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HANDHELD REVIEW

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AlphaSmart Dana review

7.0

Editors' Rating

Very Good

9.3

Members' Rating

Spectacular

Typical price:£ 351

Verdict

Although it's primarily aimed at schools, the Palm OS-based Dana may also appeal to regular mobile users who require a lightweight and affordable portable computer and don't need the full functionality of a Windows notebook... Read Full Review.

Pros

  • Lightweight yet robust
  • Wide 560 x 160 pixel screen
  • Full-size keyboard
  • Affordable
  • Long battery life.

Cons

  • Not as functional as a Windows notebook
  • Most shareware/freeware Palm OS applications will not exploit the wide screen
  • Slow 33MHz processor.

Key Specs

Dimensions (W x H x D): 314x48x235 mm
Weight: 910 g
Built-in devices: keyboard
Operating system: Palm OS 4.1.x
Software included: standard Palm applications optimised for Dana's wide screen: Address Book, Date Book, To Do List, Memo Pad, Graffiti, AlphaWord, PrintBoy, FontBucket, Palm Reader, QuickOffice
Processor: Motorola Dragonball VZ
Clock speed: 33 MHz
Memory expansion: SD/MMC
Installed RAM: 8 MB
Display size: 7.48 in
Wireless PAN: infrared
Expansion slots: 2 x SD/MMC

Read full specs

Rate this product

Member Opinion

9.3

Average Member Rating

Spectacular

2 Members have reviewed this product

View Opinions by: Date Posted | Rating | Most Useful

Anonymous

Anonymous

Makes you productive

Read more

10

Perfect


Susan Sparkes

Susan Sparkes

Ideal laptop substitute for students on a tight budget

Read more

8.5

Excellent


Read all the member opinions


Featured Talkback

Put simply, what is the compelling reason to pay ~$200 extra for an Eee with Windows XP? A Windows Eee won't come with any useful applications and you'll have to buy anti-virus software to boot. The truth about low cost computing is that nobody really cares whether the machine is running Windows or Linux as long as its cheap, its easy to use and it works.

By: dogStar

Read full story:
Asus to ship 60 percent of Eee PCs with Windows XP

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