AlphaSmart Dana - Handheld - Palm OS 4.1 ( 560 x 160 )

• Included are a full-size keyboard and a screen that's 3.5 times wider than the typical handheld screen.
• Virtually all Palm applications are compatible with Dana, and many are ready to take advantage of the wide screen.

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 isn't 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 "Daddy's 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 I'm 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 doesn't 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. I've 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 daughter's 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) that's 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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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 haven't 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.

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I like writing on the go -in coffee shops, book stores, libraries(!), on my bed before I sleep... And my laptop didn't quite cut it because of power and size.

I was a little apprehensive before buying the Dana because of dimension (too big and I wouldn't 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 don't 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 I'm sure it lasts a lot longer than this -just that I haven't 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 haven't 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 reviewer's comment suggests the same.

Dana's 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.

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In General:

First I want to make a disclaimer. I sell a lot of these on Amazon Marketplace. I also use one on a daily basis. This review was written on my Dana. It is so light and portable that I bring my Dana with me almost everywhere, in my car, on my walks, in the subway, on my bicycle, and even on my skateboard. I have sold several to people whom I met in this or that cafe while I was typing away on my Dana.

In the summer of 2010 I decided to write a book. But I found my laptop to be too cumbersome and I was always worried that it would get stolen whenever I had it with me in public. So I set about finding a writing tool which was portable and inexpensive. After trying several devices I found my match in Dana.

Dana provides me with excellent basic word processing abilities without the distraction of email, facebook, photoshop, youtube, or the internet in general. I have gotten more actual writing done in the half year since I started using Dana than in the 5 years previous with my laptop.

Dana & Windows 7 & 8:

Not gonna happen. Doesn't work. Unsupported. Fahget about it. Windows 7 has both compatibility mode and XP mode (these are not the same) and neither of them does beans for any AlphaSmart.

The only way to make a Dana useful is to have either a separate PC or a second hard drive booting good ole user-friendly Windows XP. I use my old XP laptop to sync my Dana to the same external drive to which my regular PC backs up. *Voila* Problem solved.

Do NOT buy a Dana if you use Windows 7 and are not willing to do this extra step. This will probably apply to Windows 8 as well.

Supposedly (according to RenLearn) you CAN sync from Windows 7 if you use the IR pod. But I haven't verified this. (as of 9/1/12)

Writing On The Go:

Dana provides excellent distraction free basic word processing capabiity in an extremely portable package. Dana saves files as Rich Text. You have the same functions found in programs like MS WordPad. You can indent, bold, italicize, and make bullet lists. The keyboard is one of the best I have ever used. It is like typing on silk. The keys are concave to fit the shape of your finger tips, they depress easily, and have gentle but firm return. You can save as many files as will fit in the 8MB or 16MB of memory. Dana also has an excellent built in screen-backlight in case you are typing in dim light, as I often do.

Dana is way more durable than a laptop and weighs only about 2 pounds and fits easily in most backpacks. I often type with Dana on my lap without any discomfort. It turns on in about one and half seconds and is usually ready to work before I am. Because Dana is so energy efficient I have never had the batteries drop dead on me. And since Dana can recharge through the USB port and I sync my Dana to my PC every day that I write they will probably never go dead on me. According to the manufacturer specs, Dana can run up to 25 hours on a single charge.

Cables & Software:

People often ask me about cables and getting information to their computer. With Dana this is very easy. The manufacturer provides free downloadable desktop software for Mac & PC which backs up and syncs all the data between Dana and you computer. The software is Palm OS based and includes all the features found on the old Palm Pilots. The calendar is an excellent stand-alone application.

Cables are not a problem. Even though there are several ports in the back of Dana, the only one you really need is the USB port. Dana takes a type-B USB cable. This is the same kind that goes to your USB printer. These can be purchased easily and cheaply. These are so common that you may already have an extra one. And odds are that even if you don't have one, your friend or neighbor does. Maybe if you ask they will give it to you.

Dana has a an additional USB printer port for direct printing. But I haven't tried it as I always print from my PC. Though it will power one of those twisty USB-powered LED lamps. Now I can type in the dark.

Batteries and Dana:

Beware of used Danas that "include" a rechargeable battery. These batteries may be, and frequently are, eight to ten years old. A Dana with an old battery will frequently crash and lose data, even if it's "backed-up" on the SD card. The solution: replace the battery. You can buy a new rechargeable battery pack for less than $20 from renlearn.com

Dana will run fine on normal AA batteries. But you must use alkalines. If you try to use store bought rechargeables , Dana will not turn on. You can make it work with store bought rechargeables by rewiring Dana's insides just a little. You snip two wires, wind them together. Then do it again to two different wires. I did that to mine. To do it well takes about 45 minutes and you have to be careful about the circuit boards. There are detailed instructions online. It's a lot easier than it looks at first. The best thing about this hack is that you can use your own batteries and recharge them by plugging Dana into a USB port, though you lose the ability to safely use alkaline batteries. I found this trade-off to be completely acceptable for myself. If you do a search for "Dana battery hack" you'll find the site by V. Fry where I learned to do this.

What You Should be Aware of When Buying A Used Dana

Some Danas are sold by individuals who are the first owner and used it for their own writing. Most, probably over 95%, were owned first by schools and sold off in large lots. These are often grimy and dirty beyond belief with old stickers and food stuck to them. These require a thorough cleaning. In my experience About 1 in 5 also often have other problems. Sometimes the system board is bad and the thing won't work (very bad.) There are a litany of problems that can occur with used Danas. Sometimes it can be lived with, other times it can be fixed with a reset, and other times it means you need to get a different Dana. Most work fine. Almost all of them have some scratches on the case or screen.

The Dana Stylus

You can actually get by without one. A ball point pen cap or a pinky fingernail works well enough. But it is nice to have a stylus on hand. There is a little slot in the side of the Dana into which the stylus clicks. The default stylus is black. You can also get a colored stylus in red, yellow, purple, blue, and green.

Is Dana Right For You?

If you are a writer looking for a tough, portable writing tool then almost certainly the answer is Yes! Dana should be synced every day or so that you write. If you are going to be near your computer most days but don't want to haul your laptop around with you, then Dana is an excellent choice. Dana is Palm OS 4 based. This means that if your batteries die, you lose all of your data. So if you plan to be away from a recharge point for more than a couple of days then you need something with more data stability. An AlphaSmart 3000 is an excellent choice for that because they are more durable than a Dana and won't experience data loss when main power fails. The 3000 however only saves files in plain text and has an 87 page limitation.

If you are looking for a device for your child then you should take into consideration the child's level of technical aptitude and motivation to write. Dana requires a level of mindfulness that many young children have not yet developed. Dana needs to be synced to the PC and recharged very regularly. A less challenging alternative would be the AlphaSmart 3000 mentioned above.

...I find this portable word-processor a wonderful gadget. It's 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 don't 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.