AlphaSmart 3000 arrives
My latest e*ay toy arrived today – an “AlphaSmart 3000″:http://www.alphasmart.com/ typing tool. This minimal computer has a full sized laptop style keyboard and a _small_ LCD display that shows 4 lines of about 50 characters each. The device has no complex filing system, there are 8 files available on buttons at the top of the keyboard where the function buttons are usually located. Just switch the device on, select a file button and start typing. *Your words are saved as you type*. As the display has no backlight, there may be situations when you don’t have enough light to type with.
When you want to transfer text to an application on a real computer, you plug in a USB cable, open a suitable application on your computer, and press the ’send’ button on the Alphasmart. The text appears as if being typed into the application.
Because the AlphaSmart emulates a keyboard (PC or Mac), it will work with _any_ make of computer with a USB port. Mine came with a Y cable for a PC with a PS/2 socket as well.
The AlphaSmart is chunkier and less flimsy than I was expecting – I suppose it has to be to withstand the attentions of the school children for whom the keyboard is intended. The editing is basic – plain ascii text – and the scrolling speed and small display mean that this device is for *note taking and text capture* rather than review or editing.
Because the device spits ascii code into _any_ application you load on your main computer, you can include formatting codes; html, texttile mark-up or even TeX for maths formulas in my case.
In 20 minutes(!) of use, the only problem I can forsee is accidental on – the power switch is a simple key with no lock or slide action needed.
The low value, ruggedness and lack of features mean that this keyboard will get used on train journeys – 1 hour a day of writing time adds up over the year.
£160 is a lot for this device new, but they seem to be available on the well known auction site for around £75 to £100 depending on how many of the leads are available. As the device will run for 300+ hours on a set of AA batteries, the absence of a mains transformer is not critical, and the device works fine with a standard USB cable in my iBook. There is a backup lithium battery on the circuit board that will keep the memory alive even if the display batteries run down. I checked my version 1.3 AlphaSmart by typing some text and pulling the AA batteries out, and replacing them 5 minutes later. The text was still in the file, so the lithium battery is still fine on this older computer.