@JamminJerry Yeah, exactly. I have no use for a cool Linux machine that supports Braille input and is based on an open platform and has long battery life. My iPhone can do everything it can do!
@fastfinge as you can tell for me, if I am thinking about getting something that is over say 100 dollars, I have to justify it to myself before buying it. so it comes back to cost for me all the time. lol.
@JamminJerry Totally. And if I wanted a reading device I could get one of @simon's solar jelly android preserve phones or whatever they are for much cheaper than a BT Speak.
@fastfinge@JamminJerry How much do you care about Eloquence? You can run that on a cheap Unihertz phone but not on the BT Speak. I find the price obnoxiously high, but everything you said about it is also why I find it appealing. I just do not understand why it needs to cost what it does. Either I'm way wrong about manufacturing costs or they are making an absolute killing. They were content to charge $800 for the exact same device with a software lockout on running a proper desktop environment. When everyone (rightfully) biqched, I wish they'd just met in the middle and charged $1000. But apparently they are content to charge $1200 _a device they could have reasonably sold for $800. So yeah, much as I want 'one too, it's hard to justify. I figure that eventually, some company like GPD will release a tiny ARM computer and then we can get one of those.
@fastfinge@JamminJerry It's different between Linux and Android. On Android, you can still run Eloquence if the CPU supports 32-bit. Some newer phones do not. My Pixel 7, OnePlus 13, and Jelly Max (which is the larger, five-inch phone) do not support Eloquence. The Jelly Star and Tank Mini do, because they're using an older chip that hasn't got that cutoff. They also have headphone jacks where the Jelly Max does not. On Linux, I'm not aware of any emulation and there's no Voxen Eloquence for ARM, so you just can't run it at all. You can still run Voxen on an Intel Linux machine.
@fastfinge@JamminJerry Correct. It'd be hard to find something in that price range that runs Eloquence and also gets updates. Phones like the S23 series could do it, but Samsung is its own unique brand of terrible for us. I don't personally care that my book/media device is on Android 13.
@simon@JamminJerry So I don't have any other Android thing, so I'd want to be on the latest and give up eloquence to test accessibility of newer Android. So should I get Jelly Max or Tank 3 Pro, if I spent money for no reason?
@fastfinge@JamminJerry Honestly, as much as I talk about Unihertz, I can't recommend their phones as primary devices because they have a history of questionable quality and they never, ever offer updates. I think there's one time in all of Unihertz history where they've updated a phone by one major Android version. Otherwise, you get whatever it comes with. So, if you want to test out Android and forego Eloquence, i'm going to recommend you get a Pixel.
@fastfinge@JamminJerry Yeah, they've been getting more expensive here for some reason. I got a Pixel 7 a few years ago through Rogers and thanks to a promo, the phone plus a second line was far cheaper than just buying the phone. I would say the Jelly Max is a solid pick from Unihertz if you want something fairly up-to-date, as long as you're okay with a five-inch screen and a chonky design. They charge at 66 watts which is pretty cool. However, Android 15 is already out, so you're technically outdated on day 0, and there are cheaper phones that get better updates. Android is never simple. I know the Samsung A16 (and the A*6 line in general) is supposed to get six years of updates which is downright impressive for their budget line. I don't know about 32-bit app support or general performance with Talkback.
@fastfinge@simon@JamminJerry You might be able to find something reasonable if you're willing to buy something used. I bought a 6A off of someone I know for $150. If possible Pixel is the best option. It's made by Google, so stock Android and updates as soon as they come out. No waiting around for Samsung or whoever makes the device to decide they want to give you the next Android release.
@simon@fastfinge@JamminJerry Eloquence still works on my Motorola running Android 15, but of course you have to have bought it when it was still in the Play Store. It was supposed to have already quit working, though, and it hasn't at least for me.
@simon@fastfinge@JamminJerry It's the Motorola GPower 5G 2024 for something like $250. Very slightly laggy with TB navigation but definitely usable especially if, like me, you don't use it as a primary device.
