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Writers “Tools of the Trade”: Neo, Dana, Freewrite, Traveler, Alpha, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, JIM Pomera, etc.

This post is about the best writers' tools. It is as much about the Alphasmart NEO, a portable electronic word processor, as it is about its new-age competitors. 
Disclaimer: I feel the Alphasmart Neo has been the one purchase that has proved to be most useful. However, I still have the Astrohaus Freewrite adorning my table, as it is a delight to look at. 


Alphasmart NEO or the Renaissance NEO 2   

A Portable Electronic word processor & the best writing tool after the typewriter for the writer in you

Pros:
·         Full-size keyboard, and one of the best feel better than anything the laptop world could throw at you
·         Has digital output: AB USB connector, can move your text without requiring any installation on the computer (Computer software to manage the NEO is available as a free download)
·         Software- Alphaword Plus provides spell check, thesaurus, copy-paste and basic keyboard commands
·         720 hours of backup on on 3 AA batteries
·         Instant on – off and no requirement to keep saving every 5 minutes.
·         5.75″ x 1.5″ Mono Liquid Crystal display which shows a “generous” 2 to 6 lines of type.
·         Contrast on the screen in phenomenal, and can beat even the direct sunlight.
·         512K memory but provides to save about 250 pages without requiring to sink into a computer (4.5MB Storage with and OS and 2 MB of software eats up the rest of the space)
·         Very light and portable
·         Rugged without any moving parts. No noise, no heating up with use.
·         Colours: Neo comes only in green, Rennaisance NEO 2 comes in in charcoal grey
·         KeyWords typing tutor if you want to teach you fingers the job.
 
Add ons suggested:
·         Learn basic HTML tags for formatting: *bold* and _italic_ for Word; OpenOffice  *bold* and _underline_
·         Small LED-based reading lights that you can clip to the Neo
·         HP A-B USB cable 5m to connect to the computer
·         Master password is “teach” if you want to tinker around in the control panel / applet menu

 
Cons:
·         No internet connectivity
·         Screen has no back lighting
 


I would not like to reinvent the wheel. Let me redirect you to a couple of great resources on the Neo:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/alphasmart/discuss/126690/ - all links and reviews
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243184
http://www.nanowrimo.org/hownanoworks
http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/asia-india/threads/7219?page=2

How to get your hands on a Portable Electronic word processor?

Alphasmart NEO or the Renaissance NEO 2 was available in US, UK markets. Now your best bet is to purchase a used one on Ebay.

While my verdict is that the Neo is one of the best digital tools a writer could have, you need to know what else is out there for writers. The most popular one is the Freewrite.

Freewrite

I will write an update about my Freewrite (from Astrohaus) smart typewriters in my next post. Freewrite is the first product from a company called Astrohaus.

I did not try their Traveler or their Alpha, as I feel the options below are better. Though they are from years past, they still punch above their weight.

  • JIM Digital-Memo_Pomera DM100 instead of a traveller.
  • Alphasamrt Dana or Neo instead of an Alpha. 

Writers “Timeless Tools of the Trade” 

  • Dragon NaturallySpeaking (voice-to-text converter). Dragon is now owned by Microsoft after they acquired it from Nuance. It takes some patience to train the software. There are also IC recorders that come with DNS preloaded.
  • Well, Dragon is still the best bet if you want to do things offline. Most AI helpers do a pretty good job. But if you do not want your text to go to the cloud and become testing fodder to train AI engines, it still is down to Dragon.
  • Sony IC recorder or the Philips voice tracer which is Dragon compatible. They both have good inbuilt mics and reasonable memory. Please note that they both have internal rechargeable batteries.
  • Blue Snowball ICE USB Microphone is great for a desktop workstation.
  • Microsoft Natural Ergonomic keyboard 4000 – You either love it or you hate it. But I can vouch for it.

Today I'll just suggest a good laptop like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Feather light with a 14" screen), however, there was once a time at the turn of the century when it was great to have:

  • Android phone with the swipe keyboard/ the erstwhile Nokia communicator / E75 or any slideout QWERTY keyboard
  • Digital camera/ DSLR, could be clubbed with the phone
  • Wireless bluetooth earphones or Music player like ipod

Those were the times before technology spoilt us for choice.
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