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AlphaSmart Shows Palm-Based Laptop

Posted by timothy on from the battery-life-above-all-else dept.

krswan writes: "AlphaSmart, which has built proprietary 'mini-laptops' for education in the past, has released a Palm Compatible device with a full keyboard, built in rechargeable batteries, 2 USB ports, and two Secure Digital and Multimedia Card compatible slots - all for $399. It is only about 2 lbs and the screen resolution is 560X160. As a teacher, I would love 30 or so for my classroom. More details at the Dana website." It's basically still more a glorified keyboard (like the older AlphaSmart products) than a laptop, but that's not a bad thing.

3 of 153 comments (clear)

  1. I love it--successor to TRS-80 model 100 by splorf · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Something like this has been needed for over a decade. A diskless mini-laptop with a useable keyboard and very long battery life, good for basic text typing and email checking, without battery-hungry color displays or Quake 3-capable processors. My only obvious complaint is it would be good if it had a little more screen resolution, to hold a 25x80 telnet/ssh window. But I already want one. Wow!

  2. eMate by marshac · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Apple tried this same thing with the eMate running the NewtonOS.....the device looked *very* cool, but it just didn't catch on. I suspect the same will happen to this device too.

    my 2 cents

  3. Africa by XNormal · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How about a solar or wind-up version for use in places that many miles away from the nearest electric socket or battery shop?

    --
    Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.