NEO - Alphasmart

[*Pudge*]

Hello,

I'm thinking of getting a Neo. I tried to do a search but Neo is too short, so forgive me if I am going over old ground.

Does any one have one?

How much was it?

Any issues?

Well, basically can I have any info really.

Thanks in advance for the input.

[Gillhoughly]

Back in the day I'd have killed to have a toy like this.

In the 80s this would be cutting edge, but now...not so much.

Specs. (http://www.alphasmart.com/products/popup_neo_DetailsIn.html)

A review. (http://archive.laptopmag.com/Review/AlphaSmart-Neo.htm)

Another review. (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1741938,00.asp)

A very telling review. (http://www.litwack.org/articles/reviews/alphasmart-neo-review/) (I'm so not buying this thing.)

Yet another review. (http://www.andybrain.com/extras/alphasmart-neo-review.htm)

A telling statement: "Nostalgia for '80s technology breaks into a new market with the AlphaSmart Neo, a weird mini-laptop, targeted at schools, that is strongly reminiscent of the 1983-vintage Tandy Model 100."

And, "It’s a keyboard with a screen the size of a Snickers bar built in and a nice word processor in BIOS, with 512k of memory. By the end of this year Wal-Mart is going to be selling a $200 color laptop running Linux. I haven’t opened it up, but the Neo looks like $25 in parts."

There is no mention of a battery recharger being included. Figure you have to buy one. What joy, another gadget to clutter the desk.

The thing also doesn't seem to plug into a wall outlet in case you'd rather save on batteries. I got a camera like that and I hate it. (I had to get a battery charger.)

The big problem for me is the tiny display screen, which is only 5.75" x 1.5".

Test this size out at home. Figure a way of limiting your computer screen's viewing area to that size and work on it for a week. Lower the contrast so it's black letters on a dark gray background.

If the screen area was backlit and larger, say 5.75 x the width of the keyboard, this thing would grab me, but I give it a thumb's down.

I've got an old Brother e-typewriter with a similar LCD display, and the danged thing's hard to read because of the low contrast screen and no backlighting.

This is a cute toy, but you might want to wait for that Wal*mart laptop (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=1011159). For another 80 bucks you get a ton more features, including a larger screen.

[stormie]

I agree with Gill. You can get an inexpensive laptop with a basic Word program and it would be more useful.

[Bubastes]

I love, worship, and adore my Neo. The lack of features and the small screen actually make me more productive by removing distractions and forcing me to keep moving forward on the WIP (I have a bad habit of overusing the Delete key during first drafts when faced with a full page on the screen). Three AA batteries are supposed to last 700 hours (!). I've had mine since November and have barely made a dent in my battery life despite heavy use. It turns on instantly, so you don't have to wait for it to boot up whenever the inspiration strikes -- I often type in little 30-50 word blasts on my WIP when I have a few moments.

The lack of features is precisely why I like it. The only thing I can do on it is write. For me, it's like pen and paper, but much faster. You will still need a computer for doing revisions, but the Neo is a wonderful tool for getting that all-important first draft down. It's so light and small that it goes with me everywhere. I credit the Neo with improving my writing output over the past few months. I've produced more since November than I've had in two years. For me, the Neo is a godsend.

[sadron]

Oh dear, I thought you was thinking about virtual pet somehow. I haven't heard of Neo.

[stormie]

I know what you mean by not being tempted with the Internet, Bubastes, but when I compose a query or cover letter to send by email, it's far easier to do on the computer and just send it, than to have to upload it/download it/whatever from the Neo to the laptop.

Also, if I have to research something, it's right at my fingertips.

But that's me. :)

[DamaNegra]

I'll also intercede in favor of the Neo :) I bought it in October of last year and I LOVE it!

A few reasons why a Neo is better than a laptop for writers:
- No in-build distractions, so you've less reasons to procrastinate.
- Incredible battery life (up to 700 hours, I've been using it since October and it stil has about 86%). You can write for hours and hours and never have to hunt around for a wall outlet. This means you can write practically anywhere without having to worry.
- Sturdier. Really, laptops are just way too fragile.
- Lightweight. Again, I've found my Neo to be even more lightweight than my Aspire One, so I'd rather take the Neo on a trip than the netbook.
- The keyboard is really confortable. It also makes a nice clicking noise =) this is not an advantage, I just like it.

