Alphasmart, anyone?

[ShandaLear]

Some gals on the romance divas forum are using the alphasmart word processer because it's more practical for people who want to write and nothing more.

These little buggers have a 700 hour battery life!!!!

Anyone use one?

[Expendable]

not yet but it sounds like a great way to have something portable without spending all that money on a laptop. Do you have one?

[Ward]

not a bad idea in some regards, what do they cost?

the really big draw back that's immediately apparant is the screen size, I did four years of college term papers on a word processor with a screen about that size and there is no way I'd ever consider doing serious writing on something like that again. however, to use something like this as a portable adjunct to a desktop for occasional writing away from home it seems like a good idea: you'd want to make sure of file compatability, useability, etc.

that said, with the price of laptops coming way down (especially from dell) its really hard to compete with even a 12" screen bottom-of-the-barrel laptop for price vs. ease of use, because that extra screen space makes a huge difference for any kind of serious writing project.

looks like a fantastic choice for kids though, something they can use for school that doesn't have any *ahem* distractions built-in.

[ShandaLear]

Brand new they are around 200 bucks. The new NANO, which interfaces with PDAs and has infrared is 300ish.

Used on ebay, which I where I am looking, they are dirt cheap.

I am definitely getting one. If anyone else does, I'd love to hear from you/them.

[becca0012]

HI ShandaLear!! Looks like we frequent the same forums.

Rebecca (on RD)

[ShandaLear]

woohootie!!!

Hey sis. LOL

I was bidding on these things on ebay and they are going almost as high as the actual site.

I think you were the one originally who steered me here with a post over at RD.

[becca0012]

What kind of software does it use? Or, I guess, the better questions is, how do I move what I wrote off of it?

I'm really happy with my Dell laptop.

[ShandaLear]

No software. It transfers by USB or you can USB connect to a printer directly.

I love my laptop, too, but it's heavy, a pain to carry around, and has crappy battery life.

I'm bidding like crazy on ebay but to be honest it looks like a better deal to just buy direct and get the warranty. :)

[Taft]

I have one. For what it is...it's pretty cool. The reason the battery life is so long is that it has tiny, calculator-like screen. For me, I couldn't see enough of my writing (you can only see three or four lines at a time). I now use a regular Dell laptop. If you train yourself to be okay only seeing a few lines at a time, it is a pretty good device. It is also much tougher than a laptop. It was made to stand up to the abuse of elementary school children.

[Hereford Eye]

Help me understand how a dedicated word processor is better than a PC, please. I find myself going out to research stuff as I write. That means I minimize what I'm doing and surf the internet to get what I need, then minimize the internet and go back to writing. Using a writing system like Alphasmart, what advantages do I gain?
I'm not under any illusion that I'm using the best word processing system. The best I've ever seen was Wang's system of the 70's and early 80's but I can use what I've got plus enjoy the additional features.
What am I missing?