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A Palm notebook for those wanting a laptop without paying the price.
Alphasmart's Dana is an unusual PalmOS device. It has a full-size keypad, and a screen that measures 190 x 55mm. It's a little more than a centimetre thick, and curves upwards at the back to give the screen a useful tilt.
As well as the standard PalmOS infrared port, there's a USB printer port, two SD (Secure Digital) card slots, power and USB sync connectors.
The idea is that, thanks to the flexibility of PalmOS, you can do most tasks you would with a laptop, at a fraction of the price.
Dana comes with a selection of software, some on CD, some pre-installed. The latter includes Alphaword, a rebadged version of Blue Nomad's excellent PalmOS word processor Wordsmith adapted to use the full width of the screen.
Syncing with the desktop gives you a Word or rtf file, and the program offers wysiwyg fonts, spelling checks, and a good selection of formatting options. Bachman Printboy lets you print to USB or Irda-equipped printers.However, not all apps will take advantage of the screen. While the supplied Quick Office and Aileron email apps have been adapted to work full-screen, standard Palm apps run with a 160 x 160 pixel display in the centre of the screen, with the logo on the left and Graffiti area to the right, or vice versa.
At around £360, this falls a little between two stools. It's great for writing while you're on the road, but for day-to-day use as a PDA it's little on the large side - many people might find themselves carrying two devices as a result.
If it were £60 cheaper, and more Palm apps supported the screen size, it would earn an unqualified recommendation. As it is, it's a great solution for those who want to write on the run, without splashing out hundreds more on a laptop PC.
DETAILS
Price: £351 (£299 ex VAT)
Contact: Alphasmart 020 8492 3690
www.alphasmart.co.uk
SPECS
Our verdict
Pros:Great bundled software.Lightweight and simple to useCons:A bit too bulky to use as a PDA all the time.Overall:If you need to write while you're on the road, or access your emails, Dana is a great alternative to a PDA and a folding keyboard. It's simple, reliable and does most of what you'll want - unless you need colour, high-res graphics or obscure PC applications.
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