Help! Several months ago I read at least one litblogger raving about a laptop word processor they used. All I can remember about it is that it was very affordable (maybe $200?), had an extremely long battery life (100 hours?), was very no-frills (all it did was word processing, and had only a small, 4-5 line, text-only screen) and had very heavy-duty construction. Of course I’ve forgotten the blogger(s) and the manufacturer, and now Christmas is coming up and my wife is demanding that I (impossible to shop for) find out more about this wondrous device! Does this jog anyone’s memory?

Finally figured it out—the blogger was Donavan Hall, and the product was the AlphaSmart Neo:

http://www.alphasmart.com/products/neo.html

Has anybody used one of these? Anybody recommend it? I’m looking for a cheap, durable, convenient solution for writing on my commuter train to and from work--my old Sony Vaio laptop really doesn’t cut it.

Hey Pete,

You can get laptops for under $500 these days, and used ones might even come up on par with the cost of an old word processor. Why doesn’t your Vaio cut it? Is it something endemic to a laptop that a word processor would solve? Because frankly, having a bigger screen and being able to email off Word documents when you need to are features you can’t get anywhere but laptopland.

Cheers,
Robert

The Vaio has a busted hinge and a battery that drains quickly, so the lure of durability and long battery life drew me to the Neo. But after seeing the price I’m now more inclined to spend a couple hundred more and buy a low-end laptop instead.

If word processing is your primary concern, and you don’t need lots of Windows-specific or Mac-specific applications, you might even consider a WalMart Linspire laptop:

http://media.linspire.com/walmart/

Your documents will be Word-compatible, even if the operating system is not made by Microsoft. It means you put more money toward the hardware and less toward software licenses, since Linux is effectively free.

I’m not sure about the word processor you mention, but I generally agree with the posted comment already about cheap notebooks.  These days you can pick up a brand new notebook, with warranties, for $600--and that is Canadian money, in US money it’d be maybe $1.49.  While such a notebook would not be great for playing graphics intensive 3D shooter games etc., and would not have a DVD burner etc., it would be just fine for word processing.

I’ve never heard of any portable notebook or word processor with a 100 hour battery life.  The best I’ve heard of with a notebook is maybe four hours, depending on the notebook and the type of battery it uses.

As for word processing programmes, most new notebooks will come with one, often Microsoft Works.  Works ain’t great, but it is an ok basic programme.  There are a number of very good free word processing programmes out there though--as my hacker son tells me.

From time to time, I use my 1924 Underwood portable, by the way--it never crashes and I like the type face.

Having said all that, I saw an ad in P&W;that reminded me of a word processor that’s been around for a awhile now - the AlphaSmart series:

http://www.alphasmart.com/

So named because their primary market was education, then writers started picking them up for the 700 (!) hour battery life. Then again, MIT’s project:

http://laptop.media.mit.edu/

is likely to blow even the AlphaSmart’s Palm-powered model away once it arrives. And if new research into flexible-cell battery technology emerges as a viable consumer option, we could soon see even standard laptops running for dozens if not hundreds of hours.