I can see maybe adding keyboard support so that addresses in a little bit better, but I really do not think that they would add that at all. I also would like them to add away for us to download voice into the device like how you can with voice dreamer without having to flash a new update on to the device itself. Now for the hareware I wish it had. I wish it had the compus and the Accelerometer in it like the IPhone does so that we could wave it around like we do with the nearby explorer app. Those things could help us figure out what direction we are going without the device having to calculate it from the GPS. This would mean that we would not have to be moving to figure out what way we are facing. Do not think that I am saying that it would not be a good device, but I do think it could be so much better.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
DropBox Referral

2017-07-08 01:49:02

You're right. Humanware could have added a little more GPS functionality. Maybe I'll just wait and see what the product is like from audio demos etc. It does seem like an interesting device though. If it gives me more information than things like Blind Square do, it'll be worth it. Once indoor navigation becomes a thing, it'll be incredible! I'm imagining a situation where I'm walking through a building and the thing tells me when I pass by major landmarks like the front desk or offices. While I could do these things on my phone, the battery would be flat in no time. Maybe the cost is a little high, but if it lasts a good 5 or 10 years I'd be happy. It's certainly better than spending nearly the same amount of cash on a new iPhone every 2 or 3 years.

Grab my Adventure at C: stages Right here.

2017-07-08 01:49:07

@chris

I know that Humanware does have dealers, but I do not know if they are extending preordering to them, but I don't see why not, so I would suggest that you check to see if there is a dealer near you.

Me? I agree that $30 is a bit steep for a package that only weights 3 or 4 pounds, but I decided I was willing to pay it to get on the preorder list as early as possible.

2017-07-08 02:39:28

Well keep in mind, this is a preproduction device. They could very well add compass support, hell it may already be in there. Information is very much subject to change. And keep in mind, you are buying a device set up for the future. The Galileo system I mentioned is not ready yet, but the Trek will be ready for it. Not even all the phones out there are ready.

2017-07-08 03:00:44

That was the one point that convinced me to upgrade to the Trek. For the types of walking trips I'm willing to take with my current mobility skills, the accuracy of the Galileo system will be just what I need.

The other features they'll be adding with future updates won't be bad to have either.

2017-07-08 03:09:34

Even with good mobility schools they've always said you can't fully rely on gps because of its limited accuracy. It's gotten better with phones, yes. But it's always that 10ft limit that made a big difference. With the 1foot accuracy, you could almost depend on it in Foreign locations.

2017-07-08 04:43:02

My mobility training, if I can be so generous as to call it that, really sucked. I have absolutely no confidence that I could safely cross a major thoroughfare. So I'm limited to places I can get to while crossing only relatively quiet residencial streets.

The apartment community I live in is just behind a shopping center with a bunch of stores in it including a grocery store.

I figure that with Galileo's 1 foot accuracy I could stand in front of a store I want to find again and bookmark it, then be able to return to that bookmark later and be at that same store again.

If I need to go somewhere on the other side of a major thoroughfare, I'll just call a cab and get door to door service. In those cases, I can use the GPS to make sure the cabbie doesn't go a wandering to jack up the fare.

I had one cabbie do that to me to the tune of about $15, I don't use that cab company any more and now always have my Trekker Breeze with me when I do take a cab.

Even without Galileo the newer and hopefully better GPS chip they are using will be a plus.

2017-07-08 06:45:56

The gps chip will be of the caliber of the ones used in newer phones, so it will have the current accuracy threshold for now and will be ready for the Galileo system when it launches.

2017-07-08 07:21:41

If it hasn't been mentioned yet here, the VR Trek has SD card support up to 256GB, a built-in FM Radio, plus you "can" record "points of interest" with an "external mic, as the 3.5mm jack is a "headphone/mic combo" one.
(Not sure about "audio" recording  "Files" yet.)
In addition, that 599 USD price (which lasts through Dec. 31st 2017,) is an "order by phone" only option, thus you have to call Humanware  "directly." (See http://humanware.com for your country specific 1-800 number.)

Don't forget to email
mailto:[email protected]][email protected] , as they will be doing a "follow up" podcast answering peep's questions on this new Victor/Trekker combo.

PS. Since a link to the "79 minute" VR Trek podcast hasn't been posted here yet, here's its "listening" page:

https://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=17404

2017-07-08 12:39:24

So far, all fare points. Yes I am weight, but I will wish to keep on top of any new thing that comes out on this because of it looking so interesting. Wish I could had been there to play with it. LOL.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
DropBox Referral

2017-07-08 14:31:42

I can't speak for anyone else, but I didn't go to either convention, so I chose to buy one based on the interview with Humanware Joe Steincamp (I hope I got that right) in one of the Blind Bargains podcasts.

2017-07-08 16:20:06

Again I just found the trecker itself with it's external mike, separate sensor, lot of cables  rather too cumbersome for what I got, especially as compared to just taking my  IPhone around which I do anyway, still if it works.

I will say that one foot navigation would be awesome for me too since currently while I can use blindsquare to see what places are around, I am still down to landmarks and previous recognition since the gps accuracy just isn't good enough to let me know where a specific place is.

That might also be a  very good reason to trade in my iPhone 5 for a later model since hell I'd certainly use a satnav program with that sort of accuracy even if I don't fancy tangling with the trekker again.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2017-07-08 17:08:59

Dark, the newer Trekker Breeze was actually nothing like the original Trekker. Still technically was a windows ce device, but no mainstream hp pda with an elastic rap-around keyboard pushing buttons on a screen. Single device, 9 keys, built-in receiver, external speaker you didn't need to charge. The Victor Reader Trek's keys are generally the same on both the Victor and Trekker side. Both products had a where am I key. Stream's where am I key is 5. Well, shockingly, on the Trekker side, the where am I key is also 5! Lol. You hit the bookmark button to place a bookmark in your book or media, how bout pushing the bookmark button to drop a landmark at your destination of choice? They all have different functionality but generally share the same key configuration. That online button now switches between offline, online, and orientation mode. And the Trek is only slightly thicker than the Stream2 to make way for the gps internals and bigger processor.

2017-07-08 17:17:56

And don't forget blue tooth. Unlike the Trekker's external clip on speaker, the Trek's clip on speaker has no wire because it's a blue tooth speaker. Or if you prefer bone conducting headphones like the After Shokz, they are blue tooth too.

2017-07-08 18:18:38

Hmmm, they probably have improved the design since back when I tried the original trekker (not ethe breeze), in 2005 or so, though back then it was such a hassle to go  charging, connecting  and carting around so many different things, many of which had weird charge points that I found the thing more trouble than it was worth, and I'm afraid these days I probably wouldn't bother buying a dedicated  device when I find the IPhone alternatives like blind square work fine for me, (though as I said, I would definitely be willing to invest in a more expensive and more modern phone if it improved the accuracy of the satnav).

This is rather different to the media situation where I battled with trying to get my audiobooks and music to cooperate with iTunes for two years then finally  found the victor reader stream a  hell of a relief.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)