This has been a monumental year for Braille, particularly where multiline devices are concerned.  Never has the appeal of these displays been greater for me than now with the likes of Monarch and Dot Pad X offering so much versatility.  And just when I thought this year couldn’t get any better, I have finally had an opportunity to play with the ultimate single line display that is the Help Tech Activator Pro 80.  I have always coveted the dream of handling the supreme build quality and concave Braille cells of a Help Tech display, but the Activator Pro is something else.  Let me explain!

Thanks to VisionAid Technologies, I have been able to sample some of the rich features the Activator Pro 80-cell device comes with, and I can kind of understand what a car enthusiast loves about driving a top-of-the-range vehicle like an Audi, a Rolls-Royce or BMW.  The Activator Pro oozes class with its metal casing, 80 concave Braille cells, equivalent number of cursor routing buttons, and a full-size qwerty keyboard that is to die for.  It is much more than a single line Braille display, yet it can be operated simply and immediately without using the added bells and whistles it comes with if you prefer.

Placing it on my desk for the first time, I was immediately struck by its build quality and ergonomic design.  There are two USB C ports on Activator Pro, one on each side.  The left port is for connecting it to a PC or to a charging plug.  The right USB C port lets you connect Activator Pro to external devices such as a smartphone.  Bluetooth allows you to connect Activator Pro to three devices, and can split the Braille cells into two sections on the display so you can read a document, email or web page on the left side while reading your phone or tablet’s output on the right portion.

You can write notes and access Activator Pro’s built-in Editor at the press of a button, and use the BrailleShot feature to record what you are reading so it can be copied to the clipboard for transfer to an external device.  This works in a similar way to JAWS History where you can record what the screen reader is saying for transfer to a document.

For me, one of the most exciting features of Activator Pro is the qwerty keyboard which is built into the device.  It not only contains all the keys you would associate with a modern keyboard, but has several extra keys that allow you to program them to activate different applications.  So, above the function keys you would find on a regular qwerty keyboard, Activator Pro’s equivalent has an extra row of function keys above F1 to F12, three further Special Keys, and 10 QuickAccess Keys.  And let’s not forget the standard numeric keypad on this amazing keyboard.  This is flat, which I wondered might cause me to make some adjustment, but I needn’t have given it a second thought.  The keys have a nice level of travel, they are easily distinguishable, and have what I would describe as a clicking sound rather like a mechanical keyboard.

If you want the best of both worlds with qwerty and Braille input, you can switch to using the home keys, s, d, f, and j, k, l, instead.  There are also two space bars at the very front edge of the Activator Pro to use in conjunction with Braille input.

The device comes with a USB Start Stick which contains the HTCom software required for transferring and translating files between your PC and Activator Pro, documentation and the NVDA screen reader should you require it.  Activator Pro works with JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver and TalkBack screen readers.

Its dimensions are: 56.6 cm wide, by 1.9 cm high, by 23.7 cm deep, and weighs 3.2 kg.  The box contains an Activator Pro 80 with carry bag, USB Start Stick, USB C longer cable with charging plug, and shorter USB C cable for connecting to external devices.  Print literature is also included, and user guides and other information are contained on the Start Stick.

Activator Pro also comes in a 64-cell version, but this does not contain the 10 QuickAccess keys that are found on the 80-cell due to size.  However, you can simulate the keystrokes of the 80-cell on the 64-cell version.

You can find out more about Help Tech Activator Pro by visiting the VisionAid Technologies website:

https://visionaid.co.uk

Or, speak to one of their sales team for pricing by calling 0800 002 5555.

It goes without saying that this is another very expensive display at just over £11,000.  Yet despite all of this great technology in our midst, I am still asked regularly: ‘Why does Braille matter so much to you?  Isn’t it becoming redundant now?’  These questions actually irritate me, and I am offended by them.  Would a deaf person be asked to justify the use of BSL?  Would a sighted person be questioned about using print?  No of course not, so why do we Braillists run into the debate about longevity and usefulness?

My Braille journey started when I was four years of age, and the truth is that I have used it in some form or other every day since.  Whether I proofread a document, read or write a note or longer piece, label something around the home, or even feel the time on a watch, Braille is there for me whenever I want to use it.  The choice of what to use for Braille input and output has never been greater.  So yes, Braille matters as much to me today as it always has, and no, Braille isn’t on the way out or diminishing in popularity.  For education, employment and in many other situations, Braille is the most important tool that any blind person could have at their disposal.

The only caveat to the above in today’s Braille world is cost.  Unfortunately, due to it being a niche market, and with the present global economic uncertainty, electronic Braille is extremely expensive.  The more dots you have, and the more bells and whistles your device comes with, the higher the price.  Factor in exchange rates, technical support, and insurance, then whatever you choose is going to make a dent in your finances.  For me - and I appreciate this is not a view everyone will share - the sacrifices I make to use Braille on the scale I do is worth every penny.  My son needs his car to drive to and from work every day and sometimes within work.  I need Braille as part of my own job, particularly for proofreading documents and supporting the young people I work with in schools.  Blind journalists like Peter White and Gary O’Donoghue wouldn’t be able to write scripts and read them in the way they do live on air without Braille at their fingertips.  So please, please don’t ask why Braille matters to us so much, think of it instead as a code that enriches our lives in so many different ways.

If 2026 is as exciting in the development of Braille devices as we have seen this year, then I can’t wait to immerse myself in another year of the dots!