I haven't had the chance to try these, but for serious reading I don't think it would work, due to the lack of routing buttons and on the Braille Me they don't even have 8 dot cells. I was going to get an Orbit Reader, but I was able to get the Brailliant BI 40 because someone in this sub recommended it, so thank you to whoever that was. I'm currently trying to get back into programming, if I can find some good tutors, and reading several large books, so this helps a lot. I have used smaller braille displays in the past (refreshabraille and a 20-cell braillex) but I wore out the access bar on the braillex from panning, and I fear that the same would happen to other smaller displays because you don't have a full line of braille, so you're constantly hitting pan right. It's very nice to have the full sized display. I think anything less than 40 cells is not so good for a lot of reading and anything larger is not portable, really. It'll be interesting to see if these multiline ones ever get produced. The Brailliant one is very portable, and is still 40 cells, but it's too expensive. At least the build quality is better than some others, but I still think there's a lot of greed involved, considering the claim that piezo-electric cells are expensive really doesn't check out when you go pricing the build kits. Also if you read UEB, you'd definitely have to pan the hell out of a smaller display, as text eats a lot more space. I guess it depends how much, and for what, are you going to use braille. If you just need quick and dirty reads, then a small display with no routing buttons is fine, but if you'd prefer braille to speech for access in general, and you need a high quality crisp braille display, maybe something a bit more expensive would serve better. Big fat disclaimer, obviously you need a fat wallet or an agency with reasonable terms to make that work, and I realize both of those are in short supply. I didn't find APH reliable for service, but maybe the folks that make the Braille Me are better in that regard. I hope we can get low cost displays that don't make these ridiculous compromises at some point, because literacy is very important. You're further ahead with a tiny display than none at all, for sure, but I'd definitely send some feedback to all companies if you can, because the current state of braille is unacceptable, and I'm not sure how best to change that.

I have an orbit and love it. I use it for standalone reading, as well as paired to my phone.

I tried the braille me as well, but found the refresh rate too loud, the braille too crisp, and the orientation counterintuitive.

I have never heard of the dot mini. I have two orbit readers the maximum number you could buy. I love it. It’s different but it’s great and it works fine. I use mine a lot more at the end of last year, but It was good when I had the need for it honestly it wasn’t bad as a stand alone reader either.

I haven't heard of the mini.

the Orbit and BrailleMe both use similar tech: the pins refresh slower and louder than traditional (pricier) models. they also feel sharper to the touch, like braille signage more than the slightly squishy braille a display may have had in the past.
Did you have any specific questions? Have you used any braille devices already?

In my experience the words "low cost" and "braille displays" have never been together, just in my experience they are always overpriced or expensive. Its not uncommon to find them for $6k-$12k each.

Companies milk them as much as profitable for profit because insurance is normally paying for most of it, so if your insurance wont you ant afford it most of the time. I know of no "cheap" version or I would own several.

Hello.
I’am new. I‘am looking a smaller BD.
I’am thinking to buy OR20.
I’am not familiar with braille displays.
OR20 use piezoelectric or magnet?
There is a specific programs for convert other text formats to braille?
Thank you all for response.
Romi