So this is why I'd rather have a Neo than a laptop for writing (I also own a Dell laptop and, more recently, my Acer netbook). I've written a lot on long car trips or plane rides, I've written in places with no wall outlets, and when I get home it's as simple as plugging in the cable into my computer and having the text in word instantly.

Also, an added benefit is that, as a college student, the Neo is a godsend in taking notes from lectures and classes. Teachers won't usually let students take out their laptops (internet and messenger are too distracting), but they have no problems with me having my Neo out. As a result, I write down every single word the teacher says during class. My notes are the most complete they've ever been, and my grades have been getting better for it.

So yeah, I'm a total Neo fan. BUY ONE. NOW. As a writer, you're really not going to regret it.

And as for the small display screen? The small font on the Neo is exactly the same size as a Times New Roman 12 font on the screen of any computer. It's not hard to read at all, or at least not harder than your standard computer. The contrast of the screen is also very good (though the no-backlight thing is really a bummer).

[blueobsidian]

The lack of features is precisely why I like it. The only thing I can do on it is write.

That's why I love mine as well. If I had a laptop, I would not be writing -- I would be playing solitaire, surfing the internet, or doing the myriad of other things I can do instead of working. My Neo is incredibly lightweight, easy to use, and has fantastic battery life.

It works on standard AA batteries and they last something like 800 hours. There's no NEED for a battery recharger in my book. I find it simpler to just change them, since I buy my batteries at Costco and always have tons. However, if you like to use rechargable batteries that is your perogative. It's been well over a year and I still haven't had to change my batteries yet. The way I figure it, even if I wrote 12 hours a day it would still take me over two months to run them out.

I don't want something that's "more useful." I want something that's less distracting, which is why I find the Neo perfect. It's fast to upload files as well. The device simply plugs into any computer with a USB cable.

I bought mine with a discount during NaNoWriMo. You may want to keep an eye on eBay if you are planning on a purchase -- they do turn up there and you may be able to find a good bargain.

[DamaNegra]

I know what you mean by not being tempted with the Internet, Bubastes, but when I compose a query or cover letter to send by email, it's far easier to do on the computer and just send it, than to have to upload it/download it/whatever from the Neo to the laptop.

I'd never use the Neo to write a query letter, that just seems odd. But right now I've got a novel and two short stories on the making on my Neo. I wouldn't want it any other way.


Also, if I have to research something, it's right at my fingertips.

Well, I use my iPod Touch for spur of the moment research. But only if it's really important. Otherwise, I'll just mark it and research later. Research often leads to distraction, and distraction leads to procrastination.

[Bubastes]

Strangely, I find it easier to do letters on the laptop for much the same reason (plus, business correspondence is much easier for me to do all around, so I don't have the same mental blocks as I do with writing fiction).

As far as research is concerned, I abuse the privilege -- I use "research" as an excuse to procrastinate. Since I outline, I do most of my research at that stage. If I researched while writing the first draft, I'd never finish the first draft. Neo imposes some much-needed self-discipline into my writing process! :D

Oh, as far as not having a backlight, that's actually a positive for me. I get much less eyestrain.

I forgot to mention that the Neo keyboard is one of the best keyboards I've ever typed on in any device. The feel and key action are just perfect. That's a huge bonus.

[san_remo_ave]

I can also attest to amazing battery life with the Neo. Heavy usage MIGHT cause you to change them once a year... the estimated 700 hours of use is not an exaggeration.

As a writer, I find the Neo is fabulous for that first draft when you're just trying to get the story down. I can focus on just the story with no distractions. Light weight makes it highly portable and the instant-on to write is wonderful --no waiting for some operating system to finish booting up.

However, I would never consider editing or formatting a ms on the Neo. It's just not the right device for it. Once the story is down I upload it to my computer where I can 'see' the whole thing and effectively clean it up.

For me, Neo is a great tool for part of the writing process but is not something I would want to use/depend on for everything.

Oh, and I got mine on eBay for less than a new one. They are very popular there and get quite a premium, so expect a a lot of bidding activity.

If the screen area was backlit and larger, say 5.75 x the width of the keyboard, this thing would grab me, but I give it a thumb's down.

There's a Dana version that offers these two features --backlighting and larger screen. Plus more bells and whistles. But shorter battery life.

[beezle]

I wanna get me an Eee PC.

[*Pudge*]

Hi.

