1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 What is the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY?
1.2 Hardware
1.2.1 The Top Panel
1.2.2 The Right Panel
1.2.3 The Left Panel
1.2.4 The Rear Panel
1.2.5 The Front Panel
1.3 Hardware Specifications
1.4 Memory on the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY

1. Introduction

1.1 What is the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY?
The Braille Sense U2 QWERTY is a Braille note taker developed and manufactured by HIMS, for people who are blind and visually impaired. The Braille Sense U2 QWERTY has a variety of powerful capabilities, including the following.

1. Use the Word Processor, and the QWERTY keyboard, to create Braille or text documents in multiple languages.
2. Print your text documents using any compatible Bluetooth or USB ink printer.
3. Create hard copy Braille documents by connecting the unit to a Braille embosser.
4. Open Microsoft Word documents, and read them in contracted Braille. 
5. Send email messages to sighted colleagues and friends while reading incoming email messages in Braille without the need for translation.
6. Create a schedule of important appointments with the Schedule Manager and set alarms to alert you to these appointments.
7. Input contact information for colleagues, friends, and family into the Address Manager.
8. Surf the Internet with the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY's Web Browser and integrated Braille display. 
9. Listen to music, audio books, your own personal recordings, or even videos with the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY's integrated media player.
10. Listen to and record FM radio content.
11. Calculate algebraic equations, trigonometric functions, and other scientific calculations with the built-in calculator.
12. View the flashdisk of the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY as a USB drive on your computer and transfer files. 
13. Use the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY as a Braille display with a compatible screen reader, such as Window-Eyes, JAWS, or VoiceOver.
14. Copy, move, and delete files on the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY with its intuitive, Windows-like File Manager.
15. Adjust the volume, speed, pitch and language of the speech on the fly. 
16. Use the Database Manager to create your own Database for storing important information.
17. Use MSN messenger, Google Talk, and Twitter to keep up with what's happening and stay in touch with friends, family, and colleagues. 
18. Use the included Google Maps applcation, the built-in GPS sensor, and digital compass to navigate independently without the need for external devices.
19. Share files with other people and other devices using Dropbox.
20.  Download news and podcasts with the RSS Reader.
21. View and navigate complex Excel documents.
22. Search for and play informational or music videos on YouTube.


1.2 Hardware

To get the most from your Braille Sense U2 QWERTY, it is important to become oriented to the buttons and ports on your Braille Sense U2 QWERTY as well as learning their functions. 
This section explains the hardware configuration of the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY. The Braille Sense U2 QWERTY is 10 inches long by 6.1 inches wide by .9 inches high. The bottom of the unit contains rubber feet in order to prevent slipping while you are using it. Place the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY on a desk or table top with the Braille display nearest you. Its shape resembles a thin, flat rectangular box. This section of the manual describes each side of the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY and the basic function(s) of each button and port. We will discuss the panels in the following order: top panel, right panel, left panel, rear panel, and front panel.

1.2.1 The Top Panel

The majority of the top face of the unit is taken up with the QWERTY keyboard. This keyboard is similar to many laptop keyboards, with the top row containing F1-F12 as well as Home, End, insert, and Delete. The bottom row contains control, Function, Windows, Alt, Space, Command (changes language), Alt, and Control, as well as the arrows. The remainder of the keyboard contains letters, numbers, and punctuation according to standard keyboard conventions. Use "FN-Up arrow" for "Fn-Up arrow", and "Fn-Down arrow" for "FN-Down arrow". Note: depending on the type of keyboards you currently use, you may find it more intuitive to change the location of some of the modifier keys. You can switch the functions of the Command and Alt keys, as well as the Function and Control keys in the "Global Options". 

If you are unsure of the function of any of the QWERTY keyboard keys, when the unit is powered on, you can enter a "Key Help mode" by pressing "Control-Escape". Press any key or key combination to learn its function. Press "Control-Escape" once more to exit "Key Help Mode".

There are tactile markings on the "f" and "j" keys so that you can easily locate "Home Row". There are also tactile markings on the casing of the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY surrounding the keyboard to help you more easily locate important keys. These markings are placed above "F1", "F5", and "F9"; and also to the left of "Tab" and to the right of "Backspace" and "Enter".

Below the keyboard is a 32 cell Braille display. Above the Braille cells, there are 32 small, oval-shaped buttons corresponding to each of the 32 Braille cells. These buttons are called cursor routing keys. When you are editing documents, you can use these keys to route your cursor to the character of the corresponding Braille cell. The cursor routing keys also serve as shortcut keys for navigating lists and groups of fields in certain places on the unit.
On each side of the Braille display are two capsule shaped keys. These are the "UP" and "DOWN" scroll keys.  The scroll keys are used to scroll the Braille display through menus, fields, lists or text. You can use the scroll keys to scroll by display length, paragraph, line, sentence, or character. You can set the left and right sets of scroll keys independently in the "Global Options". (See chapter 3.) 

STEREO speakers are located in the upper left and upper right corners of the top panel for audio output.

