The Hims Braille eMotion
For anyone looking to buy a 40-cell Braille display and note-taker all-in-one sleek package, you might just want to consider the Braille eMotion from Selvas, also known as Hims. Here, I take you on a tour of this latest offering from the Korean company and explain why it has become one of my essential Braille tools.
Box Contents
Inside the box, you receive the Braille eMotion in its case, accompanying shoulder strap, Braille Getting Started booklet, USB C to USB C charging cable, wall charger with several plug fittings to attach, and earbuds.
Braille eMotion measures 12.6 inches or 320mm wide, 3.5 inches or 90mm deep, and 0.8 inches or 21mm high, and weighs 1.6lbs or 740g. It has 64gb of internal storage of which there is approximately 43gb of storage available to the user.
Like most Braille devices, eMotion has 40 Braille cells with equivalent number of cursor routing buttons, full-size Perkins-style keyboard with additional keys for navigation and execution, and is WiFi and Bluetooth compatible. It also boasts a non-replaceable rechargeable Li-Ion 3.8v 5000 mAh battery that lasts around 20 hours with normal use. Under the hood is Android 12, but you can’t actually access it the way you do on the BrailleSense 6, for example.
Braille eMotion Description
Placing the Braille eMotion in front of you, the top face comprises the following keys and controls
From left to right on the top edge furthest from you are three small keys marked with Braille letters: W for WiFi, B for Bluetooth, and C for Connectivity. These buttons have multiple actions depending on the length of presses you choose. The Braille input keyboard, including dots seven and eight, occupy the middle portion of the top surface. Between dots one and four is an oval-shaped button that, when pressed with the space bar, lets you skip between Terminal and Stand-Alone modes. Further to the right is a larger rectangular-shaped key which is the power button, and allows you to power on and off the device, or put it into stand-by mode.
At each end of the 40-cell Braille display are two capsule-shaped keys for panning the display up or down. At the front edge of the top face is a slightly protruding sloping area where you will find control, space, and alt keys on top. Stereo speakers are positioned at each corner of the top face of the unit.
On the left side of Braille eMotion, from back to front, is the record button, and a USB A port for attaching a memory stick or external drive.
On the right side of the Braille eMotion, going from back to front, is the USB C charging port, a 3.5mm headphone socket, and three buttons, the Actions key and the up and down volume buttons. The Actions button allows you to change what the volume buttons do in terms of voice volume, speed and pitch of the TTS engine.
Along the front edge of Braille eMotion, going from left to right, are left cursor, F1, F2, left stereo microphone, Home button, right stereo microphone, F3, F4, right cursor, and micro SD card slot.
Roughly in the middle of the front edge is a sloping, slightly protruding area. On top of this protrusion are the control, space-bar, and alt keys. As referred to above, you will find the left stereo microphone, Home button, and right stereo microphone, at the point where the eMotion slightly protrudes.
Braille eMotion Main Menu
Once you press and hold the power button until you feel a vibration, wait for the eMotion to load. On your first start-up, there is a tutorial that you can go through to help you customise your device, or you can exit this to take you straight to the Main Menu where you will find the following items:
- My eMotion - your designated menu for quick access to books, DAISY, documents and Music
- File Manager - where you can access the internal FlashDrive of the unit, or external media you attach to the device
- Notepad
- Connectivity - where you can quickly access your list of WiFi, Bluetooth and USB pairings
- Document Reader
- DAISY Player
- Media Player
- Library Services - lets you access Bookshare and portals in North America and beyond
- Utilities - contains Voice Recorder; Calculator; Display Time And Date; Wake Up Alarm; Stopwatch; Backup/Restore FlashDisk; Format; Sleep Timer; and Upgrade eMotion Firmware
- Settings - allows you to manage global options of the unit, set time and date, add voices, and much more
- Help - offers a comprehensive user manual and information about your Braille eMotion
The last four items on the menu all have sub-menus which offer further features. You can either arrow up and down the menu to reach an item and press dot eight, the enter key, or use first letter navigation, for example, H for Help.
Using Braille eMotion
There are two aspects of Braille eMotion that I particularly like:
Firstly, I love the shape of Braille eMotion. If you use it in Terminal Mode where you connect it to a computer, the ergonomic design enables you to position it in front of a laptop or external qwerty keyboard. This is particularly important for me because I prefer my display to be closest to me with the qwerty keyboard behind it, which avoids leaning forward and putting pressure on my neck and shoulders.
Secondly, the ease with which I can switch between Terminal Mode and Stand-Alone Mode is simplicity itself, and so convenient when I wish to jump from reading Braille on my computer to making notes on the eMotion, or opening a relevant document on the device. All I need do is press the centre button between dots one and four with space to switch modes. Braille eMotion has one USB connection and up to five Bluetooth connections. This means you could have eMotion paired with an iPhone, an Android phone, a laptop, or other device.
I also like being able to copy files to and from Braille eMotion while it is connected to my computer which comes up as an external drive. None of these things are new, but they can be achieved quickly and efficiently.
There is a lot that this device can do. It supports a wide variety of media and file formats, and assistance is always at hand with context sensitive help and a full user manual. You can read Braille or choose Vocalizer voices from the TTS engine, and you can make recordings or listen to music.
There are things it can’t do too. There is no web browser so you would need to pair it with your computer or phone to achieve Internet access. You cannot connect it directly to a Cloud-based service like OneDrive or Dropbox unless you pair it with your phone or computer to gain access that way, and the Android OS is not visible. Essentially, Braille eMotion does not have the added bells and whistles that can be found on the BrailleSense 6, for example. Braille eMotion is really a competitor to the HumanWare Brailliant BI X series where those devices have similar features and offer the same ergonomic comfort.
Contact Information And Pricing
Here in the UK, Sight and Sound Technology, 01604 798070, is the UK distributor for all Hims products. Visit
Braille eMotion retails for £2,795.00 with VAT exemption, and I recommend you call them to try before you buy to see whether this device is right for your needs as it is a considered purchase.
Conclusion
I have been using Hims products for some time. Yes there are software bugs, and technical support can be an issue if the unit needs to be returned to South Korea for several weeks. But the ease of use and ergonomic design does make Braille eMotion a very nice proposition. I can switch seamlessly between various modes at the press of a key combination, its battery life is really comforting, and I love being able to take notes, read books and even listen to music, all on the go. If you have ever met the BrailleSense 6 or previous iterations, you will realise that Braille eMotion is a cut down version, but which is ergonomically perfect and convenient for computer or laptop use.
The case is sufficient and offers minimal protection, but if you are going to travel with it, you might wish to consider something more substantial and waterproof. All in all, a very nice product if that’s your thing.