New Power Tools For Journalists
by Frank Beacham

When it comes to their tools, working journalists tend to be a very conservative lot. Even the smallest change is fiercely resisted. A few wordsmiths I know are still clinging desperately to their typewriters, horrified at the very idea that one should "process" words.

PDA TO LAPTOP

I've been working with a Dana for a few weeks and have been constantly surprised by its thoughtful design and excellent performance. Since it runs on the stable Palm 4.1 operating system, it connects with either Macs or Windows and easily syncs existing contacts, datebook, documents and other Palm data. The difference is the information from standard Palm applications is displayed on a screen that's 3.5 times wider than a standard Palm PDA. (Other Palm applications still work in a smaller screen size.)

Another small, but important, detail: Unlike earlier ultra-portable devices that included internal modems, the Dana does not. At first one might question this omission. But the dirty little secret was that those internal modems drew so much power that they practically demanded AC power in the field-a convenience that's not always available.

Dana works with Palm-compatible outboard IrDA or USB modems or cellphones and can avoid that battery drain issue. I've been using a Dana successfully on Earthlink with a self-powered, cigarette pack-sized IrDA modem called the Pegasus II. Its performance with the included widescreen Aileron e-mail app has been flawless.

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Dana Review
by Becky and Chris Smith

Becky:
First the AlphaSmart, now this. The people with crowbars (AKA: parents) are going to have a tougher job getting this off of me. I can tell you, that for weeks on end, ever since I heard that I was getting one to crash test, I was going; "When's the Dana gonna get here?". Dad said I was excited. That was an understatement. Anyone would have thought that my feet had grown springs! And when it got here, I was even happier.

I got it out, charged it, and I'm still playing with it, now! ^_^ I'm typing the review on it. I like the clicky-keys. Of course, for those that don't like it, you can switch it off. [...]

Chris:
I have to say that Becky has fallen in love with the DANA, she has been using it for a wide range of things, from typing and maths to games and address book. The schedule has all her things to do noted and she is also downloading e-books; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to name one. The DANA is such a versatile product that it can be used for a wide range of things. The infrared port is really useful to comunicate between between them and the keyboard is really nice to use. They are a lot less noisy that the Alphasmart. [...]

For use in a class room this is a first rate unit, no wires, no large screen and no links to the school network. This is a more than useful package that any school or home should find useful.

Over the time Becky has had the DANA she has used it more than her PC, typing in stories and drawing pictures with one of the downloaded packages I found on one of the many sites on the web. [...]

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Useful Laptop/PDA Hybrid
by Michael S. Lasky

Lightweight Palm OS unit with mini screen and keyboard is clever and affordable.

Think of this unique 2-pound hybrid as a handheld on steroids, combining the convenience of a Palm with some of the power and features of a notebook. Its 560-by-160-pixel touch screen is 7.5 by 2.25 inches (3.5 times larger than most handhelds') and displays 11 lines of 12-point text. That was more than enough to use the included, full-featured AlphaWord word processing program or QuickSheet spreadsheet package. The slightly raised gray-scale LCD screen--which can be backlit--also rotates from landscape to portrait format to show 42 much shorter lines.

I found syncing data between the Dana and my PC a one-button snap with the included USB 1.1 cable. One of the Dana's most distinctive features is its ability to act as the PC's keyboard when the two are connected. Even more convenient is its ability to pour the text contents of Dana documents directly into any productivity application currently open on the PC.

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AlphaSmart Dana
by Sandra Vogel

ZDNet Review

Take an operating system designed for handhelds (Palm OS), and put it into a roughly A4-sized casing. Add a few neat features such as dual SD card support and a wide screen, and throw in a little 'software stretching' to take advantage of the width. Out of this mix of hardware and software features comes AlphaSmart's Dana, a system that, the company says, is a true alternative to the notebook.

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AlphaSmart Dana
by Rob Beattle

Say Hello to AlphaSmart's new sub-£400 notebook that thinks it's a PDA

Verdict: Good keyboard, excellent battery life, 'instant-on', Palm compatibility and acceptable integration with Microsoft Office make the Dana a genuine low-cost alternative to a notebook PC.

Dana is awarded 4 (out of 5)