AlphaSmart Dana - Palm OS 4.1 RAM: 8 MB - IrDA
By: Alphasmart Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 8
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 On: 2007-07-24
I bought this back in 2003. The Wireless Dana costs 500 bucks then, plus taxes. It costs 450 today. 4 years later, and only a 50 dollar price drop? On top of that the support was HORRIBLE. Theres no way to download the software you need to operate the device. I actually had to pony up the 10 bucks for them to send me a new cd. When I asked why the company didnt have it online for free download, I was answered with silence. For what this is, its horribly overpriced. Its a Palm 3x with 16 megs and a horribly slow 802.11b connection + a decent keyboard. The Emperor has no clothes. I cant believe people actually pay 500 bucks + for these. Im ashamed to say I was one of these people. At least I didnt lose too much; I sold on ebay last year.
 On: 2007-04-24
When I first started considering this product, my husband thought it was silly to buy something that was not-quite-a-laptop -- and gave me the whole "You [will] get what you pay for" speech. He was sure Id be dissatisfied with something so cheap and limited in its capabilities. But that was two and a half years ago, and the fact is that the Alphasmart Dana was the perfect choice for me. I like to be able to do my writing anywhere -- library, coffee shop, train, car (if Im a passenger) -- and the light weight of the Dana makes it so easy to just slip it in my handbag and take it along. The fact that it can store eight files means that I download my work as soon as I get back to my desktop computer, rather than storing it as I would with a laptop, which is a good habit security-wise. Its durable and bug-free: in 2.5 years, Ive never had any technical difficulties. Do not assume, as my husband did, the the low price and limited capabilities mean you are getting an inferior product. If you want to be able to take your writing with you and dont need a whole lot of features beyond word-processing at hand, this product will absolutely meet your needs.
 On: 2006-12-01
My husband bought this for me, because I do not like writing on laptops. I do agree with the other reviewers, that the Dana is very portable, and light: I also agree that it is handy and has alot of features for adults and kids alike for writing/etc.
But....there are also things I do not like about this product, one being...when you buy this product, it does not come with a memory card...so, the wireless part goes sooooooo slow...and be careful NOT to lose your work...bc if it isnt kept charged..you will.
Also, the screen is not the easiest to see. It is small and dark (but there is a backround light on it, so it helps). I find it hard to write, not being able to see my last paragraphs I wrote.
And, like I said...if your buying this for the wireless piece, make sure you buy a memory card for it too, otherwise its useless....it moves at a snails pace and loads almost no pages.
All in all, its a useful tool, though I wouldnt say its better than a laptop, but it does do the trick for basic writing/note-taking/and organizing.
Good Luck!
On: 2006-11-30
My husband bought this for me, because I do not like writing on laptops. I do agree with the other reviewers, that the Dana is very portable, and light: I also agree that it is handy and has alot of features for adults and kids alike for writing/etc.
But....there are also things I do not like about this product, one being...when you buy this product, it does not come with a memory card...so, the wireless part goes sooooooo slow...and be careful NOT to lose your work...bc if it isnt kept charged..you will.
Also, the screen is not the easiest to see. It is small and dark (but there is a backround light on it, so it helps). I find it hard to write, not being able to see my last paragraphs I wrote.
And, like I said...if your buying this for the wireless piece, make sure you buy a memory card for it too, otherwise its useless....it moves at a snails pace and loads almost no pages.
All in all, its a useful tool, though I wouldnt say its better than a laptop, but it does do the trick for basic writing/note-taking/and organizing.
Good Luck!
by: Anonymous On: 2004-12-26
This was not so impressive. I got it last year for christmas and i am 10. It looses batteries quickly. It is also very boring and not enjoyable. the only good thing is the word prossing. And for example i lost the cd that comes for synchronizing and now i cant print or anything it comes with too many plugs and ....
i deffenataly do NOT recomend this
On: 2004-12-08
...I find this portable word-processor a wonderful gadget. Its a lot tougher than most laptops, as well as lighter and less expensive. Also, the batteries last a lot longer. So I take it with me whenever I dont wish to lug my computer around. I also like the fact it can store up to eight documents, as well as upload the document to almost any word-processing programme on the computer.
The one drawback I find is that the machine only works with basic font. It does not have a footnote, italics, bold or underline function -- all of which would be handy. I also suggest you pay the extra and get the built-in rechargeable battery pack as well as the carrying case, since each of these makes the AlphaSmart much more convenient to travel with.
On: 2004-12-07
...I find this portable word-processor a wonderful gadget. Its a lot tougher than most laptops, as well as lighter and less expensive. Also, the batteries last a lot longer. So I take it with me whenever I dont wish to lug my computer around. I also like the fact it can store up to eight documents, as well as upload the document to almost any word-processing programme on the computer.
The one drawback I find is that the machine only works with basic font. It does not have a footnote, italics, bold or underline function -- all of which would be handy. I also suggest you pay the extra and get the built-in rechargeable battery pack as well as the carrying case, since each of these makes the AlphaSmart much more convenient to travel with.
On: 2003-09-08
I am studying a course in Computer Systems at University, I have a desktop in my halls but I wanted a laptop to use in lectures as I have a learning disabilty. I was recommended the Dana by a friend, for the price I think that it is a great piece of kit. The full size keyboard is a joy to type on, and the product itself is ALMOST indestructible (I know this as it gets bashed around in my bag). The widescreen is great when using Alphaword, although in most Palm applications there is a Dana logo on the left of the screen as most applications havent been converted to run in widescreen. I would recommend purchasing an SD card as you can only store 8 files in the internal memory, which can be a bot of a problem if you are away from your PC and cannot hotsync. Overall this is a well made, cost effective and portable alternative to a laptop for word processing. Therefore, I would recommend this product to anyone.