Thanks guys,

I have my laptop for bells and whistles etc.

The lack of distracton and small screen massively appeal to me.

Small screen, because I have a terrible habit of editing what I have just written and not actually getting the story down.

I wonder if I have A.D.D.??????????? Hmmmmmmmm

So. . . . . . I think I'm going to give it a go.

Thanks again. :Hug2:

Oh, also - I am not using Microsoft Word, (Bill Gates has enough money without my contribution) I am using an almost identical (but free) program called Open office - Will this be compatible?

[Kate Thornton]

Yes, Open Office is compatible!

I love my Alphasmart NEO (http://www.alphasmart.com/products/neo_In.html) - it literally changed my life when I lost the use of my writing hand. Lightweight, simple, the size of trade paperback, fits in my bag and allows me to take notes anywhere (and allows me to work part time at a real job because I can once again take notes)

I first saw it when I was on a cruise with a few other Sisters in Crime (http://www.sistersincrimela.com/)from the L.A. chapter - Sue Ann Jaffarian wrote on deck all the time - she finished a novel while we were sitting in the bay in Baja. It holds 700 pages of text on 3 double A batteries and can hold up to 8 separate files, so you can have more than one thing going at a time. It downloads text right into my desktop PC via USB cord in any program (I use Word & Open Office) and couldn't be easier to operate.

My DH bought it for me for Christmas a year a go - it was about $240 new, but I know several other writers who got theirs on eBay for about $60.

I love it - recommend it to all writers.

[DamaNegra]

Oh, also - I am not using Microsoft Word, (Bill Gates has enough money without my contribution) I am using an almost identical (but free) program called Open office - Will this be compatible?

Ugh, no, Open office is not almost identical to Word. It royally screws formatting. I've grown to really hate it.

But yes. The Neo is compatible with any word processor/internet browser/notepad/etc. It's just a mattery of copy-paste.

[*Pudge*]

Ugh, no, Open office is not almost identical to Word. It royally screws formatting. I've grown to really hate it.

But yes. The Neo is compatible with any word processor/internet browser/notepad/etc. It's just a mattery of copy-paste.

Really? I haven't been using it all that long but so far so good.

Although, actually I have had trouble sending a document to a friend - they couldn't open it.

Enlighten me, how bad will it get? - Should I just buy Microsoft word?

Sorry to change the topic, but it is my thread :tongue

[willietheshakes]

Paging scarletpeaches... paging scarletpeaches...

[Clair Dickson]

Some people write whole novels and such in WordPad. Use whatever works for you. It's not really about the tool, it's about writing.

I've used OpenOffice a few times. It's got it's issues, but so does Word. The prices is right, though, on OO. If I didn't piggy-back of mommy's site-license of MSWord, I'd probably use the free version. And I'm a card-carrying member of the Microsoft Collective. (Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.)

If a laptop is distracting... it's not really the laptop is it? It's you letting yourself be distracted. But, I don't have money to spend on a second tool that does the same thing as what I own. That's the same reason I have a typewriter stand for a nightstand and can't see the point in spending money replacing it.

[Kate Thornton]

Just a note - I have a laptop, too. I do not use it to write on as it is heavy and is so much more than a word processor. It is our back up internet, our You-play-games-while-I-look-up-stuff tool, our bedside email, lots of stuff but not the ideal word processor.

The Alphasmart NEO is just a word processor. Perfect tool for writing & taking notes. Not a luxury for me as DH uses the MAC laptop most of the time, and I find it too heavy/unwieldy for my purposes. (When I use it at work as a note taking device, it is low profile, small, and very quiet.)

About Open Office - I use it and Word. I save everything that goes out - work, stories for publication - as a Word doc in Word.

But I frequently write in Open Office. They both allow me to save in rtf (rich text format) which is a requested format by many of the places I send stories.

I finally bought Word this year when I found Open Office Writer was not keeping the format I needed for work-related items.

[sleepsheep]

I think that 200 dollars is way too much for it. I got the XO laptop (400 dollars, 200 of which are tax deductible) and it's a super little machine. I wrote about 80% of my first WIP on it - it's perfect for commuting, and it runs Linux, which is super powerful. Besides, the cause (OLPC - One Laptop Per Child) is a good one to support as well. Just my two cents.

[*Pudge*]

Agreed Clair, I am easily distracted - Hands up to that.

