#alphasmartneo

I’ve always been a sucker for a good deal. A good deal and a strong recommendation. In this case, the latter came first, which then led to a search on Amazon, which then led to a comparing of two products, which then led to a decision, which then led to me typing my first entry right now on my Alphasmart NEO.

Amazon lied about getting it to me in two days. (Thanks a lot, Amazon Prime!!) But it came a day later than promised so all’s well. Technically, it’s not Amazon’s fault USPS doesn’t keep their word even if they say they deliver on Sundays.

(I’m only being understanding because I know that we live in an imperfect world where things happen and fit hits the shan and stuff doesn’t get done on time all the time.)

Anyway.

I heard about Alphasmart in a brief plug of an interview with an Alphasmart user on this new podcast I started listening to, The Write Gear. The host teased the next episode and a soundbite of her guest had a five-second snippet singing the praises of a device described as a dedicated word processor with a “sexy keyboard” and how the device was a must for serious writers.

Hey. I’m a serious writer. Yeah. Really. You know, the kind whose words are a 1,000 page novel sitting in the noggin? That kind.

I went where any logical person goes to find something they want to buy and receive in two days: Amazon. I found an Alphasmart 3000. It had stellar reviews from hundreds. Some users mentioned the “newer” Neo so I looked into it.

While the 3000 was around $20 and the Neo was under $50, I sprung for the Neo because four lines on a tiny screen that looks like a calculator from the 1970s is better than two lines from a calculator from the same decade. Yes, two lines.

The Neo it was! Alphasmart is no longer business so the only machines you can find, on Amazon at least, are all used. I picked one that was listed as in “Good, Used” condition and was available through Prime.

“Buy within the next two hours to receive this item on Sunday, March 13.” I bought but IT DIDN’T COME ON SUNDAY. (I need to move on. I’m focusing on an obvious first world problem. Shut up, woman. You’re typing on it now, aren’t ya??)

My gamble paid off. There are no frills and no distractions on the Alphasmart. It doesn’t connect to the Internet so I cannot poke around Twitter or peruse my feed on Facebook. I can’t open email. The only thing I can do on my Neo is write, write, write.

There’s word vomit all over the place. It’s so cool!

After I have all my words out and safely stored on this thing, I can connect it to my Mac via USB and upload the file to a text editor.

The neat thing about the NEO — and the real kicker why I went with it and not the 3000 even if it was a li’l bit more expensive — is that it lets me hold and work on up to eight different files at a time. The 3000 doesn’t.

I’m about to hop on YouTube to find more tutorials. The only one I found was from six years ago. It was uploaded by a teacher. Apparently the Alphasmart was created for grade schoolers.