Wired reports that engineer David Engebretson, who is blind himself, has worked with a manufacturer to design the PAC Mate, a Microsoft Pocket PC PDA integrated with a braille keyboard. The article stresses the high cost of the device--$2,595--but I would imagine that the price would drop within a few years.

It's great to imagine how such a device will eventually help visually impaired learners within education. For example, because the device runs Pocket PC, my digital course materials would be easily accessible. Of course, since the device doesn't have a screen, I won't know if students using the PAC Mate are reading the course materials or enjoying the day's newspaper during class :)