Size of alphasmart and where to get one in mid-Europe

Size: It's a full-size keyboard, and not much more. Probably around 18 inches wide and 12 inches tall, but don't quote me on that. (It's roughly the same size as my standard-size laptop, but weighs 1/4 as much).

As for shipping, all I can say is "try eBay."

http://www.nanowrimo.org/NanowrimoUtils/MyMonth/95590-goal=200000-pc-day...
Ideal Goal: 200k
Minimum Goal: finish Only Child

Thanks for the answer.
Uhoh. That's pretty big. Are you using Dana or Neo/any of the other brand or what you call it? I got the impression that Dana is bigger than the normal one...
If it really is that big, than it really won't be of all that much use for me, I am afraid. *crosses fingers*
Can anybody please deny/support my suspicion?

It's not particularly big? I mean, it's slightly smaller than your average laptop, and significantly lighter. And that's talking about the laptop when it's closed, obviously. I use a 3000, but I also own a 2000. Haven't seen Neo or Dana in person, so I can't comment on their sizes.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/NanowrimoUtils/MyMonth/95590-goal=200000-pc-day...
Ideal Goal: 200k
Minimum Goal: finish Only Child

It's about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, but slightly wider.

Chet's NaNoWriMo Experience (updated)

My boyfriend has a Neo and I just measured it: 31.5 cm by 24 cm. When he bought it, he had it shipped to my office because he commutes by bicycle and didn't want to have to carry it home. (We don't like to have valuable items delivered to our apartment.) I tore open the box in a panic because it was so light, I thought there was nothing in it! That is its real advantage; it is ridiculously light. He likes it a lot; he bought it to use for his blog.

Shameless plug for blog: www.justaguywhoridesabike.com.

Those with no dreams can never have any dreams come true.

Anonymous

Winner: 2007 "Goblin Wine"
Winner: 2008 "The Unfamiliar Stars"

Thank you for your information, thoughts and opinion. Let me explain a few things first:
1/ My PC is the exact size of an A4 paper and relatively light (under 3 kgs, I believe).
2/ I bought it, planning on using it at school, so planning on lots of moving around. That idea backfired on me spectacularly, as I managed to practically destroy my wrists from using the PC all the time. Now I try to limit PC use to creative writing and school necessity only(doesn't work very well). Add to it the fact that the amount of stuff I have to carry (textbooks etc.) is significantly increasing in both size and weight, and you can figure out for yourself why I've decided on trying to find something lighter, and preferably smaller/thinner, to carry along and to keep me concentrated on writing only.
3/ I am afraid for my computer. I commute a lot and let's say it's not the most stable type of traffic, jerking and stuff. I keep seeing the PC cracked up on the hard floor beneath feet of a dozen of people or so. Not talking about the screen having to be kept up, which does not help stability.
That said, you can see my expectations are very high. I need something very small and light (any guesses how light we are talking about in case of an alphasmart?- that could change my opinion significantly.) and stable, hard to break and not very tender. I had expected the size to be significantly smaller, about A5 paper, to be truthful.
Now I am not sure what to think. I really like its stability, long life of batteries and concentration on one subject. The size seems like a problem at the moment. I think I will decide according to the weight and chances where to get it from.
So, that said:
Any ideas about the weight? Or where I can get it from (mid-European, over here)?
Thank you all so much for bearing with me :)

My 2000 and my 3000 are both precisely 2 pounds (0.9 kg). I had the same experience with thinking they'd shipped an empty box! I could hear it rattle on the inside, so I knew there was something in the styrofoam packing peanuts, but it sure as hell wasn't heavy enough to be a computer in my head.

