AlphaSmart Products AlphaSmart

1 alphasmart products

1.1 alphasmart

1.1.1 alphasmart pro
1.1.2 alphasmart 2000
1.1.3 alphasmart 3000


1.2 dana

1.2.1 dana wireless


1.3 neo

alphasmart products
alphasmart

the original alphasmart computer companion shipped in august 1993, , worked apple macintosh computers, plugging apple desktop bus (adb) port. model provided customers 16 pages of memory (32,000 bytes) 8 separate files (2 pages per file), accessed pressing corresponding function key. alphasmart took on aesthetics of computer intended partnered — had boxy, durable beige plastic case macintoshes of era. had 4 line lcd character display similar 1 find on appliances. each character displayed in own lcd box, making point size , font type fixed. alphasmart not display graphics, except ascii art. ran on 2 aa batteries, , used days @ time due clever power saving technique, sleeping in between keystrokes. there rechargeable nickel-cadmium battery (nicad) pack add-on customer purchase separately.

the alphasmart models included couple of jokes, including reference hitchhiker s guide galaxy. if, while using calculator, answer 42, words answer life, universe, , appear. or, if input 1+1, calculator say, s easy.

alphasmart pro

in february 1995, alphasmart pro launched. looked identical original had ps/2 port adb port, making compatible both windows pcs , macintoshes. second, pro had find feature search stored text. third, alphasmart pro able receive text computer through utility software installed on mac or windows pc. lastly, included password feature securing content. pro model able store 64 pages of text (128,000 bytes), holding 16 pages in first file, 8 pages in files 2 through five, 6 in files 6 & seven, , 4 pages on file number eight. original rechargeable nicad battery pack used in pro model.

alphasmart 2000

in october 1997, alphasmart, inc. introduced third generation of alphasmart family, alphasmart 2000. along more ergonomic design, case of alphasmart 2000 curvy , blue. new features added spell-checking, direct printing (allowing user plug printer directly, bypassing computer), auto-off power save, , keyboarding timer. year later, company added infrared capability 2000, enabling users transfer text computer or alphasmart without cable. model needed 3 aa batteries, still use original rechargeable nicd battery pack. alphasmart pro, had 128 kb memory.

alphasmart 3000

in january 2000, alphasmart 3000 released. 3000 used same chassis alphasmart 2000, encased in translucent bondi-blue plastic, matching apple computer s first generation imac. meant visual indication alphasmart 3000 usb native device, many other usb devices patterned using imac s design in same way.

designers removed adb , ps/2 ports, replacing them usb port , mini-din-8 serial port allowed users plug alphasmart directly printer. new smartapplet architecture capable of extending simple functionality of alphasmart inclusion of smartapplets—miniature software applications extend alphasmart s functionality give features beyond basic word processing. example, included simple 5-function calculator. additionally, battery life , memory increased (although still ran on 3 aa batteries), , cut/copy/paste functions introduced. original rechargeable nicd battery pack not compatible model. instead, used new optional nickel metal hydride battery (nimh) pack lasted longer , eliminated memory effect of nicd batteries. alphasmart 3000 had customary 8 files, each capacity of 12.5 pages (about 25 kilobytes), total of 100 pages altogether.

alphasmart announced discontinuation of alphasmart on april 30, 2006.

dana

in june 2002, alphasmart released dana product radical departure standard product line. similar apple computer s newton emate 300 (a laptop running newton pda operating system), dana, fcc id kv2dana001, fledged palm os device complete touch-screen, allowing user write directly on screen via graffiti in addition typing on built-in, full-size keyboard. dana s screen had backlight , capable of displaying complex graphics (though in 4 bit grayscale), unlike original alphasmart line. had 8 mebibyte (mib) of storage , 2 expansion slots cards in secure digital (sd) or multimedia card formats. compatible every palm os application, , palm apps take advantage of dana s extra-wide screen, 3.5 times norm (560 x 160 pixels).

the dana s primary software built-in alphawrite word processor. licensed version of wordsmith palm os blue nomad, customized dana s wider screen. 8 alphawrite documents resident @ 1 time, each instantly accessible via dana s 8 function keys. simple matter switch between alphawrite documents , of 4 standing built-in application native palm os (memo pad, datebook, todo, address book). larger size fonts selected within alphawrite compensate low-contrast screen display s being difficult read.

the screen used in either landscape mode or portrait mode, though there no auto-detection of how dana positioned; user had tap menu selection choose mode.

the screen taller of original alphasmart products, , dana s casing made opaque dark-blue plastic—a change imac-esque clear blue of alphasmart 3000. used either ni-mh rechargeable battery or 3 aa batteries 25 hours of usage.

danas produced near end of production run had os software modified because many users complained danas turning on when carried in container, such backpack, depleting battery charge. because on/off key needed power device. version 1.5 of dana os provided way require both enter , on/off keys power up. accessed through system keyboard app.

the dana had irda compatible infrared port transferring documents , files. owners 2 danas, convenient way files.

dana wireless

one year later, in 2003, alphasmart added dana wireless model (fcc id kv2dana002) added built-in wi-fi connectivity internet use & interaction other danas, doubled ram capacity 8 mib 16 mib, doubled flash rom 4 mib 8 mib, , added sdio support sd card slots. used 3 aa batteries (standard or ni-mh or ni-cad) 20 hours of usage.

neo

the neo model introduced in august 2004 , hold more 200 pages of text. lcd display 50% larger alphasmart 3000 s display. unlike 3000, didn t use fixed blocks each character , therefore display different font/point sizes, along simple graphics. neo ran newer operating system allowed modular control of smartapplets , new version of alphaword (the word processing smartapplet), allowed dynamic file resizing. neo s chassis dark opaque shade of green form factor based on dana. neo used same class of cpu dana. used same optional nimh battery pack alphasmart dana. neo had several software bugs, such hard-to-see cursor , text-stacking file corruption problem.

the neo 2 added several minor upgrades original neo , first unit released after alphasmart acquired renaissance learning. added quiz functionality, using 2know! toolbar, developed 2know! classroom response system. teachers create, distribute, , score quizzes using neo 2. neo 2 access accelerated reader quizzes , allow students use network printers, when using renaissance receiver accessory.

both neo , neo 2 discontinued renaissance learning in late september 2013, although company still offers support , software existing users of march 2014.