Pathfinder and Liberator Comparison

If you have a Liberator and want to change to a new Pathfinder device, here is a comparison list that should help you evaluate each one, feature by feature. Be warned, it is long and maybe a bit boring. But if this is what you need, then feel free to print it out and do some comparing. Remember though, the Liberator is NO LONGER AVAILABLE, and this listing is really intended for current Liberator owners who are thinking of upgrading.

DEVICE	Pathfinder	Liberator
MAP OPTIONS	Unity® 128 AQLS (Adult Quick Learning System) Word Prediction - default	Unity® 128 AQLS (Adult Quick Learning System) Word Prediction – must be loaded via MTI program
KEYBOARD	32/64/128 location Clear and Black 128-location keyguards included	8/32/128 location 8/32 optional extras
WEIGHT	4lb 11oz.	7lb. 14oz.
BATTERY	10 hours	8 – 10 hours
DISPLAY	Display backlighting Half VGA STN Color Touch Screen Maximum 10x55 characters 256 color, 8-key Activity Row Three fonts sizes – small, medium, large	Display backlighting LCD – up to 8 x 40 characters of text One font size - small
ICON TUTOR	Icon Tutor Flash Icon Sequence	Icon Tutor Flash Icon Sequence
DIGITIZED SPEECH	Over 15 minutes	None
SYNTHESIZED SPEECH	Six User Areas Up to 300 KB per area DECtalk*	Four User Areas 512K total memory DECtalk* *DECtalk technology and DECtalk Access 32 software are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation.
INPUT OPTIONS	Direct Selection using finger to press keys or touch display IR Headpointing Single Switch Scan Dual Switch Scan Joystick Quarter Row-Column Scan Linear Scan Cutoff Mouse Emulators, e.g., Headmaster, Trackballs, Headmouse	Direct Selection using finger to press keys or touch display Optical Headpointing Single Switch Scan Dual Switch Scan Joystick (returns to center or stays at last location) Quarter Row-Column Scan Linear Scan Cutoff Mouse Emulators, e.g., Headmaster, Trackballs, Headmouse Morse code
CONTROL PANEL	On-screen Status Display	On-screen Status Display
SPECIAL TOOLS	Functions (only a few are named) Autospell Backlight Shutoff Battery Status (feedback menu) Create/Modify Activity Editing Arrows Editing functions: cut, copy, paste, move, find, search, replace Mid-Sequence Prompts Minserts Notebooks Spell One Word Mode Text & Speech Markers User-Definable Key Wait Any Key or Switch	Tools Autospell Auto Power Down Disable Keys Editing Arrows Edit functions: cut, copy, paste, search, replace, bookmarks Save User Settings Sing Text & Speech Markers Theme Tool Keys (1 & 2 icon) Wait Any key View Battery Status
SCANNING OPTIONS	128-location Single-switch and dual-switch: -Modes 1 and 2 -R/C or C/R -Quarter-Row -Linear scan with cut-off Joystick IR Headpointer 64-location Single-switch and dual-switch: -Modes 1 and 2 -R/C or C/R -Quarter-Row -Linear scan with cut- off Joystick IR Headpointer 32-location Single-switch and dual-switch: -Modes 1 and 2 -R/C or C/R -Quarter-Row -Linear scan with cut-off Joystick IR Headpointer Icon Prediction Predictive Selection/ Scanning Predictive Selection Mapping	128-location Single-switch and dual-switch: -Modes 1 and 2 -R/C or C/R -Quarter-Row -Linear scan with cut-off Joystick IR Headpointer 32-location Single-switch and dual-switch: -Modes 1 and 2 -R/C or C/R -Linear scan with cut- off Joystick IR Headpointer 8-location Single-switch and dual-switch: -Circular or Linear scan Joystick Optical Headpointer Icon Prediction Predictive Selection
AUDITORY PROMPTS	Key or Content Modify Key Prompt Modify Row or Column Prompt Mid-Sequence Prompts	Key or Content Row/column prompts Quadrant prompts
MEMORY	20Mb total	512K total
INTERFACE	9-Pin RS232 Built-in IR hardware Custom Keyboard emulation Full keyboard emulation and environmental controls	9-Pin RS232 IR requires ‘Director’ device as optional extra
MACRO CAPABILITY	Macro Capability Tool stringing Macros	Macro Capability Tool stringing Macros Macro recorder
SPECIAL FEATURES	Internal Clock and Date Calculator Activity Row Minserts Wait-Any-Key LAM (Language Activity Monitor) Prints to external printer via Serial port or IrDA Minspeak, Spell, and Computer Modes Built-in Stand	Internal Clock and Date Calculator Scratchpad Minserts Wait-Any-Key Touch-tone dialing Music synthesizer (with Unity) Built-in printer or Serial port to external printer Minspeak and Spell Modes
NOTEBOOKS	Notebook Menu; also includes Notebook templates, e.g., daily schedule, numbered lists	Notebook Menu; unformatted notebooks only
MENU DRIVEN	Full display Nine-choice menu Menus Activity Menu Assign Key Menu Auditory Prompt Menu Dictionary Menu Edit Menu Feedback Menu Notebook Menu Output Menu Review Vocabulary Menu Selection Technique Menu Speech Menu Transfer Memory Menu (merge) User Area Menu Word Prediction Menu Settings Menu Themes Menu IR Menu System Function Menu	Full display Seven-choice menu Menus Assign Key Menu Dictionary Menu Edit Menu Feedback Menu Notebook Menu Output Menu Review Vocabulary Menu Selection Technique Menu Speech Menu Transfer Memory Menu (merge) User Area Menu Word Prediction Menu Settings Menu Themes Menu IR Menu System Function Menu

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Pathfinder and Liberator Comparison