I used one of these in school because of my bad handwriting as a result of cerebral palsy. When my laptop was broken I ended buying an alphasmart 3000 for 20 bucks on ebay. The batteries on that unit last a year or so with continuous use. I did update my 3000 to system 3 though that's worth it. I used it in class I forgot how loud the mechanical keys are. System 3 lets you hold more than 8 files. The reason schools bought these devices was because of the incredible durability.
@tylerquiring7385
7 жыл бұрын
Thanks, this is the best review of the device on KZitem. The only actual "review" of it, really. Appreciate your work. Papa bless.
@YourfriendChrisEspinoza
6 жыл бұрын
This device is meant for anyone who is learning disabled like myself. It’s also perfect for typing on the go
@SuperTrainStationH
2 жыл бұрын
I've seen a lot of comments at people baffled as to why or should something like this exists. To allow a disabled student to work at their desk like everyone else without carrying around a far more expensive, far more delicate, notably bigger and heavier, and more theft/abuse prone notebook computer, this this is a game changer. I used a 2001 model Apple iBook through high school, which I chose because it was a model that was uniquely durable for laptops of that period, but as cool at it was to have a laptop when few teens had even the most basic cell phones, I would have LOVED an Alphasmart if me or me school's special education department knew they existed.
@ashfusion4350
6 жыл бұрын
Disabled friend who has lost speech uses this to communicate AWSOME
@muskndusk
3 жыл бұрын
Noticed that you mentioned it doesn't have a thesaurus; it does. Just look on the back of the device where it tells you to use ctrl-T to access it.
@NagisaShiota11
6 жыл бұрын
I used one of these in Elementary school before I got my first laptop.
@rgremil
5 жыл бұрын
I love the distraction and "nag factor" free possibility of this device for supporting my kids with learning differences. I am very curious about the typing applet (Keywords), as neither of my sons knows how to type yet, and we are hoping to support them in learning that without having to hand over our personal laptops to them. Do you or anyone viewing have thoughts on that feature?
@jaykay18
8 жыл бұрын
Really neat device. That's something that would be quite cool to have in my collection, as it's a really rare piece. I wouldn't expect I'd get much use from it, but I can see how it can be useful to some. Likely filled a niche market. Oh, and I don't own a cell phone either!
@TranscendentalAirwaves
8 жыл бұрын
Ha! Nice, good to see another person rebelling against the mobile take over. lol Also I don't think they are all that rare, especially now that laptops and computers are more affordable, schools seem to be clearing these things out and they are ending up in thrift stores and on ebay. When I bought mine there was a couple there (which I kind of regret not buying) I know one of them was a 2000 cause it was blue but I don't remember what the others were. I also have a QuickPAD IR coming in the mail that I'm going to do a review on and that's a very similar competing device from 1997.
@jaykay18
8 жыл бұрын
Transcendental Airwaves I'll be watching!
@HoopyCoows
5 жыл бұрын
I use to use these in 3rd grade
@muskndusk
7 жыл бұрын
To get to the beginning of a file, just press the home key (on the top row).
@SergeantExtreme
4 жыл бұрын
Crazy Fact: out of all the word processors listed at 5:07, only two still exist: the Pomera DM100 and the Freewrite. That's kinda sad.
@sneeuwwolf1176
4 жыл бұрын
That's why you got a 'home' button. To get to the beginning of your file.
@ct92404
8 жыл бұрын
Very interesting! I don't remember ever seeing these. If I did, I probably just assumed it was a very compact word processor. I can see how it could be useful for writing, with how small and light it is. But I'm disappointed with the fact that you can't change the font or at least use bold and italics.
@TranscendentalAirwaves
8 жыл бұрын
You can actually change the font size on the screen, it's in the control panel but yeah I was also a little disappointed about the lack of Italics and bold. Also previous to hearing about this on a typewriter facebook group I had never seen one either, so when I saw a bunch of them at my local goodwill later in the week I was totally excited to own one. lol
@michaelduke2026
7 жыл бұрын
Can the font size be changed to create additional lines on the screen? Four lines of text seems a little small to me, even for first drafts.
@bretthiorns9237
7 жыл бұрын
The Neo and Neo2 let you adjust font size for up to 6 lines, but I usually keep it at 4 or 5. I think the Dana lets you adjust text size a little more, but you lose the awesome battery life of the Neo.
@matters5
7 жыл бұрын
There are some user-made fonts that can be installed. A "Nano" font I believe increases the lines of text to 6 or 7 or 8 - I can't remember which. But a lot of people say they like the fact that the Neo isn't intended for editing and instead allows them to focus on writing to make their first draft with limited interruption or temptation to edit.
@dave4shmups
8 жыл бұрын
What a great device! MS Word has become way too bloated for my personal tastes. I just want a simple, basic word processor.
@TranscendentalAirwaves
8 жыл бұрын
I agree, for everything serious I still use MS Office 97, but no doubt one of these would be great for portable use!
@2beJT
5 жыл бұрын
@@TranscendentalAirwaves I thought I was the only person still trying to rock 97
@WarthogRacer
7 жыл бұрын
I used an Alpha Smart 2000 in school, printing via IR sucked!
@cowqult
4 жыл бұрын
i bought mine for 36 dollars, free shipping
@coryindigorue869
4 жыл бұрын
Enjoyed your video. My Neo I purchased in 2008 is no longer working. It says to return for repair because lithium battery expired but my warranty exp in 2011. I'm tech challenged so not sure if I can change the lithium battery myself. Is it safe to do?