Above the keyboard, between "F1" and "f5", along the top edge of the unit, there are 4 LED lights. The far left LED light shows wireless LAN status; when wireless LAN is on, this LED light turns blue. The next LED indicates Bluetooth status; again, when Bluetooth is activated, this LED light turns blue. The third LED light shows the status of the GPS receiver; when you are running Google Maps, the LED turns blue. The LED light on the far right indicates power status. When the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY is powered on, the LED turns red. These LED lights help a sighted person easily determine the status of the unit when working with students. This helps them quickly evaluate whether options need to be changed for accomplishing current tasks, or if options are activated unnecessarily, and can be turned off to save power, etc.

1.2.2 The Right Panel

The right panel of the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY contains 3 full-sized USB host ports. Use these ports to connect a USB thumb drive for auxiliary storage or a USB keyboard or printer.

1.2.3 The Left Panel

Nearest the front of the unit on the left panel is the stereo headphone jack. Behind the headphone jack is the stereo microphone jack, used for connecting an external microphone or line-level recording source. Nearer the rear of the unit on the left panel, is the USB OTG port. Use this USB port to connect your Braille Sense U2 QWERTY to a personal computer for use as a Braille terminal, to transfer files to and from the computer, or to synchronize your contacts and calendar with Microsoft outlook.  
Note: if you attempt to connect the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY to a computer via a USB hub which is combined with other devices such as a card reader or hard drive, the Braille Sense U2  QWERTY is not recognized by your computer as a mass storage device or a Microsoft Windows mobile device by ActiveSync. You must connect the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY directly to your computer, or use a USB hub containing only USB host ports. 

1.2.4 The Rear Panel

Nearest the left of the rear panel is the AC adapter jack. To charge the unit's battery or use the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY on AC power, plug the small, round end of the AC adapter in to this jack, and plug the larger, box-like end of the adapter in to a standard AC electrical outlet. 

Near the center of the rear panel is a small, round recess, with a dot-like button inside it. This is the "RESET" button. If your unit is not responding properly, you can press this button to force a soft reboot of the unit. NOTE: do NOT press the "RESET" button for more than 5 seconds.  It takes about fifteen seconds for your unit to complete the reboot process. 

Next to the "Reset" button is a video output (VGA) port. The video output port can be used to display the output of the Braille display on a standard video monitor. To use this port, you must turn it on from in the "Global Options" menu. This port is very beneficial when using the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY in educational settings.

To the right of the "VGA port, is the local area network (LAN) port. If you connect the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY to an Ethernet interface, you can connect to the Internet, allowing you to browse websites as well as send and receive e-mail.

Nearer the right edge of the unit, is the "SD" slot, used for housing an SD (secure digital) card in the unit, used for additional storage. 

1.2.5 The Front Panel

On the far left of the front panel is an emblem displaying the location of the GPS antenna. To the right of the GPS emblem is a 3-position slide switch which is the key "Lock" switch. The key "Lock" switch is explained in greater detail in the next section. 

To the right of the key "Lock" switch is another 3-position slide switch. This is the "Media Mode" switch, and determines which type of media the media buttons control. This switch is explained in more detail in the next section. 

To the right of the "Media Mode" switch, are five buttons of varying shapes. These buttons control media playback. As explained above, the type of content controlled by these buttons depends on the position of the "Media Mode" switch. These buttons can control media playback, DAISY playback, or the FM radio. These five buttons are explained further in the FM Radio, Daisy and Media chapters of this manual.
To the right of the media buttons is the on/off switch. To turn on the unit, push the switch to the right. To turn off the unit, repeat this action.

Congratulations! You are now familiar with the basic functions of the buttons and ports of the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY. The rest of this manual discusses each function in greater detail to help you maximize the potential of your Braille Sense U2 QWERTY.

1.3 Hardware Specifications 

1) Operating system: Windows CE 6.0.
2) Flash memory: 32GB.
3) RAM: 256MB.
4) CPU: Mobile CPU (1GHz). 
5) Battery: Lithium Ion (detachable), backup battery and clock-battery installed.
6) Battery running time: About 17 hours (with Braille, TTS and middle volume of internal speaker)
7) Keyboard: QWERTY keyboard, 32 cursor routing keys, 4 scroll buttons.
8) Additional buttons and switches: key lock switch, audio mode switch, reset button, 5 audio buttons.
9) Braille display: 32 refreshable Braille cells.
10) Video output: VGA output, optional external USB LCD accessory.
11) Network: 10/100 based Ethernet.
12) Wireless: WLAN (IEEE802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth ver.2.0+EDR.
13) Sensor: 6-axis motion sensor, digital compass
14) GPS: Internal GPS receiver
15) Interface: 1 USB Slave(ver.2.0), 3 USB Master(ver.2.0), 1 SD slot
16) Sound: Internal stereo speakers, stereo headphone jack.
17) Voice recording: Internal microphone, external stereo microphone jack.
18) Miscellaneous: Vibrate motor

1.4 Memory on the Braille Sense U2 QWERTY

The Braille Sense U2 QWERTY has 256MB of RAM (random access memory) and 32GB of flash memory. The flash memory is where permanently-saved data is stored. The RAM is memory reserved for running programs. RAM is a temporary storage area for any program files that are running or any currently open documents. The data in the RAM area disappears if your battery depletes, and the AC adapter is not connected. The RAM data also disappears when Braille Sense U2 QWERTY reboots for any reason. This means, if you have an open document which you have not saved, the unsaved data disappears.
