AlphaSmart Testing
==================

I  have got  the  AlphaSmart Dana  (the Wireless  model)  after it  was
mentioned by  Cameron Kaiser on his  TenFourFox blog [1]. I  have found
the idea of the  Palm OS laptop interesting. And yes,  this is what the
Dana exactly is: a Palm OS laptop. It's big as a laptop, it has a good,
big keyboard and it is powered  by the old good Motorola DragonBall CPU
(it was already  obsolete when the Dana was introduced).  The screen is
specific - it is relatively small for a laptop and it is connected in a
fixed  angle to  the  device  body. But  is  is  consistent with  other
AlphaSmart devices.  They made  devices for  education -  devices which
were used to learn typing on  keyboard. So a big screen was unnecessary
but the  big and high-quality keyboard  was mandatory. The Palm  OS was
just a nice bonus.  I also have an AlphaSmart Pro  (a much older device
which is compatible  both with the PS/2 and the  Apple IIgs / Macintosh
computers). It is good for typing but it cannot do almost nothing more.
Editing  functions are  very limited  and  there is  no possibility  to
install/write/compile any other stuff. The Dana is much more flexible.

The unusual shape  and size (for a  Palm device) is only  one of Dana's
features. It  has two SD  slots for cards, a  WiFi (it is  probably the
only  Palm OS  4  device with  a  WiFi!), a  USB (type  A?  - that  big
connector which is common in printers) for charging and synchronization
(as a true AlphaSmart device it can  also work as a normal USB keyboard
when it  is connected to a  computer). There is also  a power connector
and an infrared port (as it is in any other good Palm device).

The Dana's  big wide screen  is also one  of sources of  problems: very
little Palm  programs support  its unusual  dimensions (its  480x160, I
think). The  build-in program  mostly can work  with it  (the AlphaWord
text  editor, the  standard Palm  ToDo,  the Memo  and the  Addressbook
programs, for example) but in most cases one can see the program in the
middle 1/3 of screen.  At the left is an Dana logo and  ad at the right
is a  virtual graffiti area  with virtual  standard buttons. So  2/3 of
screen are wasted for most of 3rd party programs.

The device uses a rechargeable battery pack which is probably of no use
today. It can be  replaced by 3 AA batteries but  they cannot be charge
in the device  which is a bit impractical. There  are several (at least
2) solutions  of the problem  which are  based on re-soldering  of some
wires (to connect charging circuits with  the AAs). I have tried one of
them and at the moment it seems to work.

Software selection  may be interesting:  there is no e-mail  client nor
www browser  which may be strange  for a WiFi-enabled device.  There is
just some  stuff for synchronization.  But it might be  proper solution
for an  education device. But there  is a PalmReader (which  works with
the full screen!).

I must  say that writing on  this device is pleasant  (it's much easier
than use of  the Graffiti). It's easier than writing  on a PSION Series
3, too (but the Dana is not so much portable, of course).


 References:

 [1] http://tenfourfox.blogspot.com