The Alphasmart Neo - My Best Friend · 4:06pm Jan 13th, 2017
Everypony,
In an effort to break up the massive post about my creative process that is to come, I'm moving the topic of my favorite writing device to a separate post. Read on if you're interested-
First off, let me show you this-
This is the Alphasmart Neo portable word processor, and despite all the fancy electronic trappings of modernity in my home, this is by far my favorite gadget. It is also how I draft nearly all of my writing.
You're probably looking at it and thinking, 'what the hell is that thing'? It's just a keyboard and a tiny LCD screen! Can it browse the internet? Can it email? Can it cloud/share things?
The answer is, no. It can't do any of that. That's precisely what makes it beautiful in my eyes, and why it is responsible for more than doubling my productivity since I obtained it. The Alphasmart Neo is a keyboard and a screen. That's it. What can you do on it? You can write, and you can write. It features a comfortable, mechanical (and thus easy to service) keyboard, a non-lit LCD screen that can display anywhere from four to six lines at a time, keystroke logging (so you never have to save anything), and eight different 'files' you can do your writing in. It also has a calculator on it and I believe it has some features intended for school classroom settings, like quiz functions, but I never use any of that. I have mine configured to bypass all the applets and take me write back to where I left off the minute I turn it on.
Why do I love it? Here's the answer-
When I'm ready to write, I push the power button on this thing and within three seconds I go from powered-down to ready to pick up where I left off. The Alphasmart, unlike a laptop/tablet/etc is also truly portable. All you're powering is a single LCD screen, and as a result, this baby is rated for 700+ hours of battery life on three AAAs. I've had mine for a year, written hundreds of thousands of words on it, and the batteries I put in it on day one are still at 45% as of this morning. All of the problems with more modern devices that hinder the convenience of writing are gone - it never has to be plugged in to a charger, doesn't need a sleep function, and boots up a septillion times faster than any computer in existence.
The Alphasmart Neo does not have an SD card slot. It does have a USB-A port, but that's only for outputting directly to a printer (which I never have need to do). So, how do I get my text from this device to my computer? The answer is, through the device's USB-B port, which hooks up to any USB-A port on your computer. You plug it in, and your computer thinks you just hooked up a new keyboard. You then open your word processing program of choice on your computer, press the 'send' button, and the Alphasmart starts transporting the text in the active file to your computer as you would enter it. It's pretty cool to watch text appear on your screen as though it were being typed right then and there, albeit at a far faster WPM rating than humans are capable of. Yes, you're right - it's slower than most other methods. It can take 20-30 minutes or more to bust out 12,000 words. But the beauty of it is that it will work perfectly with any computer, on any OS anywhere, so long as said computer has word/notepad/access to google docs/whatever, and recognizes keyboards. And really, if your computer does not have these things, something's the matter. Personally I find speed to be overrated in this instance. I bust out a draft, plug this thing in, and go do something else while it puts my opus into the computer for later editing/publication.
But the best thing about the Alphasmart can be summed up in one word - 'Focus'. What happens when you sit down to complete a specific task on your computer? You get started, but then a chat program lights up. A new email comes in. You remember that you wanted to look something up on the internet. So forth. Before you know it, those minor distractions that were 'only going to take a minute' took you an hour, and you're out of time. With the Neo, it's just me and my thoughts - nothing to take me away from them (except for a latte or a greek salad, depending on if I'm at Starbucks or Panera). I cannot possibly convey in mere words how important focus is. This machine just plain gets things done. If I need to look up a fact on the internet for my story, that's what my phone is for, and I can put that out of sight and easily out of mind when I'm done with it.
Can it do a lot? No. But the one thing the Alphasmart does, it simply does better.
When I was in school I recall kids who couldn't write were given these.
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I'm told they do have a lot of use in classroom settings, to teach typing and such. I find them to be fantastic writing tools.
4381538 They tried to teach me to type with a keyboard when I was little, but I was horribly coordinated when I was in primary school and it was terrible.
I need to get me one of these.
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They didn't teach typing below the high school level when I was young. All I had to learn on were impact typewriters, heh.
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It won't disappoint. I can't sing its praises enough.
4382748 Hey, as long as I got some cash left from buying FoE, I'll see if I can get one shipped over to England.
I have a heck of a problem with concentrating when I write (or proofread, I do that too). This looks like it would really help.
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That's the main value of this device. Concentration. They're pretty cheap these days too. Mine was...thirteen dollars on ebay I believe.
I later purchased a slipcase for it that was actually from a seller in England. I'm sure you can find them over there.