Then again, every single person on AW is being distracted to some degree.

I do have a laptop, yes - it does do everything a Neo would do and thensome, yes.

however - I also have a F.A. Cup engrossed husband who insists on checking the scores every few minutes.

So I'm hoping to elliminate both my attention deficit disorder (might have to engage some more self-discipline) and external distractions.

Oh and willie, if Scarletpeaches has one I'm sold! That Girl is switched on!

[BenPanced]

*hugs his Alphasmart*

But just remember this: the Alphasmart was originally created for classroom use to help children with writing exercises. It's a portable word processor, plain and simple, and not even in the same category as a laptop or netbook.

[Henri Bauholz]

I love my Neo. The small screen is actually a boost to my writing. It's almost like going back to the days when writers used typewriters, but not quite for the screen displays several lines at one time and you can cut and paste with it.

Transferring what you have written to a computer is a trip too. The Neo doesn't take flash drives or floppy disks, so you have to use a cable which feeds into either a PC or Mac system. And then once the transfer starts you can watch all the words that you have wriiten on your Neo magically appear on yoiur computer screen. The transfer goes one line at a time and one can almost, but not quite keep up with the pace of word transfer. The battery life is no joke and the Neo is lightweight and durable. I find it indespensible for first drafts. After that I put everything into Word, but I feel the original writing process is actually enhanced by the small screen. You have to think more with a Neo, because you can't glance back at the last two paragraphs like you can in Word.

[DamaNegra]

Really? I haven't been using it all that long but so far so good.

Although, actually I have had trouble sending a document to a friend - they couldn't open it.

Enlighten me, how bad will it get? - Should I just buy Microsoft word?

Sorry to change the topic, but it is my thread :tongue

Well, since I have MS Office on my laptop and Open Office on my Aspire One, I always save my documents as .doc and open them in both computers. However, Open Office always manages to screw up even the most basic formatting I try to add to it, and it's becoming a bit of a nightmare. I really want MS Office on the netbook, but I can't afford buying it. So I'll have to deal with this nightmare for a while.

[Angel_Lorena26]

I use to think it was good because I could work on my novel outside of my home. But like alot have mentioned it has it drawbacks like a small screen, the letters keep comming off and hard to put it back in. I have even debated weither or not to fix the one I have.

[Devil Ledbetter]

There is no mention of a battery recharger being included. Figure you have to buy one. What joy, another gadget to clutter the desk.

The thing also doesn't seem to plug into a wall outlet in case you'd rather save on batteries. I got a camera like that and I hate it. (I had to get a battery charger.)

It runs for 700 hours on a couple of AA batteries, which were included. It uses so little battery power because the screen is small, not backlit, and it has automatic shut off if you accidentally leave it on.

It autosaves everything when shut off. When you turn it back on, it puts you exactly where your curser was when you shut it off. My fabulous home PC can't even do that.

It has instant on. I never have to wait for it to boot up.

I never have to plug it in (if you saw the competition for plugs at our local coffeeshop, you'd understand just how important this feature can be.)

The small screen keeps me from fussing over first draft material and keeps me moving forward in the story. The machine readily loads things into Word via USB on my home PC where I can fuss over my text on a large screen to my heart's content.

It's incredibly sturdy. I can throw it in a bag with a bunch of other stuff and not think twice about it.

It weighs maybe 2 pounds.

It has a full size keyboard with nice action.

No internet to distract me.

For sheer writing convenience, it beats every machine I can think of. Especially a laptop.

I don't think of it in terms of "would a lap top be better?" It's a writing instrument, not a computer.

[scarletpeaches]

I love my Neo. The small screen is actually a boost to my writing. It's almost like going back to the days when writers used typewriters, but not quite for the screen displays several lines at one time and you can cut and paste with it.

Transferring what you have written to a computer is a trip too. The Neo doesn't take flash drives or floppy disks, so you have to use a cable which feeds into either a PC or Mac system. And then once the transfer starts you can watch all the words that you have wriiten on your Neo magically appear on yoiur computer screen. The transfer goes one line at a time and one can almost, but not quite keep up with the pace of word transfer. The battery life is no joke and the Neo is lightweight and durable. I find it indespensible for first drafts. After that I put everything into Word, but I feel the original writing process is actually enhanced by the small screen. You have to think more with a Neo, because you can't glance back at the last two paragraphs like you can in Word.

