Alphasmart Neo

AlphaSmart makes great gadgets. If you attend any writer’s conference, especially romance writers, you’ll find a bunch of them using AlphaSmarts. They’ve finally come out with the Neo, which is a successor to their 3000 rather than their more powerful PalmOS Dana.

Some serious production writers use AlphaSmarts in lieu of computers because:

1. Fewer distractions.
2. Longer battery life. An AlphaSmart 3000 can have up to 700 hours.
3. Rugged. Pretty polycarbonate.

Once upon a time, I interviewed with AlphaSmart, who then sent me for a final interview in Salt Lake City. I didn’t get job, but the interview occurred during the Olympics. I was scheduled on flights that allowed me to catch one Olympic event (women’s hockey) before catching my flight home. And for that, I’ll always think they’re a great company.

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