Aktuelle Folie {CURRENT_SLIDE} von {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Meistverkauft in PDAs
The Dana is a fantastic machine if you can overlook the dim screen and the terrible battery life. I was able to get over one of those humps by doing a small hack to the charging system, connecting the positive and negative leads for the battery pack to the positive and negative portions on the three AA battery sections in the back. By doing so, I can only use recharable batteries, but the Dana lasts for about six weeks on standby and I get a week or more out of standard use. Well worth the time invested.
If you want to get some plain old writing done away from your desk and don't want to hassle with lugging around an expensive laptop or the attendant distraction of the internet, you should look into getting an Alphasmart Dana. If one can call a standard laptop a "multi-function" device, the the Dana is really a "uni-function" device. It's really only good at simple, no frills writing. It's an 'instant on' Palm touch screen device - no boot-up time. You get 20 hours of portable battery life on 3 AAs. There are two SD card slots (1 Gb or less) to save your files onto. With two 1Gb cards installed, you can write over 500 novels the size of 'War and Peace' and still have room left over. Also check out the little brother version Neo with 700 hours (!) of battery life
These are neat little devices! You have to get them set up properly if want to get the most out of them, And finding some of the original software that you can run on them can be quite a search. But they are still being sold new I believe, so there is still some support out there for them. I'll add that there is a Flickr group out there that is very informative. The only thing I would say bad about them is that the display is rather dim. So plan to use them under the right lighting conditions.
The AlphaSmart Dana fills a niche that has otherwise been ignored in the PDA and laptop/netbook markets. It's a great tool for writing and data entry, with a real keyboard and a short, wide monochrome screen that is remarkably free of distractions. It's also light-weight and durable (it's built for grade schools, so it has to be), so you can keep it with you and toss it around without worry. The Palm OS is old at this point, but it's still a beauty for its simplicity -- reminds me of the original Mac -- and speed -- no bootup required, just hit the on/off switch and the screen instantly comes to life. The Palm software is simple to set up on a PC or Mac, and allows you to sync your files between your desktop computer or laptop and the Dana literally at the touch of a button. And the wifi (on wireless models) makes it useful for limited web surfing as well (as long as you don't require text). Overall, a great little gadget, what a PDA should be. Note: There are two versions of the Dana you'll find on eBay, one with wireless and one without. Some of the listings describe the item as wireless when it's really not. Here's now to tell: The ones without wifi say simply "dana/by AlphaSmart" in the logo area on the front; the wifi ones also have the word "wireless" in the logo, to the right of "dana."Vollständige Rezension lesen
I love my Dana because it's even better than my AlphaSmart 2000. Great for taking notes or capturing ideas away from my office. I'm a writer, and the light-weight Dana is easy to keep with me. I can run it on 3 AA batteries, easily replaceable. With the added Palm features, now I have addresses, phone numbers and such at hand without having to juggle another unit. When I have notes or a great story idea, it's simple to download my notes directly into my word processor, ready to work on. It's a perfect device for anyone who writes, takes lots of notes at meetings, or must be away from their main computer part of the time. That about sums it up; lightweight, holds all sorts of important information and tools, easy to work with, doesn't eat up batteries, and when batteries need replacement, you can find them anywhere. Great little machine! Pearl D. AndersonVollständige Rezension lesen