@zusurs
8 жыл бұрын
Firstly - thanks for the video - really like retro tech reviews from you, keep up the good job. Cheers, mate! On the topic of the video - I don't really understand the exact target audience for devices like this. I mean - most educational institutions even in poor countries, like here in eastern Europe where I live, can afford decent desktop and even laptop computers for their students. Also, there are projects for those ultra low-cost laptops with Atom/ARM processors that runs fully featured Linux, and costs like only 40$. This device seems totally obsolete - I guess it would make sense maybe in 1995, when computers was still pretty costly, but not in 2007 or even less these days (as they are still manufactured from what I see). I find it very odd. Also, apart from the fact that it's really uncommon to hear about someone, who doesn't own a cellphone (if it wasn't a joke), battery life on modern smartphone is waaay less then 400hrs. It's more like 48-72hrs in standby mode, and less then 10hrs with screen on. 400hrs is twice more than even the best oldschool cellphones (like legendary Nokia 6310i) can expect to achieve in real life conditions.
@TranscendentalAirwaves
8 жыл бұрын
Yeah originally the Alphasmart came out in 1993. It really baffled me as well that this device made it all the way into the 2000's with the company finally shutting down in 2013. As you said though it would have made sense in the 90's and maybe the early 2000's (which is when the NEO came out originally) but after that I just don't see why schools would want a specialized device like this. Other than the fact that you can't game or surf the web on it of course. And no I don't own a cellphone, and what I meant to say is that this device is supposed to be able to get 700 hours of use according to the wiki and some other sources I've seen.
@geraldhewitt9796
8 жыл бұрын
I think you hit the nail on the head yourself when you said "you can't game or surf the web on it." This device has it's niche in professional, or amateur, writers who have trouble with distractions caused by having access to so much information at there fingertips. After it became obsolete in school environments it grew a cult following with writers who were either easily distracted by the versatility of computers or those who are technologically illiterate, and find fully fledged computers hopelessly complex.
@zusurs
8 жыл бұрын
Ger Hew Seriously? I was under impression that writers needs to have nice instant overview of what they have just written to rephrase or improve their writings. Tiny screen of this device seems riddiculous for that purpose. Maybe by 'writers' you mean trendy hipsters that writes short poetry on devices like this?
@geraldhewitt9796
8 жыл бұрын
Don't get me wrong i don't think this device is the best possible electronic writing solution, but as of right now this is really the only viable option, other than a laptop. I do not think, however, AlphaSmart products are used exclusively by "trendy hipsters." I have been in the market for one of these for a while now, and though I am by no means a professional writer i do write enough to have developed a fairly consistent work flow. In my case I do almost no editing well writing my first draft so the screen would not be such a hassle for me. I do agree though, about the screen being difficult to edit on, and if that's the reason your buying a device like this than quite frankly this should be your last option.
@TranscendentalAirwaves
8 жыл бұрын
I agree, while it certainly isn't any good for formatting and the screen isn't the best it really excels at being a PORTABLE writing tool. It's not exclusively for "hipsters" (I still haven't found a good definition of what a hipster is, I mean people call me a hipster just cause I like music that is different from the main pop scene and my love for old tech. But I don't own any skinny jeans or scarfs lol.) after all think about how people have written for decades before the modern era. Typewriters (which I've covered a few here on this channel) are not the greatest thing to write on either but people have for over a century and still continue to. Even old home computers like the Commodore 64 had such limited graphics that you could only view a tiny section of your work at a time. Plus printers in that era were so limited that the drafts came out looking like shit anyway. lol That said I think this little device definitely has a place for use by people other than "hipsters". I mean look at that game of thrones writer guy, he supposedly still uses wordstar on a 286 or something (which I admit is not a bad choice, having written a lengthy piece myself on my 1984 PCjr and IBM Writing Assistant on IBM DOS 1.0.). Plus unlike those devices, things written on the AlphaSmart can be easily transferred to any format on any computer you desire (as long as it has PS2, infrared or USB connections) and you can even edit on the go since it has copy paste functions and spell check built in, you can even install a thesaurus on it if you wish. All in all I think it's a great writing device, that deserves to get a little more attention then it may have in the past.
@Asiablue
6 жыл бұрын
How does the Neo 2 compare with the AlphaSmart Dana?
@Leibo07
7 жыл бұрын
Qua style, looks like the Newton Messagepad \ C
@tiko545
7 жыл бұрын
is there a model with german keyboard (QWERTZ) out there? I searched but couldn't find it...
@thewonderfulwizardofozisan7573
6 жыл бұрын
No, not the Neo, but the Alphasmart Dana have a german version. And you can use a Neo with custom made font if you dont care about the physical keys saying something else.
@ThePoreproductions
6 жыл бұрын
I had a Alphasmart when I was in Middle School, and High School. Two different Models.
@jamesrakestraw7125
3 жыл бұрын
Are you sale your AlphaSmart?
@crustycorollas
8 жыл бұрын
we had these in 2012 at school but then our school moved and these got thrown out
@TranscendentalAirwaves
8 жыл бұрын
They moved your school? That's weird. lol But yeah a lot of these are getting tossed since they are basically pretty useless outside of writing. Even that they aren't amazing at since they can't really format and they have very limited space.
@crustycorollas
8 жыл бұрын
our school got moved into newer buildings, and before these things got tossed, i used them for doing comprehension tests on books etc
@theactualnic
8 жыл бұрын
Slightly weirded out by the fact that he doesn't own a cellphone in the 2010s.
@TranscendentalAirwaves
8 жыл бұрын
Why's that? It's just another bill I don't need. I have internet and at times I even question why I need that, I mean of course it's nice to upload these videos but honestly I did just fine without it until 2013. In fact I'd even say my life was better pre-internet, it was certainly more diverse.
@theactualnic
8 жыл бұрын
+Transcendental Airwaves I suppose you're right.
@fatihkan2601
7 жыл бұрын
it's really hard to follow what you're typing on this tiny screen.
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