I use the software that came with it - AlphaSmart Manager 2. No need to wait for it to type every word onto a word.doc. I simply upload it as an .rtf and from there, paste into a word.doc or 'open with' MS Word. It takes seconds as opposed to minutes.

[DamaNegra]

I use the manager as well. The send option may be pretty but it's tedious.

[Cathy C]

It's a cute toy, but you might wait for that Wal*Mart laptop

I LOVE my Alphie, Gil! It's not the Neo, but the predecessor, the 3000. I wrote the entire book that just hit the shelf on it (130K words), and the single set of AA batteries held for the entire event. I'd be happy to let you play with mine and see what you think of it. :)

[scarletpeaches]

How many words does it hold at once, Cathy C? My Neo stretches to roughly 70-75k.

[Bubastes]

How many words does it hold at once, Cathy C? My Neo stretches to roughly 70-75k.

Judging from the size of one file, mine holds about that amount too. I upload and back up quite often, though, so I never actually get close to Neo's full capacity.

[scarletpeaches]

Nor me. I never like to keep one copy of anything. I copy from my Neo onto the laptop as soon as one workspace is full; often before that.

[Cathy C]

It'll hold about 4,700 words (more or less) per file, so about half of what the Neo will. I tend to download once I've done a "scene" or chapter, whichever comes first. I set up folders in the book folder called "File1-Raw" "File 2-Raw" etc. They ARE raw with the 3000. No formatting at all. I've learned to use an asterisk where I want italics, and then I'll search for them afterward to block the text and insert the code.

I use WordPerfect for writing, so it'll change all the formatting to the kind I use anyway, so all I have to worry about are the italics. :)

[scarletpeaches]

Aye; that's what I don't like about the Neo. The only thing. ;) There's no formatting so I type what I want to be italicised in capitals, then have to go through it later changing to underlines.

Well, that's what I did before deciding to print everything out and call it my first draft, then I re-type into the computer with all the correct formatting for a manuscript.

Is there any way of changing all text between two asterisks to underlines or italics in MS Word 2007?

[Cathy C]

I found the asterisk much easier than converting cases. You only have to search for the one asterisk, because you know in your head whether it's one word or a whole string being changed. Much more fluid for me when I'm typing.

[*Pudge*]

Hi All,

Bought a Neo online and I'm waiting for it to arrive.

Thanks to everyone who gave info on this thread.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks again,

[scarletpeaches]

I found the asterisk much easier than converting cases. You only have to search for the one asterisk, because you know in your head whether it's one word or a whole string being changed. Much more fluid for me when I'm typing.

Yes, because after all you can do a search for '*', but not, as far as I'm aware, for upper case. And anyway, there's no way of searching/replacing upper to lower.

I wondered if there was a code or command for searching out '*' followed by letters and then deleting the asterisk and changing the text to underline?

Hmm...*strokes chinbeard thoughtfully*

[DamaNegra]

Hi All,

Bought a Neo online and I'm waiting for it to arrive.

Thanks to everyone who gave info on this thread.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks again,
You won't regret it :)

[scarletpeaches]

I've worked out the formatting.

I can _type text like this_, bracketed by underlines and instead of going through AlphaSmart manager, I set it to 'send' and type directly onto the screen when I have MS Word open. If it's set to auto-format as I type, it'll automatically set _bracketed_ text to italics.

Hurrah!

Then I can just do a search/replace and change all italics to underlines.

Shweet.

[benbradley]

Back in the day I'd have killed to have a toy like this.

In the 80s this would be cutting edge, but now...not so much.
...
A telling statement: "Nostalgia for '80s technology breaks into a new market with the AlphaSmart Neo, a weird mini-laptop, targeted at schools, that is strongly reminiscent of the 1983-vintage Tandy Model 100."

And, "It’s a keyboard with a screen the size of a Snickers bar built in and a nice word processor in BIOS
Technically that would be BIOS, but rather ROM (or nowadays FLASH memory), but whatever., with 512k of memory. By the end of this year Wal-Mart is going to be selling a $200 color laptop running Linux. I haven’t opened it up, but the Neo looks like $25 in parts."
I'm guessing it's substantially less than $25, but whatever. Find an alternative device on the market for less. Okay, I see Radio Shack/Tandy TRS-80 Model 100's on eBay for a lot less, but I think their battery life on two AA's is only about 10 hours, so you better take extra batteries.

