Portable Word Processor A Real Winner

With more and more of us working away from the office, on the road, or at the local coffee shop and more and more students leaving the dorm room for the library or the park bench, there has been a veritable explosion in the sale of laptop computers. Once only for the affluent, laptops are now almost a necessity for many of us. Try as they might to provide the power and features of the desk top cousin, designers are always faced with the same challenges: Provide a full featured computer in a small package and make it run for an extended time without a large and heavy battery. While some progress has been made, many of the current inventory of machines continues to fetch a small king’s ransom.

I ran across a solution for many road warriors and students alike. This innovative device has a powerful easy to use word processor, a good mail feature and comes ready to do most any math calculation you can imagine. It is able to do this with very limited power requirements, comes in an ultra light case, a black and white integrated printer and is available at an almost unbelievable modest price at thousands of stores nationwide.

The word processor can handle most any language, even those that need a different alphabet. Arabic and Greek can be handled as easily as English or Spanish. I was able to write up a future column as easily as writing a shopping list. Underlining and Bolding sections of copy a snap. I was a bit disappointed with the italic feature, but I may need to get used to it. I especially like the fact that it can print out on most any size paper or envelopes. While color is an option, I can tell you that it is a real hassle and a very slow process to get true color output. If you want color you may want to use your desktop computer.

Most any math function can be accomplished with minimal input. Entering numbers and functions are a breeze. You can enter both text and numeric expressions simultaneously. The size of the spreadsheet is unlimited; however the hard copy is limited by the size of the paper.

When entering information you can delete a single character or a complete sentence with one stroke. When using it in drawing mode, the most complex intricate designs can be created. The latter feature does require some practice however.

Perhaps the most awesome feature is the portability. Because of an ergonomic design the device uses only a fraction of the energy of other word processors. As a result it can be carried in a shirt pocket or purse when not in use.

I have to say that the designers of the one I used were a bit unimaginative since they decided to offer it only with a bright yellow case. I have however seen others in other colors and styles.
With the low price, I suggest that you may wish to purchase a dozen or so. They are available in most local stores. I find that the Eberhard Faber Model #2 is the best for most of my tasks.

Oh well, Tuesday is April 1st.