AlphaSmart 2000

Imagine something smaller, lighter, and far less expensive than an iBook.

Imagine writing on a keyboard with no Mac attached.

That's one way of looking at the AlphaSmart 2000, the device I'm writing this review on.

The AlphaSmart has a full-sized keyboard, eight memory partitions to store your writing (so you can have up to 8 different projects handy at all times), and runs for weeks (120-300 hours of writing) on three AA batteries.

Unlike PowerBooks and most portable computers, there's no hinged screen. If you remember the Tandy 100, you have some idea what the AlphaSmart looks like.

But it's a lot lighter and far less costly than that old journalist's workhorse. It's a friendly blue, shaped to fit the lap comfortably, and has a four line, 40 character display.

The key action is quite comfortable, and using the AlphaSmart is a breeze. When you're done writing, you can connect it to your Mac's ADB port (or a PC's keyboard port), open your file, press the send button, and watch it type your text into your favorite word processor or page design program.

If you have an infrared port on your computer (e.g., Bondi iMacs), the AlphaSmart 2000IR lets you beam files without wires.

It's a very clever design.

The Hardware

Not much wider then the standard typing keys on your keyboard, the AlphaSmart measures 12.4" wide, 9.3" deep, and is only 1.9" thick. The two pound keyboard is rugged, so you won't feel uncomfortable toting it around.

The function keys across the top of the keyboard save files 1-8, print, and even spell check. The arrow keys aid navigation, as do home and end keys.

In fact, you can connect the AlphaSmart to a Mac and use it like a regular keyboard, although you'd probably miss the numeric keypad and other special keys.

The supertwist LCD display is not backlit, displaying dark blue text on a green-gray background. It's quite legible in even modest lighting.

The text is composed of monospaced characters 7 pixels tall. If you're an old timer, you'll know that means some compromises in text display - characters with descenders (y, g, j, p, q) appear higher than they should.

It's not as attractive as the Mac's nicely formed characters, but for basic text entry, it suffices.

The Firmware

There really isn't much in the way of software. It handles up to 8 text files, can search for a work or phrase, has basic spell checking, and can send files to your computer.

The eight text files come in different sizes. file 1 can be up to 16 pages long, the next 4 up to 8 pages, the next two up to 6 pages, and the last file 4 pages. Total storage capacity is 128 KB/64 pages.

The AlphaSmart has an extended character set with accents, copyright symbols, and more.

The spell checker does show one drawback of a firmware-based device: you can't add words to the dictionary.

Other than that, it provides all the power you need in a portable text processor.

Little Room for Improvement

Friendly as the AlphaSmart 2000 is with its curved edges, there are a few things that could make it more attractive -- starting with USB. Of course, now that USB is standard on all Macs and most PCs, it's a safe bet the next version of the AlphaSmart will have a USB port.

USB would also make it fully plug-and-play; with ADB, you really should power down your Mac before connecting the AlphaSmart.

One improvement I would like to see is a nicer display font, maybe a proportional font as crisp as Geneva. It would take a bit more system overhead to display a proportional typeface, but that and true descenders would make reading a bit easier.

A slightly larger display would be nice, but adding more than one row would probably increase the size of the AlphaSmart - which would not be a good thing.

Conclusion

These are minor issues. For what it does, the AlphaSmart 2000 is a well though out, well executed writing machine. It's often used in schools to teach keyboarding and writing. In the two weeks I've had one, I've found it is an excellent writing tool.

If you're intrigued, visit the AlphaSmart website to learn more about this $229 writing machine.

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