I finally saved enough money to buy one. It's a neo, and I got it off Ebay like Kel. I'm still waiting to get it, but one thing's for sure, I'm going to be on here a lot less because I'll be too busy writing...ANYWHERE!
I'd never even heard of them before. I looked them up, and I think they look like a pain. From their website, it looks like the Neo model runs at about $250, the Dana at $350 ... a hundred dollars more (from the Dana) and you can get an acceptable laptop computer. (link)
... but if it works for you, that's cool. I think that tiny screen would drive me absolutely batty.
I have an Alphasmart Neo, and I love it because I can write everywhere, it loads in three seconds, and the batteries last for 700 hours! It's so awesome. But, I hate how I can't make words underlined, ittalic or bold, and how the text can only stay one size. But, it's definitely a great tool for writers!
Horror Story:
I started writing a story, and I wanted someone to get to read what I had written, I tried uploading it onto the computer, but it didn't work and whenever I tried to turn on my alphasmart it would freeze at the loading screen. I got it fixed, but lost all of my stories saved on it.
Meep, I think the tiny screen is better. It eliminates distractions, and the urge to go back and read over/edit what you've already written. It totally works for me, and it would be more useful than a laptop in my opinion since all I need for is writing.
I agree with Magicman. All of the extras on a laptop are great if you need them. We just happen not to need WMP, internet, etc. etc. that are standard on a laptop. Most people anymore have portable media players (mp3, video, etc) that we can just use otherwise without the alphasmart.
The alphasmart is lighter than a laptop, too. It's smaller and it does pose a lot less of a distraction. It's both a blessing and a bane that the Pro model only shows 4 lines of text. I sometimes forget where I was in the story and have to read back a bit. Not to mention I'll forget something (like a bracelet) that I mentioned earlier.
Laptops just have a lot of unneeded extras for what I want to do. I'd love to have one, but right now the Alphasmart is great.
Write from the heart and nothing can go wrong. It's when you write from the wallet that the feeling goes away.
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