4383477 I'll message you if I find out
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Sure, let me know how you made out with it
I did some research, (Wikipedia, mostly
) and the Dana Wireless looks like another good option, for larger memory if nothing else. All your points about speed of operation and being able to avoid distractions are valid. My only concern is that all the models from this company have been discontinued, and I am reluctant to buy used, online. Do you have any suggestions of a more recent production model with similar operations, and/or do you have any experience with the Dana Wireless? It looks like it will be a while until I can get a functional; computer, so something like this would be a great help.
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The Dana is just another version of the Alphasmart. "Alphasmart Neo" and "Alphasmart Dana". As I recall the Dana actually came out first, but the two are rather different experiences. The Dana has a lot more features than the Neo, but the Dana is intended for different use - it's more like a personal organizer mixed with a portable word processor. Larger screen, more applets, more functions.
I weighed the Dana vs. the Neo when I was first looking to get one of these machines, and went with the Neo because I feel it's better suited for what I want to use it for. The Neo has a few very limited applets, but really it's just for writing, and with a 700+ hour battery it's about the most truly 'unplugged' electronic device there is nowadays - and I don't want to have to worry about keeping yet another item charged and tethered. The Dana, comparatively speaking to computers and cell phones, still has a fantastically superior battery life, but we're talking 25 hours...not even 5% of the Neo's longevity. The Dana also has a bunch of stuff I will never use since I have a cell phone, and I far prefer the Neo's way of transferring data to your computer. All you need with the Neo is a USB port and a word processor app, and you can't lose. With the Dana you have to deal with SD cards, whatever formatting the Dana uses, and whether or not it will be compatible with whatever given computer you get it talking to. The Neo's way takes longer, sure, but really...I can walk away from my computer for 10-20 minutes and let it do its thing. I'm not going to be transferring that much text that often that I need to have it now now now.
The Dana has better storage capacity because of the SD cards, but given all of the above, I don't find that to be enough of a selling point to choose it over the Neo. The Neo has more than enough space to type a crapload of text out before you have to dump it...somewhere in the neighborhood of 90,000 words, which is about the size of a long novel. You shouldn't be using this device to store text for long periods of time, so that should be more than enough.
A later model of the Dana, the 'Dana Wireless' is capable of wifi for, the company says 'connectivity with the internet and other Danas'. I have no need whatsoever to communicate with 'other Danas', and...internet? No. The whole point was to get a machine that cannot internet, so I'm not distracted. Even then, it's not like any Alphasmart product has anything resembling a web browser on it, so I have no idea what that feature could even be used for.
As for discontinued devices, the Neo is actually the successor to the Dana, if that tells you anything. Though I really wouldn't worry too much about that. For one, the Neos were mass distributed to schools since they were originally intended as typing educational tools. Thus, you can find them all over ebay, sometimes in lots of 30 units or more. My Neo cost me, after shipping, exactly $13. For a device that originally retailed at $219. Simply put, the Alphasmart Neo is a dime a dozen. If it breaks? Buy a new one. But it's so much simpler a device than modern computers are, it's a lot less likely to break than they are too. The Neo emulates a time when electronics were meant to stand up to the test of time, unlike things like cell phones and laptops, which are basically intended to crap out after two or three years from inception. All your Neo needs to do is power on, let you type stuff, and remember what you typed.
If you're worried about the keyboard having problems, again I wouldn't worry. To date, my Neo has had two issues with keys not depressing/recognizing properly. In both cases it was because a piece of debris got caught under the key in question. But the Neo features a mechanical keyboard, not a membrane style like nearly all modern keyboards (HUZZAH). The result is, you can easily take a flat tool like a letter opener, pry off the key that's having trouble, clean under it, and pop it back in place. No problem. I imagine the Dana probably has this advantage too, however.
Of course, which one you buy depends on your preferences and what you want to get out of the device. But if I had it to do over again, I would still take the Neo first.
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That . . . was a lot more help than I was expecting. Wikipedia, you have failed me
Seriously, this is why I prefer to get first hoof reviews, they tell you about their experiences, not just the specs. I was thinking about the Dana wireless mainly because of the extra memory, but your point about 90,000 page storage is a good one. I am unlikely to exceed that I'm a single sitting.
Looks like I will be looking for the Neo, thanks for the intel.
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I have a passion for this device and I went into a lot of research choosing the right one for me. Hence the over-explanation, heh.
I assume you meant 90,000 words, not pages. Because holy heck, I hope you don't need to store that much text at one time!
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If it was 90,000 pages, my typing would be a LOT better than I thought. Oops
You didn't over-explain, and I think I speak for many that your genourous sharing of the product of your research is appriciated
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Now go get one!
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No joke, I was literally looking on Amazon and EBay when you posted that!
Productivity, here I come! (I hope
)