And do the neo's use RAM or FLASH to save what's typed? I'd think FLASH. The Mod 100 was made way before FLASH technology came out, and if the batteries go dead, the contents of memory are lost. I don't think that's true for the Neo's.
There is no mention of a battery recharger being included. Figure you have to buy one. What joy, another gadget to clutter the desk.

The thing also doesn't seem to plug into a wall outlet in case you'd rather save on batteries. I got a camera like that and I hate it. (I had to get a battery charger.)
Find a camera or other gadget you can take on a two-week vacation, using it for hours a day, that won't need new or recharged batteries before you get back home.

Yeah, someone already mentioned the battery life of the thing, I just had to pile on. ;)
The big problem for me is the tiny display screen, which is only 5.75" x 1.5".
...
If the screen area was backlit ...
the batteries wouldn't last 1/100h as long.
This is a cute toy, but you might want to wait for that Wal*mart laptop (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=1011159). For another 80 bucks you get a ton more features, including a larger screen.
And I bet it will weigh many times what the Neo things weigh, and battery life will be like any other laptop computer, hours rather than days or weeks. And I wonder how long it will take to boot, as opposed to the Neo's milliseconds. How long do you want to wait between turning it on and having it save what you're typing?
I'd never use the Neo to write a query letter, that just seems odd. But right now I've got a novel and two short stories on the making on my Neo. I wouldn't want it any other way.




Well, I use my iPod Touch for spur of the moment research.
Speaking of a screen handheld Web browser the size of a Snickers bar...
It'll hold about 4,700 words (more or less) per file, so about half of what the Neo will. I tend to download once I've done a "scene" or chapter, whichever comes first. I set up folders in the book folder called "File1-Raw" "File 2-Raw" etc. They ARE raw with the 3000. No formatting at all.
I remember when we used to call that a "text file." It was the way you moved text between different word processing programs, because they all had incompatible, proprietary file formats and you had to redo the formatting in the new word processor anyway. And computers ran on CP/M and we LIKED it.

Well, Microsoft Word is still proprietary, but other software companies decode it and use their file format anyway.
Yes, because after all you can do a search for '*', but not, as far as I'm aware, for upper case. And anyway, there's no way of searching/replacing upper to lower.

I wondered if there was a code or command for searching out '*' followed by letters and then deleting the asterisk and changing the text to underline?

Hmm...*strokes chinbeard thoughtfully*
MIcrosoft Word (and all these Microsoft Office products) has this S33kr1t t001 that comes with it called "Visual Basic," or VB. Using VB, you can make it do that and many other wonderous things. This might be in the menu listed under "Macros."

You could even write HTML codes on the Neo such as <i> and </> around anything you want with italics, and <ul> </> for underline, and have a VB program to interpret them and do the appropriate Word formatting things. It seems there might already be something written to do just that.

Maybe Word already does that with an "Import a web page" function. This could be easier than you think.

[Clair Dickson]

When you do find or replace in MSWord, there is a command for "More." In that, you can search for case sensitive, as well as types of formatting, special symbols, etc. Just about anything that Word can do, you can search for.

If you take a look at the options in Find... More, it's actually amazing. I don't if they all work perfectly (like all programs, it can only do what it's programmed to do, it can't think about it.) Play with it-- see what happens. There's a LOT of options.

[Marko Kloos]

My Alphasmart Neo is just about my most indispensable gadget. I've had it for a year, used it just about every day, and only now changed the batteries. (They were still at 70%.)

I won't clutter this thread with a 1,000-word post, but here's a long-term review I wrote a while back. (http://munchkinwrangler.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/the-alphasmart-neo-a-long-term-review/)

You have no idea how useful the Neo is for productivity until you've started using one. No Internet distractions, and never worry about battery charge again. It remains the best $220 I've ever spent on anything.

[Sary]

Ugh, I hate these things. Maybe we just have a bad one. One of my students uses an Alphasmart for communication purposes, but it's constantly freezing up and shutting off. The speech therapist isn't sure what's wrong with it. It's very frustrating for my student.

Here's wishing you better luck with yours!

[Bubastes]

Call Alphasmart and tell them what's happening. They have great customer service.

[Sary]

Will it make a difference that I don't own it and don't know who does? It's one of those things that somebody in the school system bought at some point and it's been floating around ever since.

