This thermos will keep coffee hot It will keep it as hot as it comes out of your coffee machine for five hours. It will keep liquids cold for 12 hours. If you flip a toggle switch on the top, it will not spill it will not leak. The 16 ounce fits under a Keurig machine. There is a 20 and 24 oz size. Now I can knock this over to my heart’s content, and nothing will spill out.

There is a button on the handle you press for the liquid to come out.

amazon.com

This is a 40 cell braille display that is much cheaper than most. While the cells are louder when they refresh than other displays and they also take longer, I never have to wait for them when I'm reading, and the braille is very high quality and easy to feel. I find 40 cells useful when I am doing things on my laptop such as programming and school work. It can connect with either Bluetooth or USB, and works with Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS. You can also purchase an extended warranty in case you need it repaired after your first year. I would not recommend using this as a portable display since it is kind of heavy and may be less dust resistant than the Brailliant, but it is a good display for using it at home or taking to school/work. It is currently $1,699, and they also sell a 20 cell version for about half the price. The battery life is also extremely good, lasting at least multiple days for me.

orbitresearch.com

This is a compact 20 cell braille display. It can pair with up to 5 Bluetooth devices and can also connect through USB, and it works with iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux. It works with ChromeOS and some versions of Android as well but only over USB right now. In addition, if you use the included case or the more durable Executive Products case, you can wear it around your neck with a strap and use it on the go. I find it very useful for controlling my iPhone when I'm using GPS, or quickly responding to texts and doing other things on the bus. This display has some built-in features as well, including a text editor, book reader, and book downloader supporting Bookshare, NLS BARD, and NFB Newsline, and it has text-to-speech as well. The battery usually lasts all day for me, and right now its $1,999. For people in the United States, the APH Chameleon is a little cheaper and is the same device, and in some states you can get a free braille display from the NLS which will be the exact same device but with restricted built-in features.

humanware.com

This is an amazing GPS app for iOS. It periodically announces places around you and intersections you approach, as well as your current street. You can also record landmarks and search for places, and you can track a place and have it periodically announce the distance and direction to that place. In addition, you can send landmarks and other places to Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Moovit to get turn-by-turn or transit directions, or to Uber as well. It works very well in the background, and you can also control most of its features with buttons on Bluetooth headphones or an Apple Watch app. There are free apps like GoodMaps Outdoors, Seeing Assistant Move, and the Soundscape replacements that have many similar features and have their own specific advantages, but so far I haven't really found something that does as much as BlindSquare and as consistently good, while also acting as a hub that can send locations to other apps.

blindsquare.com

These are some of the best over-ear headphones I have used. They have very good sound quality and extremely good noise cancelation. They also have a good transparency mode, although the noise that's passed through sounds quieter and a bit less natural than the AirPods Max. They are also pretty light, definitely lighter than the AirPods Max, and come with a case that protect the headphones. In addition, they also have very good battery life, usually lasting about a week with a few hours a day of usage. In addition to Bluetooth, you can connect an auxilary cable to them, and this works even when they are turned off. They are currently $229.99.

sony.com

The unit features 4 buttons set around a digital display. The buttons are at 12 o’clock is the pour button, 3 o’clock is cup size selection which has 3 cup sizes 150ml 230ml and 300ml, 6 o’clock unlock/safety and at 9 o’clock is the temperature selection, 4 temperatures 25°C 98°C 85°C 75°C. You may need some sighted assistance to set up but once set you only need to know 2 buttons @ 6 and 12. It delivers a measured amount of water from its 2L water tank which is located at the rear of the unit. If the power is disconnected it returns to 25°C 150ml setting.
It currently costs $A75.
I love it as it is a standard consumer product that saves getting burnt fingers or hot water over the bench.

kmart.com.au

These boots are for large dogs and should fit most guide dogs. They come up above the dewclaw on the leg and fasten with 2 velcro straps. They have grip treads on the bottom and are good for hiking, beaches, snow or rain. They also don't come off as easily as other more expensive boots. Available in light blue or lavender.

amazon.com

I do love my various charging stations that I have dotted around the house that allow me to charge my devices easily wherever I am. My current fave is this one from Belkin. Firstly, I am all about safety. I trust Belkin products and know that they are well tested and checked. We must be so careful when we are buying cheap USB plugs and no-name chargers from Amazon or anywhere else for that matter. Consider the cost versus how much you will lose if the house burns to the ground because of it. I may be over sensitive about this but I have read so many horror stories about no name plugs exploding and causing fire, hence why I will only buy trusted brands, like Belkin.

This one is nice as it has a silicon feel and is completely flat. There's a raised circle pad on the left side that is for Magsafe charging for iPhones, but I have tested it with other Android phones and it charges fine. It has a small recessed area in the middle for AirPods that have the wireless charging case, and there's a pop up charger for the Apple Watch on the right. The whole unit connects via a single cable to a power adaptor.

