Braille EBook reader... Any suggestions?

The low-cot option that will do what you want is the Orbit Reader, though I think that prefers .brl to .brf files. The brailliant BI20X is a step up in price certainly but it's what I have and it appears to tic the boxes you're after. it does books well, as you put it, and accepts .brf files. True, both of these devices have things you say you don't want - the brailliant has very good notetaking abilities, for example, and both can be hooked up to a smartphone via bluetooth, but bluetooth in particular is something most folk wil want so I can't think of a device without that. In terms of reading like a sighted chap I will only say that I was on the beach in beautiful Porthleven, Cornwall, earlier this year with my iPhone hooked up to my Brailliant. i read my copy of the daily Telegraph on the Kindle almost exactly like a sighted person would - almost because, naturally, I wasn't reading it with mi' eyes! the iPhone was either in my pocket or in my bag (I forget which) but you wouldn't have known it was there and it didn't feel like it was there. Like a sighted person, I also dozed off and woke up a couple of hours later a bit sun burnt. And this is April on the Cornish coast - splendid weather indeed! anyhow I expect you know the above is possible and I surmise it's not what you really want, but give it a shot if you haven't.

Hi! If you are in the US and have access to a BARD account, you can get a free Braille EReader through the BARD program; it is a fairly new thing. You'd just have to call the library in your state in charge of the BARD program.

SHi,
First, BookShare is international and claims to be in 90 countries although I cannot find a list at the moment. https://www.bookshare.org/cms/international

To me it sounds like you'd prefer a kind of inbetween device, not quit a notetaker. Which I understand, I favor these as well. I have a Mantis Q40, which is the 40-cell display iwth QWERTY keyboard. This is a bit to bit to carry around to the beach in my opinion. Anyways, it has the same software features as the Brailliant Bi-20X and APH Chameleon. They have BookShare downloading abilities, and you can also side load via USB or SD-card other file types such as .brf, and Word, and I guess some PDF though I've not tried it.
The APH Chameleon which is a spin-off of the Brailliant Bi-20X just got a software update (according to the release notes) that now also enable audio and it can play some audio books. Since this is basically a copy of the Brailliant both are manufactured by HumanWare, one could assume this feature would be put on the Brailliant eventualy. However, I have observed HumanWare is quite good at saying audio will be added later to their devices and five years later it still isn't there. So since they have proven it is possible you'd think they may do it this time, but I'd not buy a Brailliant planning on the audio being available soon. Otherwise I think this device may fit your needs.

Someone also mentioned the Orbit Reader line of displays. They are a bit cheaper but do appear to have the features you're looking for. I've never seen one but find the description of the Braille as "sign quality Braille" a bit concerning. I've not felt Braille on any sign that I have liked. Perhaps you've experienced one, or could try one out and if you find it tolerable, could save some money.

Lastly, the Focus Blue 5th gen displays including the 14 do have on-board storage via a micro SD card and you can load .brf books onto it, and possibly some other formats but I've not checked recently. However it is about as tedious a process as I think you have now. You have to manually load everything as the Focus line does not have internet capabilities. Also as an aside, reading a .brf/.brl file that has been formatted for 40-cell length lines on a 14 cell display is an unpleasant panning and line wrapping experience at least for me. A 20-cell display makes a lot more sense.

Now, normally I'd agree with the comment that Humanware are good at saying audio is on the way, only for it never to arrive. i remember the locus classicus of this being the brailleNote PK - anyone remember that? that had a record button on it but it never recorded anything - at least, i don't believe it did. The MPower got recording but I think the PK was left behind. This time, however, we received a software update in time for Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee which enabled certain Daisy books to be played on the Brailliant, albeit I have not enquired whether the jubilee influenced the timing of the release. Not only that, but we have a release date of 1st August for text to speech coming to the Brailliant as well. Sadly, never was a broadside against Humanware so mistimed.

Incidentally, the dear old PK was an 18-cell merchant - not quite the 20 that to me is the optimum for portability. For that reason I would not recommend the 14-cellers (a pain) or the 40-cellers (nice but not pocketable).

The point about signage quality braille is a good one. It doesn't work for some folk. Signage quality braille has to be durable and withstand an awful lot. For that reason it's as hard as nails. fine if you're reading a sign but not so good if you're reading a book (or, I suppose, if you have a favourite sign you just can't resist reading over and over again in quick succession; by the way, if you do have such a sign I'd be intrigued to know what it says!). For some people it's a bit hard on the fingertips after a while. Orbits are also quite noisy relative to other displays.

I'm in the UK like yourself, Oliver. I believe the RNIB will sort out an Orbit Reader for you if you join RNIB Reading Services though I could be wrong about that. I did have an Orbit once but am fortunate to earn enough to switch to the Brailliant when I saw that would be a lot better. The grand thing about the Orbit from RNIB though is that it comes with an SD card loaded with literally hundreds of books in .brf format. They've done well with the selection too. There is something for everyone there.

I must confess I've never really thought Bookshare in the UK is really worth the bother, though admittedly I haven't done much recent research. When last I lookked it was very, very much a second class offering relative to that available in North America and I thought to myself: well, if we're so much less important than they are I'm not bothering with you lot! There's RNIB Bookshare too - that's good if you're a student or an education professional but it is linked to libraries and educational institutions.

One thingg I forgot to mention earlier: if you're in the corporate world being able to write in .brf is very handy. I line manage a large number of people and when i am taking notes of sensitive conversations I will always use .brf format. Corporate IT departments in the UK do not recommend that electronic notes are taken for such conversations as well as in other scenarios, in part because over here it is possible for a person to make a data subject access request. Notes in .brf stored offline, however, tic all the security boxes. Even backd up online I am told that, for my organisation at least, that is fine. Everyone else has to handwrite such things.

Never been to Polzeath. I heartily recommend Porthleven ale, however.

Hi Oliver.
When you say like a Kindle, are you interested in a Kindle fire tablet? If yes, the Brailliant BI 20 and 40x don't appear to support these. The Orbit Reader 40 does support the Kindle tablets and does so quite well.
As far as reading is concerned, the Orbit Reader only has direct support for txt and brf files. I'm not sure if things have gotten easier with accessing the internal drive on the Brailliant, but it did require a special utility for it to show up and display the files on the Mac in Finder. When I tried it, Finder would display the drive, but there were never files listed. The Brailliant BI 40 does not have an SD card reader, but the 20 cell version does. However, all 3 of these support thumb drives, so if nothing else, you could copy files from a thumb drive into the Brailliant's memory. The orbit does not have internal wifi, though the Brailliant does. I hope this info is helpful!

I have a BrailliantBI 40X. and I love it! I will have it hooked up to my Ipad which is in a different part of my house. So, it's wonderful! I also use the onboard apps. I use Bookshare and BARD capabilities through wifi. You CAN read BRF. files on the Brailliant. I have the 40-cell model, because, I'm a power user. It's hard to find a bag or purse to carry it in, but, I'm used to it. As I have a big Ipad that's made bigger by the case it has on it. But, I use that case to help meA LOT on conference calls because of the kickstand on the back of it.

Haha I know what you mean. In a way that is what is good about Braille displays, they do not tend to out-date as quickly. As long as the cells are working you're good to go. I'd like to have the 20-cell length and the touch to wake feature but it is hard to justify the price when I have something that works already. Wish there were more trade-in/upgrade programs.