The NEO AlphaSmart

Many writers--including myself--often fall prey to the pitfalls of distractions. I sit down at my computer with every intention of working, but then the "ding" of my email or the necessity of "research" sends me off to cyberspace. In the end, I spend three hours surfing the web and only one hour writing.

So I was both pleased and excited to find myself in possession of a NEO AlphaSmart. This little gadget is a throwback to the days of electronic word processors (popular among college students in the late 80s and early 90s).

Basically nothing more than a word processor, the NEO AlphaSmart is a portable machine that allows you to write for hours--up to 700 on a couple of AA batteries--and store enough pages for a small novel. Transferring your work to a regular computer is simply a matter of hooking up a cable. And the AlphaSmart comes with all the basics a writer needs, such as spell check and a word count.

My NEO AlphaSmart is an invaluable tool when I need to set aside some time for just writing--no distractions! It's lighter and more durable than most laptop computers, so I have no qualms about throwing it into a shoulder bag and lugging it into the coffee shop or library. The keys are maybe a bit noisier than a standard computer, but it's a small sacrifice for the no-distraction writing I can complete on this nifty gadget.

I absolutely love the NEO AlphaSmart, and I highly recommend it to any writer who gets easily sidetracked by all the fun distractions on a computer.