Sat 27 Jun, 2009
The NEO word processor, for Mac or Windows, by Alphasmart is a combination technological step forward - step back. The steps forward? Extraordinarily long battery life – about 600 hours per three disposable AA batteries - and features like built-in calculator, “applets” for cool classroom functions, and relatively small footprint, coupled with a vision-friendly keyboard.
Alphasmart wants to position NEO as a perfect tool for writers, and it might be - for some. NEO is a straight-forward, laptop word processor. What freelance writer doesn’t use a word processor? But the lightness of the unit – that is, its weight, or lack of it, puts the keyboard off-balance unless it’s used on a tabletop. If one uses it, say on an airplane or in the car while waiting for a child to get out of school, accurate typing becomes problematic. The unit tilts, shakes and wobbles as keys are struck. The slightly unexpected keyboard formation is off putting until one gets used to it. Reach for a key like “delete” in its expected location and find the display disappears because some other function key was struck.
