I’m always looking for better ways to write. Not so much the content, but just easier ways to capture my thoughts and get ‘em out there. Blogs, books, notes-to-self – the whole bit. My life runs on the written word, so the easier it is to write, the more my life is in sync with the way God designed me.

So with that in mind, I purchased an AlphaSmart Dana Wireless on eBay last month. If you’re unfamiliar with the AlphaSmart series, they’re basically keyboards with a small display at the top of them, usually 3-5 lines of text. They run on 3 AAA batteries for a long, LONG time and they sync easily with Macs & PCs. Their beauty lies in their simplicity. They’re designed for text entry. An’ that’s it.

Except for the Dana. The Dana (and the Dana Wireless, with Wifi capabilities) actually run the Palm OS. Thus, the thousands of apps that run on Palm OS 4.1 will run on the AlphaSmart Dana. My thining was simple: I’d have a full-sized keyboard that would also allow me to run all the apps on my Clie AND check e-mail in a pinch. It’d be the alternative to bringing my entire laptop places. If I just need to check e-mail and work on writing, it’s perfect.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t. In fact, they sent the Dana – not the wireless version. That’s the first hitch. The second is the fact that I just didn’t like it. The keyboard action was excellent, as the reviews suggested. The screen angle, however, was unacceptable. I either had to lean over or scrunch the thing up on my crotch to get the proper angle for contrast. Neither option made for comfortable writing.

Add to this the fact that I couldn’t get it to save a simple text file as a TEXT FILE (rather than a .pdb), and the frustrations just kept mounting. All in all, I wrote to the seller and explained that what they sold me was not what was described in the title, and that I’ll be sending it back on their dime with the expectations of getting a full refund. I have yet to hear back. (That was Tuesday, though. I’ll give ‘em until Friday. Then I’m getting serious & going through eBay.)

All in all, however, I’m grateful. Not only did I get the chance to check out a genuine AlphaSmart myself, but I still had the option of sending it back. So I kind of rented it, I guess. And now I know that spending my money on one would’ve been a mistake.

I’ve now come to the conclusion that my current set up with my dated (but highly-functional) Clie TJ37 is more than sufficient. Not only do I get the color screen, the wifi, the excellent Stowaway keyboard and the ability to write and save text files, but it’s still small enough to take with me anywhere. PLUS it plays MP3s, MPEG videos, photos (including my scripture JPEGS), and so much more. It’s ol’ faithful.

I might spring for an old SJ33, though. Just to have a spare on hand if I ever need it. And I’ll readily admit that if Apple ever allows you to pair their iPhones with an external Bluetooth keyboard, I’ll be sorely tempted. Ah, I’m tempted already, I’m just unable to spring for it yet. (Insurance still has to say they’ll cover for the $500 ambulance ride for Kim’s Nasal brush with Death last summer.)

Kevin