If you're buying used, go for it. If you get one of the older models (I highly recommend the 3000), go for it, no questions asked. Paying retail for a Neo or Dana is way above my budget, though, so I can't advise you as to whether or not they're worth it.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/NanowrimoUtils/MyMonth/95590-goal=200000-pc-day...
Ideal Goal: 200k
Minimum Goal: finish Only Child

Okay,
0.9 kg? Wow, I am off to weigh my PC and my books. :)

I'm back. The PC has exactly 2 kg. My German book has 0.9 kg.
I can't decide. Just trying to figure out how to explain the need for it it at home... :)
Thank you very much for helping me figure this one out.
Still a few more question, this time maybe more subjective:
In the meantime, anything I should be careful about with the alphasmart? Is the display well-readable at greater distance (ie. typing in a chair, the thing sitting on your knees?)? Are the older versions compatible with Vistas?

It's heavier than most of my hardcover books, but lighter than most textbooks.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/NanowrimoUtils/MyMonth/95590-goal=200000-pc-day...
Ideal Goal: 200k
Minimum Goal: finish Only Child

I love your weight scale :)
I am still asking about compability with Vistas, visibility in sitting position from knees and about things to look out for- if that doesn't make sense, please look a 2 posts up :)

Visibility is fine on the older versions so long as you aren't in really-really dim light. It's not backlit, so there has to be external lighting. I usually sit in a recliner with it on my lap, or lay on a bed with it in front of me. I have no problem reading it at either angle, and there's minimal screen glare so far.

As far as Vista goes, I've never had any problems. I don't have any software for it or anything. You just have to get a USB A/B cable (standard USB on one end, square-ish on the other -- this size is used for digital cameras a lot, I think) to hook it up. Plug it in, press the "send" button and it literally types everything you wrote into your text file, like a very-fast keyboard. It types at about the same speed I read, so around a page per minute, I think. Not blazingly fast, but much faster than I can transcribe on my own.

Of the older versions, I suggest the 3000 because a) it uses a standard cable, instead of the weird one the 2000's use, b) it has a longer battery life, c) it has copy/paste/cut/select-all, and d) it has a small calculator on it. It's necessary to note that none of the older versions have wordcount functions. You'll have to upload for that.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/NanowrimoUtils/MyMonth/95590-goal=200000-pc-day...
Ideal Goal: 200k
Minimum Goal: finish Only Child

I just measured my Alphasmart Neo at 12 inches wide, 9 1/2 inches tall, and about 1/2 in (keyboard) to 1 inch (screen) thick. It's much lighter than my laptop, and doesn't get hot like my laptop does.

Here's the Neo product page:

NEO Product Details

Jasini

Coincidences are spiritual puns.
Gilbert K. Chesterton

Thanks to both of you. The bit about the chord and difference in functions of both older types were extremely useful, Incandescent. I have had a look at the official website but I could only see info about the Dana and Neo, and I have not been finding all that much on the older models.
Thanks for that, Jasini. The third dimension is very useful. Now I just need to find a covertor from the British inches (you are talking about those, right? I have a vague hunch that there are different types of inches...)
I actually thought to go to youtube and check for alphasmart *duh, finally* to see the proportion of the size. It's not THAT big, alright. And my mum said that there is a significant difference between 0.9 kg and 2 kg (yay for me, she might help me try and fogure this whole thing out. Big smile for my bestest mum.)
The coolness is great news for me. I can't keep my laptop on my legs for too long because it gets extremely hot and that tends to make me stop writing. That would mean significantly less discomfort...
The more I learn, the more I like it. The size is still off-utting but it's not that horrid...
What about it switching on when you carry it around? I can't see the on button on any of the pictures, could that pose a problem?
Sorry if you are getting fed up with me coming up with new and new potential problems. I am just trying to figure out whether or not it's worth all the trouble. I am quite sure of the money worth, but the mess around that...
P.S. Ok, I am an idiot. The thickness of Neo is in fact on the web page... Urgh, so stupid. Still glad I could have the comparison of your babies :)

Double post but major question!
Does anybody know if the European store is running the NaNo action too? I can't seem to find any info.

