The AlphaSmart Word Processor

A tour of the AlphaSmart Neo2 word processor.

[Rocker]

I used an Alpha Smart in 3rd grade and I can't express how much I loved it. I never forgot how awesome it felt to type on it. 😊

[RemnantCult]

I had issues with handwriting as a kid, unfortunately, so my teachers opted for me to use a word processor. The Neo2 was the one I used from elementary to the end of middle school. I had a love for that little thing as it helped me write essays, take notes, and even write dumb fan-fiction that I'm happy to have deleted after giving it back to the parish school system. It was a great little machine and it helped spark my interest in electronics.

[JungleShrink]

I totally remember writing on these in elementary school. In the fifth grade I wrote a short story about a group of friends getting lost in a haunted mansion. Fond memories, thanks Stephen!

[lukewolf]

I had an Alphasmart when I was in Elementary school. I absolutely loved that thing. I still use it. I’ve used an Alphasmart all my life. Making stories, doing homework, plays. Loved it very much. Thank you so much for bringing it up on Youtube.

[sibleystamps]

I'm a full-time author, and love my AlphaSmart Neo2 to pieces! I write most of my first drafts on it before uploading to my laptop for refining, editing, etc. Nice video introducing people to this handy device, and I appreciated hearing a bit about the company's history as well.

[Garhunt]

I have the alpha smart 3000 from school. They never asked for it back.

[apt]

Oh man, we had a case of these in 3rd grade. They were great, honestly. The typing education app was useful and it gave us access to what we needed from computers at that age without the distractions. Cool device.

[vb]

Yes! I remember using these damn things in elementary school. I remember plugging it into an eMac and watching it type everything that you typed on it on to the Word document. Cool stuff

[dysfunctionalwombat]

I used to use these for writing in class, since my hand writing is kinda bad. Glad you made a video about these. Great memories! I had used a Neo 2.

[andrewfarrell]

Just purchased one of these. Should be coming tomorrow. Very excited to try it out. Thanks for the review and I dig your Plug For Broken Silence. I'll keep my eye out for that too.

[Xingqiwu]

THE GREATEST devices for writers since the fountain pen. Now if ONLY it had a mechanical keyboard!

[nodezsh]

1:25 Ah yes, the all important shot of you being recorded by a camera and then moving said camera.

[FloatingSpaceKitten]

I remember this device and using it for typewriting class to practice type writing and we had to repeat writing things

[richardpalmer]

I just bought one of these off an educational reseller in Kalamazoo and had it shipped to where I live in the UK.
It's a wonderful bit of kit, especially for those of us who grew up using typewriters!
I was in the process of converting an old Olympia typewriter into a digital typewriter but this is lighter, more portable and it's less fiddly (my digital typewriter saves to an SD card~) when getting the data out and - of course, I don't need to worry about paper/ribbons etc.

Looked at the Freewrite - didn't like the ergonomics and especially didn't like the price. Was using an iPad with a quality folding keyboard but battery life is dodgey for long writing sessions and distractions are still there.

Can't believe that no one has yet realised that there is a market for this type of device out there. Yes, Astrohaus have done so but the $500 is eyewatering.

[mpennymanson]

I love my Neo2 and it works great except when I travel with it. I don’t know if it gets bumped or gets turned on and off accidentally multiple times but when I turn it on to use it it asks if I have changed the battery and will not move to the next screen until I say “yes”. When I do so it will start but will have erased all my files. Sometimes I have to reset to factory settings to start and again lose all my files. Short of wrapping it in bubble wrap when I need to travel with it, any suggestions?

[christopherwilliams]

Ah man! I had an Alphasmart 3000 (I think? The translucent one!) back in elementary school. They gave it to me because none of my teachers could understand my handwriting lmao. I wish I still had it... I might nab one off eBay, they're super cheap now and IMO a fascinating piece of tech history!

[johnniepegues]

Lovely wat is the cost
Is this available

[willrunfun]

Memories of the TRS-80 Model 100 portable.

[barbarajloriordan]

I have not been able to print directly from my AlphaSmart using the printer cable. The AlphaSmart recognizes the printer and sends data, but the printer does not respond by printing. I have read that others have also not been able to print directly via cable from their Alphasmart. This is not really a problem because I can send data to computer and then print from there. Have you had better luck? What printer are you using?

Regarding the iPad and distractions, they can easily be eliminated by disconnecting the WiFi during your writing period.

[brianellison]

I wish these had been available when I was a student. The school for whatever reason, when my needs dictated that I needed a note taking device, supplied me with a VTech Laser 50 computer made in about 1985. For those who may not know, the Laser 50 has a dot matrix LCD that supports a maximum of 16 characters at a time, and is very definitely not a word processor; its primary function was teaching of the BASIC programming language, with a secondary function as a sort of scientific calculator. Other than Storage in onboard memory, it was designed to use a cassette as a data storage device, and a proprietary interface for printing to their supplied printers, neither of which used 8 1/2 x 11” sized paper. According to my mother, I received the unit in 4th grade or earlier, so that would have been early 1988 at the latest.