The VarioUltra is the latest Braille display from Baum. It comes in both 20 and 40-cell models, for $2,395 and $3,995 respectively. The 20-cell model will be reviewed here. The VarioUltra is a slim, well-built display that also has the ability to function as a basic notetaker on its own. The included applications include a word processor, PDF viewer, spreadsheet viewer, calculator, countdown timer, stopwatch, and an alarm clock. The display can connect with JAWS for Windows, Window-Eyes, NVDA, VoiceOver on both the Mac and iOS, and BrailleBack for Android. Currently, some screen access software and devices do not have VarioUltra drivers, so display emulation is needed, which will be discussed later.

Physical Description

The VarioUltra is a very thin device, measuring 7.4 by 3.5 by 0.7 inches, and weighing 0.7 pounds. The top panel contains most of the controls for the device. The front is sloped at about a 30-degree angle. This angled part contains, from left to right, two system keys, (s1 and s2), a spacebar, a round joystick called a NaviStick, another spacebar, and then system keys s3 and s4. Behind these keys is the 20-cell display. This display has three buttons to either side arranged in a vertical line. These buttons pan the display, as well as perform other functions depending on the mode selected. Behind the display are the cursor routing keys, and then the standard 8-key Braille keyboard. At the two front corners are attachment points for the shoulder strap. The right side only contains the power button, immediately behind the front edge of the device. The left side contains, from front to back, the keyboard lock switch, the mode switch, a micro USB port, and a standard USB port. The back edge of the device is empty. The display comes with a nice leather case, which holds the display securely and allows the display to be used while it is being carried by the strap.

Initial Startup and Basic Use

When the display is plugged in, one of two things will happen. If the display has at least some charge in its battery, the word “Charging…” will come up on the display. If the battery is completely dead, a partial line of full eight-dot braille cells will come up on the display, followed by a blinking dots 7 and 8. As the battery charges to the point where the display can power up, the line will fill in. Once the line is full, “Charging…” will appear. When the display is powered on, a line of dots 7 and 8 will appear across the bottom of the display. After this, a chime is heard followed by the phrase “VarioUltra 20” with a blinking first cell of the display as a progress bar. Finally, either the main menu, or the current connection status will appear depending on the mode switch. Use the NaviStick to navigate. Up and down move through menus, right opens submenus, left moves back as well as toggles checkboxes, and pressing in on the stick activates items.

Internal Applications

The word processor opens text, Word, and Braille documents, and saves as either text, rich text, or Braille documents. The standard editing functions exist, including cut, copy, and paste, as well as inserting the time or date. It is also possible to mark a file as read only, so that it cannot be modified. There is no spell check function, nor is it possible to print from the VarioUltra. Additionally, when opening Word documents with advanced formatting such as headings, links, etc. that formatting is lost. The PDF viewer can open and read text-based PDF files. Currently, the program simply does a text extraction, meaning headings, tables, alt tags, etc. are not preserved. That said, the program appears to do a good job of extracting the text and making it readable. The spreadsheet viewer opens Excel files in a read only mode. It is possible to navigate through the sheet, read the information in the various cells, and even indicate which rows and columns are headers. VarioUltra will then display the appropriate header after the current cell while navigating. The calculator can do basic and some scientific functions. It can handle powers, exponents, logs, square roots, and you can also assign values to X and Y for use in expressions. There are also basic trigonometric functions including sine, cosine, and tangent, and their related functions. Simply type in the symbols representing what you want to do, or select the functions from the menu, then press Enter. The answer is displayed after the calculation. The VarioUltra has several time-related functions. These include a stop watch, countdown timer, and an alarm clock. All of them work about as expected. The alarm clock allows for having multiple alarms which can repeat on specific days. The countdown timer and stopwatch will continue running even if you are in another program.

Pairing With a Bluetooth Device

Pairing with the VarioUltra is slightly different than with other displays. It is necessary to initiate the connection from the VarioUltra. Go into settings, Bluetooth, turn Bluetooth on, which is off by default, and press the scan button. After a few seconds, a list of devices is presented. Select a device from the list by moving the NaviStick left and right, then press the pair button. The device you are connecting to will prompt for a code which is 1111. Once this is done, the pairing process is complete. The final step is to activate the device with your screen access software as normal. As the VarioUltra is still fairly new, not all devices have VarioUltra drivers yet. To work around this, there are three emulation modes: VarioUltra, VarioConnect, and Pronto. The devices that work with each mode are as follows: VarioUltra: JAWS and Mac OSX VarioConnect: Android devices Pronto: Window-Eyes, NVDA, and iOS devices. The VarioUltra only works with JAWS via USB at the moment.

Braille Display Mode

Move the switch that is closer to the back of the unit toward you, and the VarioUltra enters Braille display mode. S2 with dot 1 sets the connection to USB, and S2 with dots 4, 5, 6, and 8 select among the four Bluetooth channels. When a device connects, you will see a message like “BT1 My iPhone.” After seeing this, press the appropriate key to connect to that device. For devices which use the Pronto emulation, since the Pronto is an 18-cell display, the device will not use the last two cells. A bug currently exists in the software, preventing the connection with more than two iOS devices at once, though connection with four different types of Bluetooth devices is possible.

Overall Impressions

The VarioUltra is a very nice Braille display. The keys, though small and without much travel, are positioned well and are enjoyable to type on. The Braille is crisp, and the unit feels very responsive. The NaviStick is also quite good, although it sometimes doesn’t recognize presses if the force is off-center. The only significant issue with the device is battery life. Baum advertises eight hours of continuous use on Bluetooth or twelve as a notetaker. Unfortunately, the experience has been that these numbers are slightly optimistic. Also, even when the VarioUltra is in suspend mode with Bluetooth turned off, the device had a 25% power drain overnight. The VarioUltra is currently a very competitive option for anyone looking for a smaller display which still has built-in capabilities. If power management can be improved, and the bug with connecting to more than two iOS devices fixed, the VarioUltra will only improve its position in the market.