[scarletpeaches]

Well if it doesn't have a particular owner it might, because there's no one person to whom compensation would be owing (either financially, or in the case of a replacement).

How about emailing them?

[Clair Dickson]

If it's a school owned one, then the school would get the new one. You could have someone officially call, or someone could take 'ownership' for it and ask for replacement on it.

[*Pudge*]

Hello,

Yey, :hooray:

I have my Little Neo and I have to say I love the little mite.

The Key board is lovely and it's soooo much better than my lap top for portability and availability as I don't have to share it.

This is the start of a very happy relationship.

Thanks for the input guys.

[faerydancer]

Okay, you guys are bad for my bank account, lol. I came across this thread--while procrastinating, no less--and determined I need one of these Alphasmart gizmos. I found an Alphasmart 3000 on eBay for about $70 and it'll be here in a new days.

I'm looking forward to being more productive, haha! Just seemed like too good to pass up, especially since I find myself on here more than immersed in my next writing project. *Gasp!* I'm one of these 'reads-about-writing' folks!

Thanks =)
Brenda

[scarletpeaches]

You will love it. Srsly. If Neos had a Stepford Wife equivalent, I'd be it.

I. Love. My. Neo.

[*Pudge*]

I'm sorry - I just had to pop back and rave about how much I love this thing!

My productivity has improved tenfold - Amazing.

How did you get on Faerydancer?

[Glenakin]

Are you guys really serious about this Neo thing? I've never seen it before. Never heard of it until now.

[Dale Emery]

Are you guys really serious about this Neo thing? I've never seen it before. Never heard of it until now.

Yep, I drafted most of two novels on it. The novels are unpublishable, but try as I might, I can't really blame the Neo for that.

The key advantages for me:
* Small, light, easy to carry, usable even on cramped airplanes.
* Long battery life (700 hours).
* Limited functionality means no distractions (games, internet, ...)
* Small screen size discourages editing (so I keep writing instead of editing).

I recently abandoned my Neo for a new MacBook Air (ooooh, shiny!). I've mostly gotten over my tendency to distract myself, and I'm now good at plowing through a draft without editing, so the Neo's big benefits are less important to me now.

Dale

[Scribhneoir]

Are you guys really serious about this Neo thing?

Oh, absolutely. The Neo is wonderful. I find I write much faster on the Neo than on my laptop. I think it's because I can't see as much at once, so it's easier to keep moving forward and stop second-guessing myself. Then there's the utter joy of not having to worry about the battery dying right when you're on a roll like my laptop has a habit of doing. Yep, the Neo is a great little machine.

[pdr]

you're serious about writing and you move around a lot, or commute every day, then you can do an amazing amount of work on an Alpha Smart. There are no distractions like e-mail and you don't have to worry about battery life. It's light and very tough. Mine goes every where with me and when I find I have to wait for something out it comes!
It's really easy to use and easy to dump the work back into the computer.

[oswann]

The key advantages for me:
* Small, light, easy to carry, usable even on cramped airplanes.
* Long battery life (700 hours).
* Limited functionality means no distractions (games, internet, ...)




* Small, light, easy to carry, usable even on cramped airplanes - pen.
* Long battery life (700 hours) - hand.
* Limited functionality means no distractions (games, internet, ...) - paper.

Holy crap. I think I just invented something. I'm going to call it... Handwritingeo.

Os.

[Dale Emery]

* Small, light, easy to carry, usable even on cramped airplanes - pen.
* Long battery life (700 hours) - hand.
* Limited functionality means no distractions (games, internet, ...) - paper.

Holy crap. I think I just invented something. I'm going to call it... Handwritingeo. .

I should have mentioned that those were advantages of the Neo over other computers. Neo also offers me advantages over this new-fangled handwriting stuff:
* I don't have to rewrite it to get it into a computer.
* I can write two or three times as fast on a Neo as on paper, and for much longer.
* I can read what I write on the Neo.

Dale

[oswann]

* I can read what I write on the Neo.

Dale

:D

Os.

[Devil Ledbetter]

* Long battery life (700 hours) - hand.
My hand will not write for 700 hours!

[A.C.]

Here's a helpful group I checked out before purchasing my Neo:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/alphasmart/discuss/

If you hate staring at the computer screen and want something with a long battery life when writing, I recommend it.

Anyway, I love my Neo. It helped me finish my first novel.