Portable Word Processors?

paulcole asks: "I am currently an English major and short story writer, who is in the market for a word processor. My laptop is a good enough tool, but I feel that it isn't quite what I need for a portable writing tool. Namely, I want something smaller, more portable, and easier to use. Right now, I am looking at the QuickPad Pro and the AlphaSmart Dana. Any insight on either of these products, or any others out there, would be very helpful." Do these 'smaller and more portable' devices necessarily justify the trade-offs in power and flexibility that a laptop with a full fledged word processor would provide?

Comments

I'd opt for the Dana

[almaon]

Why? Palm OS, there's flexibility in the software choices. Choice is a good thing. Easier to sync with another computer, for printing, email, whatever. WiFi option could be a butt saver on occasion.

I always thought there should be more devices similar to this. A full blown laptop is great, but you lose some qualities like stellar battery life, low cost, lightweight. It'd be cool to have laptops with grayscale screens (if anyone made them anymore to keep the cost down in volume). I think it'd be great to have even 20 hour battery life, the thought of 100's of hours on AAA's sounds pretty damn good to me.

Exhalted dreamer...

Re:I'd opt for the Dana

[innosent]

The only problem I see with the PDA approach is the keyboard size. If you're going to do serious writing, I would think that you would want a standard size keyboard, which puts you back in the realm of 12" notebooks. Personally, I would prefer something like an IBM Thinkpad X series, since you get extremely light weight (as low as 2.6 pounds I believe), and long battery life (up to 8 hours on main battery, probably more like 6 with heavy writing). Older models can be found cheaply on eBay, and you still have all the power of a laptop, just in a thin, lightweight package. I haven't used the 12" Powerbooks, but if you're an Apple person, that would be the obvious choice, though the battery won't last as long. IANAW, but I've done 8 hours of programming work on my old Thinkpad T23 (with an extra ultrabay battery) before, and even the T series is light enough that carrying it around is no burden.

Re:I'd opt for the Dana

[CastrTroy]

If ones gets the Palm Keyboard they can have a full size keyboard in much smaller and extemely less weigth than any regular laptop. The batteries also last for a great deal longer. I got an m100 and the keyboard. Covers all my word processing needs

Model 100/200

[jhoger]

I have seen some writers who like using the model 100/200 TRS-80. They are antiques (and unfortunately for the buyer, somewhat collectible), but they have really good battery life and an extraordinary keyboard.

You can find some on Ebay.

Re:Palm [Phone] and a Keyboard

[Bastian]

But that's essentially what the Dana is. Except the Dana has a much larger (and wider) screen, which makes it much better than any other PalmOS device for serious writing. And the keyboard is much, MUCH nicer than any other keyboard for a PalmOS device that I've used - and better than many laptop keyboards. The keys have a much better response, and you can use the keyboard on your lap since you aren't trying to keep your PDA balanced upright on top of a flimsy foldable keyboard. It probably costs less than Palm phones, too.

I got to help test drive an AlphaSmart Dana at a previous job, and seriously considered buying one for myself despite the fact that I already owned both a laptop and a Handspring Visor. The high-end model even has 802.11b, which is rare in PalmOS devices. For certain uses (having something to carry around with me at all times so I could work on text documents during down time in my case), they're really much nicer than a PDA (near-worthless for any serious work with text documents and has only an hour or two's battery life if being used continuously) or a laptop (darn heavy and also can't spend too much time away from a power outlet without dying).

I've never used the QuickPad. It's much cheaper, but it doesn't run PalmOS - which I consider a major plus on the Dana. What's the point of having computer, any computer, if you can't install video games on it? Other than that and the more limited feature set it means for the QuickPad, it seems like the QuickPad provides better stowability at the expense of a poorer view of the screen by making the screen flat rather than tilted upward.

Personally, I'd go with the Dana.