 On: 2003-08-07
I like writing on the go -- in coffee shops, book stores, libraries(!), on my bed before I sleep... And my laptop didnt quite cut it because of power and size.I was a little apprehensive before buying the Dana because of dimension (too big and I wouldnt carry it), keyboard (I wanted a laptop feel), and screen (too small would be a problem)
but I am quite satisfied with all of the above. Dana is light and compact. It is large in form, but no larger than a sub-compact notebook, and certainly much thinner and lighter. I put it in my bag/sack without hesitation.
The keyboard is terrific (looks and feels like an Apple keyboard) and the screen is, while not outstanding, good enough, with a nice backlight. It could be a little bigger -- this is the reason I dont give it 5 stars -- but I guess the engineers needed to make a trade-off here.
The rechargeable battery lasts a long time, certainly more than enough for lugging around without its charger for a day (and Im sure it lasts a lot longer than this -- just that I havent tried it for more than a day). I with the AlphaWord would let me change the default font (I like using Times New Roman and 20 points on the small screen). That would be my only complaint. With the supplied default font, however, I can use it without much difficulty so I am not too upset. I havent gotten around to using the Palm features, although I have a Palm Tungsten T so I doubt I ever will. I suspect my use is the sweet spot for the Dana -- light word processing on the go. The previous reviewers comment suggests the same. Danas website says that there will be an 802.11b ready version out in the future. This would be a pretty cool addition to an already useful product. As it is, I highly recommend it for people who like writing anywhere.
On: 2003-08-06
I like writing on the go -- in coffee shops, book stores, libraries(!), on my bed before I sleep... And my laptop didnt quite cut it because of power and size.I was a little apprehensive before buying the Dana because of dimension (too big and I wouldnt carry it), keyboard (I wanted a laptop feel), and screen (too small would be a problem)
but I am quite satisfied with all of the above. Dana is light and compact. It is large in form, but no larger than a sub-compact notebook, and certainly much thinner and lighter. I put it in my bag/sack without hesitation.
The keyboard is terrific (looks and feels like an Apple keyboard) and the screen is, while not outstanding, good enough, with a nice backlight. It could be a little bigger -- this is the reason I dont give it 5 stars -- but I guess the engineers needed to make a trade-off here.
The rechargeable battery lasts a long time, certainly more than enough for lugging around without its charger for a day (and Im sure it lasts a lot longer than this -- just that I havent tried it for more than a day). I with the AlphaWord would let me change the default font (I like using Times New Roman and 20 points on the small screen). That would be my only complaint. With the supplied default font, however, I can use it without much difficulty so I am not too upset. I havent gotten around to using the Palm features, although I have a Palm Tungsten T so I doubt I ever will. I suspect my use is the sweet spot for the Dana -- light word processing on the go. The previous reviewers comment suggests the same. Danas website says that there will be an 802.11b ready version out in the future. This would be a pretty cool addition to an already useful product. As it is, I highly recommend it for people who like writing anywhere.
On: 2003-03-27
I purchased this Alphasmart Dana for my nine-year-old daughter to help her with her homework - and she absolutely loves it! She uses the built-in Alphaword (word processing) program which appears full-screen, and she prints via infrared to any one of several IR printers we have in our home (an HP 990, 995, 450 portable or Photosmart 1315, to be more specific). She saves all of her work to her own 32 MB SD memory card. The Alphasmart turns on immediately (unlike a PC which needs time to boot up); the batteries last for days (and she even knows where to plug in the recharger when they get low). The unit is easy to use and very durable. Everything she needs to word process is self-contained in the Alphasmart Dana; and she never needs to sync with a PC in order to use it! (The Alphasmart, incidentally, will also print via a USB cable - but that isnt nearly as much fun for my daughter as printing wirelessly.)She composes her writing assignments while sitting in a chair or on a sofa. She uses a lapdesk (that we purchased from Levenger, a mail-order company) when she works on our bed. Needless to say, she loves the Alphasmart Dana because it allows her to use it just like "Daddys laptop," which she easily prefers over sitting at a desk and typing on a standard PC. I also use the Alphasmart Dana for my own word processing (to write product reviews such as this one) while Im waiting for my daughter or her brother at their sports or music practices. I have my own SD memory card to keep my work separate. And I like how I can import the text into a MS Word document open on my computer simply by hooking up a USB cable and hitting the function key marked "send." (Any receiving PC can accept the data - and doesnt need to have the Alphasmart Palm desktop installed in order to do so.) The standard dictionary and spell checker which comes with the Alphasmart Dana is fairly inadequate. Ive downloaded the Noah Pro dictionary and thesaurus from PalmGear.com, and both are significantly better. The formatting capabilities of the Alphaword program have been generally sufficient for most of my daughters assignments. For those times when an extra level of "prettiness" is required, my wife will normally upload the text to a MS Word file, and format the document accordingly. Neither my daughter nor I use the other Palm features (such as calendar, address book, to-do list, or memo) thats included. (I use my Palm 515 for those.) We use the Alphasmart strictly as a friendlier, more durable - and less expensive - version of a laptop computer. In this capacity, the Alphasmart Dana has performed wonderfully. My daughter now loves to write - and does so without any prompting. The Alphasmart Dana has proven to be an excellent investment. I highly recommend it!
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