Be aware however that some of these types of stand or flat chargers do not contain the actual cabling to charge your devices - they expect you to add your own. I've had experience of this with Mphie, which I once bought from an Apple Store and had to promptly return, as I wasn' not paying £50 for a plastic stand only!

amazon.co.uk

So I bought this little bluetooth speaker as a background item for my Access Tech Live TV show. It was purely intended to be decorative as a retro radio however when I unboxed it and realised its capabilities I was quite impressed.

So what is it? Well, put simply, it is a retro style looking radio with a classic speaker grill, wooden (but not really) frame, and two knobs for volume and tuning. The volume knob acts as the power switch. It has three additional buttons on the front and a slider switch too. The buttons are previous, play and next, and the slider selects the mode the speaker is in.

And that's the bit I wasn't expecting. It is an FM radio, with shortwave as an option too. It also has a bluetooth mode which is audibly announced when you switch to it. On the side of the unit there are a number of slots. There's a headphone jack, a micro SD card slot, a USB A port for USB sticks containing audio, and there's a USB-C port for power and to charge the internal battery, which is removable.

Audio quality on such a low cost device is never expected to be good but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was and certainly beat my Roberts Radio (which cost four times the price of this).

If you're looking for a cheap and powerful little speaker that you can play USB memory sticks, or downloaded content on Micro SD cards, or you want to pair to your iPhone to listen to content, or even just listen to the good old fashioned radio itself then this is worth the price for sure.

amazon.co.uk

I am in the market for a new power bank, and while I love my Belkin one, it's not the most accessible. So I might treat myself to one of these. It's sold in the UK by RNIB and is called the Energrid Audible Power Bank. On the RNIB Shop website it says "Energrid power banks can charge an array of digital devices including iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones and tablets.
This power bank uses sounds and vibration patterns to indicate different battery levels. It will also tell you when you've successfully connected with a device or with a power source when being recharged. Choose between an audible and/or vibratory alert by simply pressing and holding the power button for two seconds.
Charging starts automatically after connection and stops when the phone, or other device, is fully charged.
The power bank has three USB ports – each marked with one, two or three tactile dots to make it easier to identify – micro-USB/USB-B in, USB-C in and out, USB-A out. It is supplied with a USB-C to C charging cable which can be plugged in either way up."

rnib.org.uk

I've just recently installed a few of these smart bulbs at my parent's house as they were struggling to see with their existing regular bulbs. These bulbs are branded Tapo, which is a range from TP-Link, and offers options for dimming and up to 16 million colour choices. I chose these specifically because they don't require a physical separate hub. All you need is a smart phone and a connection to the internet.

I set these up using my iPhone and it was pretty easy:
1) Download the Tapo app.
2) Screw in the light bulbs to the lamps.
3) Turn on the lights and wait for them to startup. They will visually flash to alert you that they are ready to be connected.
4) In the Tapo app, follow the steps to connect the bulbs to your Wifi. It involves going into Settings - WIFI, and then choosing the name of the bulb. In my case there were three bulbs to connect, so three Tapo devices showed up.
5) Once you've chosen and connected to the bulb via WIFI, go back to the app and follow the instructions to connect the bulb to your home WIFI network. Note that it has to connect to a 2.4Ghz network only, which most modern routers support but you might need some support with your specific router if you run into any issues.
6) Once the lamp is connected, that's it. You can give it a name, a fancy icon (if you care) and a group name (eg. Living Room).

You can then enable the Tapo skill on your Amazon Echo and by simply linking the account and going through the settings in the Alexa app to add new devices, the bulbs will automatically appear in your Alexa app, allowing you to control your bulbs using only your voice.

amazon.co.uk

This is another suggestion from listener Rebecca. Want to connect all your external devices like a monitor, keyboard or other USB peripherals to one single hub and then connect one single cable to your laptop? That's where the Plugable USB-C 7-in-1 Hub comes in. From the AT Guys website, it says "Use this compact USB-C dock from Plugable to add 7 additional ports to your machine including 3 USB 3.0 outlets, 2 memory card slots, an HDMI port, and power pass-through."