START OF RANT (PLEASE IGNORE IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO)
I just had another, better look at their website. All was great. The EU shop does ship to my country (or at least it should.). Just for the heck of it I took my calculator out and compared the price converted to my money from USA and EU shop. The EU is larger! Converted, by about a 1/4 actually, I believe. Not nice *pout*
Thinking about it, it's probably because of the shipping. It's perfactly reasonable but still... :(
Gonna scoop e-bay

Alphasmarts are unique in that they're completely agnostic when it comes to compatability. You see when you plug it in, it acts as any other USB keyboard.
As long as your OS supports plug-and-play USB keyboards (see: every modern OS released in the past decade) then it works.

When you send documents it actually types the document out letter-by-letter (pretending to be a keyboard). It's quite satisfying watching all the words slowly show up after a long writing session. :)

In that case, I love it. I was afraid to the Vista reaction to it (yes, they keep doing strange stuff with my stuff, keyboard etc.), so now another good tick in the direction of the alphasmart is on the paper :)
I almost broke my PC today. I had to finish typing up something for one of my classes, so I pulled it out in the public transport, the driver slowed down slightly- and my PC wwas hanging at the edges of my knees and I was clutching it desperately, seeing it hitting the hard ground and breaking into tiny little pieces.... Urgh, not good.
Off to hunt the net for a bit more info...

You can get them from Renaissance Learning in the UK.

www.renlearn.co.uk.

Shipping is reasonable and delivery fast. They will ship anywhere in the EU and I think you can pay in Pounds or Euros.

Thanks :) I will probably end up there...
P.S.: check out my rant a few posts earlier.
Edit: Still asking if anybody knows if the European store is running the NaNo action too?
Second question's a bit more trivial: what colour is the Neo? It looks black on the photos...

I don't know if there is a choice of colors, but my boyfriend's Neo is purple. Not dark or shiny, but definitely purple.

Those with no dreams can never have any dreams come true.

Anonymous

Winner: 2007 "Goblin Wine"
Winner: 2008 "The Unfamiliar Stars"

Purple!?
That's a first. I've seen it described as black, from the official photos, or dark green but never purple. Interesting.
Who might know if the NaNo alphasmart thing is appliable in the UK store as well, any ideas?

Purple?

I know someone who works for the company, and I was able to buy one of his old Neos from him at about half price. It's dark green, almost like hunter green. I don't have any problems with it switching on in a bag, and there's a two-button on feature that's optional (you can turn it on if you want it to stay off). The Neo2 is black. The only problem I've had is that the keys come off relatively easily, so if I stick it in my backpack with the books, and am pulling stuff in and out, sometimes a book will catch on a key and pull it off. So, I recommend some kind of slipcover for it. I often use a pillowcase for mine; Alphasmart sells a decent case; and I suppose you could make one. It's very hardy, and I actually dropped it off our porch, about 6-10 feet onto concrete steps. Other than a big scratch and a couple scuffs, it didn't affect it at all. I love it.

I am so jealous of purple neos, mine is dark green.

The case Alphasmart sell is really good, it's a perfect snug shape and one half of the cover is more solid than the overall fabric is made of making it impossible to press keys by accident. (Switch on - Clear file. Nooo!)

Tell me about it. I am in panic right now because my comp has eaten about a 1000 words off one of my scenes (a major one and I dn't remember it well- it was the only scene I was really happy with so far). Sorry, that doesn't belong here. But if you know anything about Ywriter, please check my thread on it.
Ok, the no on in a bag is very good. The green seems a bit strange but I hope it will be ok (in the very worst case- saw a few of them recoloured.) Neo2 black=great :)
The case would be a must have, then... Still hunting the net for used alphasmarts :)
*pls, cross yoour fingers for revival of my blank scene*

Mine's dark grey. I didn't know they came in other colors.

Jasini

Coincidences are spiritual puns.
Gilbert K. Chesterton

They don't. But some owners have painted theirs in different colours.

Chet's NaNoWriMo Experience (updated)

I see. That just might have explained it.
Still:
Does anybody have any idea if the NaNo alphasmart lower price is in Europe, too? It seems like it is only on the American site...
Hope not :(