I would like to introduce you all to NEO. Say “hello” NEO.
“Hello!”
NEO is the best writing friend I could have. He’s dependable, doesn’t distract me with e-mails or internet connection, doesn’t get too hot or heavy, is always willing to travel any place I want and can keep track of 8 different stories or parts of stories without me having to tell him to “save” anything. I never have to worry about charging him, or forgetting to turn him off if I’m called away. Transferring things from him to a computer is super easy and means I can go read a little while he does the work. 🙂 You’ve got to love a friend like that!
But what is NEO and how did I find him?
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| Yes, I have a notebook underneath NEO because I didn’t have any other place to put it. |
NEO was created by AlphaSmart as a way for special needs children and adults to write. Because it doesn’t require being plugged in, and you can change the size of the words to make them easier to read, and other features, it made an excellent way for those with difficulties to write. But, it wasn’t long before the writers picked it up.
1. Running for 700 hours on 3 AA batteries, NEO can be used anywhere (camping, mountain climbing, car trips, etc.).
2. NEO never gets too hot (like a laptop will), so you don’t have to always have a pillow or something to rest it on.
3. It’s durable and light–weight. (Kids love typing on them!)
4. There is no light on the “screen” so it causes no eye strain.
5. There are 8 different files on NEO and they only take the press of a key to switch from one to another.
6. Everything is saved as you type it so you never have to worry about forgetting to save your work. (I know no writer has ever done that!)
7. Capable of holding around 9,000 words in each file means you can write an entire novel on NEO at once!
8. Instant word count (for those who like to know how many words they’ve written).
9. NEO will shut off after 4 minutes of not being used. (Don’t have to worry about running the battery down if you forget to turn it off.)
10. It has features like spell check, find/replace, cut, copy, paste, delete, and more.
As much as I love NEO, I have to tell you that the company no longer makes them. However, before you get too upset, you can get them on e-bay for some really good prices! Almost all my books have been written on NEO exclusively, and I would say he has more than paid for himself. 😉 (Maybe I should get a back up one for when/if this NEO ever dies.)
Have you ever tried NEO? Do you compose on the computer or on paper? Does NEO sound like something you would want to use?
P.S. If you have written a short story from the instructions from
January, let me know. Next week you’ll get another short story to write.
That sounds really awesome!!
It's a wonderful thing, Kate! I highly recommend it if you are series about writing. 🙂
This sounds really good! I tend to write on a laptop, and I can't remember how many times something happened and the stuff I was working on didn't get saved. Grrr! Instead of Word Doc, I switched to Google Docs for writing, because it automatically saves your work. However, I always switch everything to Word for editing. . .and then I run into the problem accidentally not saving it. This sounds like a perfect solution! 🙂
If you get a NEO, let me know what you think of it, Jesseca! I don't know if I'd write as much as I do now if I didn't have it.
Oh wow! NEO sounds so awesome! Only 3 AA batteries? Unbelievable! What is your favourite part about it? 🙂
Thanks for sharing about this, Rebekah! I'm going to ebay right now to check it out! 😀
My favorite part is probably that I can write anywhere without being near an outlet or wondering when I needed to recharge NEO and also the instant word count. I love the fact that I can have so many different stories going on at once all easily accessible by a click of a button. Did I say that I really like NEO?
If you get a NEO (you can search for AlphaSmart NEO on ebay), let me know what you think of it, Blessing Counter!
I know this is an old post, but I can’t seem to find answers to a couple of questions I have. Could you explain how the NEO transfers your document? And are you able to add to an existing Word document from the NEO as you go? For example, if I’ve already typed out some of a story on Word, can I do the rest on the NEO and add it to the same Word document?
Thank you so much!
Sure thing! To transfer to NEO, you need a USP cable. Just a basic one that plugs in to both the computer and NEO.
Yes, you are able to add to an existing Word document. Just open the document, plug in NEO and tell it to send the file. It will just add it right to the document you opened. You can send NEO’s files to any document started, new, email, anything, on your computer.
Does that help? Let me know if you have more questions. You can either leave a comment, or just send me a message with the contact form. Whichever is easier for you.
That’s exactly what I needed to know! Thank you so much for answering! I’ve got my eye on a NEO to replace my cranky and failing laptop – when I need to do anything important, I have to go to the desktop anyway, so this sounds like a great alternative (plus being able to take it anywhere!).
Glad I could help! I’ve loved using my NEO and am still using the same one I got at first. I’ve written everyone of my stories except half of the first one, on it. I did get a used one for backup that I’ve used for other things.