This was another suggestion sent in by listener Rebecca. It's a cool little bluetooth keyboard that allows you to connect to a number of devices. From the AT Guys website, it says "This versatile keyboard is compatible with Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android, ensuring compatibility with all mainstream platforms."

atguys.com

This was a suggestion sent in by Rebecca to our email inbox. These are open ear headphones that wrap around the back of your head and leave your ears free to hear what's around you. Bone condition audio comes in through your cheekbones. From the AT Guys website, it says "OpenMove was created with versatility in mind and designed for everyday use, bringing you the best-in-class bone conduction technology and better features at an entry-level price."

atguys.com

I have had this for three years and still like new. It is an airtight canister for holding coffee beans or other food items you want to keep dry & away from air. It has a plunger that removes the air & then a lid that snaps on top. The Kilo holds 2.2 pounds but there are smaller sizes & are stackable.

amazon.com

This is a simple but useful and reliable GPS app. It is available in many languages and works on IOS 10.0 and later, and Macs with the M1 chip or later. Ariadne's accuracy is consistently impressive,and it has given me excellent navigation information in seventeen different countries. A one-time subscription costs about five US dollars and the in-app purchase about doubles that. It is fully accessible to blind people.

apple.com

The Bella Pro has two knobs. The top knob (a vertical dial) adjusts the temperature; the bottom knob sets the timer. The timer knob functions as the on/off switch. To adjust temperature, put your finger on the left side of the top knob. Move your finger to the right and the temperature will increase from 175 degrees F to 400 degrees F. Turning the timer knob clockwise increases time from zero to sixty minutes. Bookshare.org offers many excellent air fryer cookbooks. About fifty US dollars when not on sale. Yes! a blind person can use this fryer.

bestbuy.com

These are bags that you can use to organize your packing. They can also be used for everyday organization. I've been using them to pack for my holiday vacation. It's been great.
This is a set of eight and they come in four sizes. They also come in a small bag which I love because I can use it as an extra packing cube. Finally, depending on how much you pack in each cube, they can be folded up to give you more space in your suitcase.

amazon.com

This is a great travel charger if you use an iPhone that supports magSafe.
It's a circular device, that when unfolded has a MagSafe charger on one end and a Watch charger on the other.
You can of course use this at home, but I really like it for keeping in my travel backpack. It does include a wall block and USB-c to USB A cable in the box.

amazon.com

The AirPods Max are Apple's high-end wireless over-ear headphones. They have an average rating of 4.63 out of 5 based on 11647 reviews. They are available in five colors: Silver, Pink, Green, Space Gray, and Sky Blue. They typically cost between $479.99 and $549.00.
The AirPods Max have a number of pros and cons. On the plus side, they have excellent audio performance with rich lows and crisp, detailed highs. They also have Adaptive EQ and Spatial audio, which can help to create a more immersive listening experience. Additionally, the AirPods Max have hands-free Siri access, high-quality active noise cancellation, and a stunning, unique design.

apple.com

Enhance your next reading journey with the Odyssey... our compact, lightweight, easy-to-use text-to-speech reader features large, tactile keys and generates an incomparably streamlined reading experience. Reading a letter, a recipe or any other document has never been easier!

With minimal set-up, you can capture and read everything from small text, such as product packaging, all the way to large, A3 documents. Once you're done, fold in the arm and stow it away... until your next journey!

humanware.com

The StellarTrek, as the name suggests, is an exceptional digital orientation and mobility assistant with state-of-the-art GPS technology and a user-friendly tactile interface with buttons to guide you along your chosen route using appropriate voice inputs.

The integrated camera and artificial intelligence locate and recognize street addresses, doors and entrances, and provide audio and voice guidance to the last 40 feet of your destination. All to gain autonomy!

The StellarTrek can also read barcodes to give you product information, recognize colour, and scan text (such as street signs, ingredient lists, receipts or nutritional values) to read aloud. All to gain autonomy!

humanware.com

Featuring a fully tactile interface, the Victor Reader Stream 3 is a handheld digital audio player to enjoy your media content. This assistive device lets you listen to books, newspapers, web radio, music, podcasts, and other online resources. Simple to use for anyone who is blind or living with a visual impairment, the Stream talking book player packs all your media into place and gives 15 hours of battery life, leaving more time to enjoy media content.

humanware.com

For the person who may think they want to start a podcast, I suggest the vocaster line of interfaces for a few different reasons.
• Once Set up, you can rely on this unit to do it’s job
• You don’t need sighted assistance for setting it up
• Auto-gain helps you feel comfortable with how you sound when using the Vocaster
• Powered over USB C
The vocaster 1 is $99, and vocaster 2 is $149. NOTE: You do need a 3rd party app to keep VoiceOver out of the mix with this on the Mac. 1 or 2 XLR Ports, and a few additional features come with the VOcaster. 2 large nobs, and three Tactile buttons.

sweetwater.com

This is a White Cane with a special handle on the top with an ultrasound sensor that detects obstacles between about head and chest level. It can also connect to a smartphone app, and it also has a touchpad where you can change settings and use the GPS features in the app. The GPS guidance uses data from Google Maps, and there is also a public transit mode that uses data from Moovit. It is pretty easy to use, although the handle is quite a bit heavier than a normal cane, and the speaker on the handle is not very loud. However, if you connect Bluetooth headphones or a Bluetooth speaker to your phone, the voice for the GPS will play through that. I found the obstacle detection very useful, and the cane has a one year warranty in case it breaks. Its also half off ($299) for Black Friday!

wewalk.io