GW Micro comes out swinging-- announces BookSense pricing, enters NLS digital book player arena

I’ve been using and loving my Victor Reader Stream since late February of last year. I’ve been hooked on it since day one. The reason I believe this quickly became Humanware’s best-selling product of all time is that they provided a tool that was needed at a time when it was needed most. And, they did it, and kept the price where this was the most bang for one’s assistive technology dollars, by including the most necessary features while leaving off those which were peripheral and/or overly costly. In that process, they created a product which I believe ranks amongst the most revolutionary of assistive technology products for blind people.

All that said, I knew Humanware wasn’t going to be the only maker of products that could read books from the National Library Service. I knew of at least two more products coming down the pipe, but the Stream was here almost a year and a half ago, and it was ready to change lives. Also, nobody knew the exact pricing of these alternatives, either.

The reason I’m writing about this today is that another of these products, which is aiming for a similar launch and reception by the blind community, has hit the ground, and released pricing that can make them a competitor with the Stream.

The product I’m speaking about is the
BookSense
manufactured by
GW Micro.


At $499, the pricing of this product is higher than that of the Stream, but it isn’t out of the stratosphere, especially for a solid assistive technology product. It also comes with features the Stream doesn’t.

If you’re interested in looking at how this digital book player compares to the Stream, you might want to check out
Wayne Merritt’s comparison.
Wayne keeps his overview brief, but he does offer a link for a fuller comparison of the competing products.

Personally, I'll be keeping my Stream. It is still going strong and appears that it will continue to do so for a long time. However, if something were to happen where it broke and I was facing the need to invest in another player, though, I'd have to look both ways before crossing the digital book player street. What GW Micro is sending down the street sounds pretty inviting.