Home Catalogue Computer Access Options Portable Notetakers NEO Family

The perfect writing tool for schools just gets better - with more classroom features and memory

NEO 2 is the newest NEO! NEO 2 includes all the features that set the award-winnning NEO apart from other writing and keyboarding tool:

• easy-to-use and classroom friendly
  
• adaptable keyboard and font sizes for struggling students with special needs
  
• lightweight and rugged – built to be kid-handled
  
• affordable and expandable – low cost of ownership with SmartApplet expandability
  
• built-in LCD screen – displaying from two to six lines of text in AlphaWord Plus
  
• full-size keyboard
  
• extraordinary battery life – more than 700 hours of use from three standard AA alkaline batteries. Rechargeable model runs for over 200 hours on a charge.

Like the NEO, the NEO 2 features support for struggling students with special needs

• Adaptive key behaviours:
  
  • Sticky keys – allows typing combination keystrokes without pressing the keys simultaneously
    
  • Slow keys – for users with unsteady hands or difficulty in key targeting
    
  • Key repeat control – turn auto-repeat on or off
  
  
• Flexible keyboard layout, including right or left hand only
  
• Variable font sizes – large font makes text easier to read for users with low vision
  
• Optional Add-ons:
  
  • Co:Writer for NEO
    Co:Writer’s grammar-smart word prediction helps students with special needs quickly find the word they want, so they can focus on content and improve the quality of their writing.
    
  • NEO Text2Speech
    NEO Text2Speech hardware and software helps you expand students’ learning experiences by allowing them to listen to text as they type. The software can be customised to read-back by letter, word, sentence, or paragraph.

PLUS these new features:

• 2Know! Wireless Instant Assessment Functionality
  NEO 2 includes 2Know! Classroom Response System functionality, giving teachers the added flexibility to conduct and endless supply of on-the-fly quizzes and assessments.

  Teachers can ask “on the fly” multiple choice, true/false, yes/no, and numeric questions, and students respond immediately using their NEO 2s (over the new built-in radio frequency wireless technology). The NEO 2 SmartOption Mobile Lab comes with AccelTest, which gives teachers access to 8,000 sample questions for student testing, and a wireless receiver for fully digital, two-way communication.

  The 2Know! Toolbar software (included with the Renaissance Receiver Kit and the NEO 2 SmartOption Mobile Lab) allows teachers to interact with students while controlling the software from anywhere in the classroom. As students answer questions on their NEO 2s, the toolbar quickly tallies and displays/graphs student responses. With this information in hand, teachers can easily gauge students understanding of key material and provide additional instructions if necessary.

  2Know! Toolbar displays students’ responses from their NEO 2s using a projector, interactive whiteboard, or any standard classroom PC or Mac computer.

  See more info about 2Know! Toolbar Classroom Response System and AccelTest
  

• Accelerated Reader (AR) Quizzing Functionality (available in March 2008 and requires Accelerated Reader Renaissance Place v 7.5)

  With NEO 2, students can take Accelerated Reader (AR) quizzes right at their desks – or from anywhere else. That makes quizzing fun and accessible for every student, eliminating computer lab wait time and resulting in even more excietement for reading. NEO 2 helps lower the overall cost of implementing Accelerated Reader since you can purchase several NEO 2s for the price of one standard computer.



• Radio-Frequency (RF) Wireless Technology
  In addition to the built-in IrDA (infrared) technology, the NEO 2 includes new radio-frequency (RF) wireless technology for simpler and improved flexibility in the classroom. The RF wireless technology enables the 2Know! classroom response activities, printing to network printers, or taking AR quizzes.

  To take advantage of the RF Wireless technology in the NEO 2, a Renaissance Wireless Receiver (available separately) is required to be connected to the teacher’s computer.

  The infrared technology is still perfect for students as they beam their written drafts back and forth during collaborative writing projects. It works on both NEO and NEO 2 to encourage peer-to-peer interaction regardless of which model of NEO is being used in the classroom.
  

• NEO Share NEW!
  With NEO Share (a free download) running on your computer, you can integrate NEO 2s with interactive whiteboards, projectors, and classroom computers to make the most of what you already have. Find out more about NEO Share.
  
• Send Files Wirelessly… to Google Docs NEW!
  Students can send their work wirelessly from their NEO 2s to Google Docs, Google’s online document, presentation and spreadsheet application. Read more about NEO 2s connection to Google Docs.
  
• Expanded Memory
  The NEO 2 comes with 4 MB of SmartApplet Storage memory, enabling installation of the new SmartApplets.

See a Quick-Glance Comparison of the NEO and the NEO 2 Key Features

SmartApplet Architecture

AlphaSmart’s SmartApplet architecture lets you customise the capabilities of NEO 2 to fit specific classroom or curriculum needs. Combined with the power of the NEO Manager (included), SmartApplet architecture allows you to install new programs, control student access to them, and turn selected features on or off. This combination of flexibility and control makes it possible to put the right solution in students’ hands.

The NEO 2 includes:

• NEW Responder SmartApplet for instant wireless classroom response to teacher questions
• NEW Wireless Printing so students print documents without leaving their desks
• NEW 2Know! Toolbar for graphing on-the-fly student responses (Optional; included with the Renaissance Receiver Kit or NEO 2 SmartOption Mobile Lab; runs on teacher’s computer)
• NEW AccelTest Integration for access to 8,000 content items (Optional; included with the NEO 2 SmartOption Mobile Lab; runs on teacher’s computer)
• AlphaWord Plus SmartApplet – this feature-rich word processor helps students write, edit and store hundreds of pages of text, and retrieve them again just as easily
• AlphaQuiz SmartApplet – an integrated classroom quiz solution to help teachers quickly assess student performance. Includes quiz design, delivery, automated grading, reporting, and analysis.
• KeyWords SmartApplet – keyboarding and typing tutor provides language-based lessons, including key instruction, accuracy builders and speed builders
• Beamer SmartApplet – allows NEO 2 (and NEO) users to exchange text files with each other, with Dana Wireless devices and with other Palm OS devices
• Write-On! – onboard writing tutor includes over 387 writing lessons to help students break through the “blank-page syndrome” that often intimidates students at the beginning of a project
• Calculator with 5 functions for assisting students in their math assignments if desired
• 3-Year warranty for protection that is unequaled in the laptop business.

Each NEO 2 package comes supplied with a Quick Start Guide, printable NEO 2 User Manual and SmartApplet Quick Guide on the Documentation CD-ROM, 3 AA batteries (or rechargeable batteries with AC Adaptor for rechargeable units).

See samples of NEO/NEO 2’s display

See more information on the NEO

Click here to see how NEO Manager helps with classroom management

The NEO 2 is available in two models:

• NEO 2 Standard – supplied with 3 AA batteries
  
• NEO 2 Rechargeable – supplied with NiMH rechargeable battery pack and AC adapter. This model can also be operated on AA alkaline batteries.

“Students are oohing and aahing over the NEOs! Kids’ willingness to write has tripled simply because of the introduction of the NEO.” Joan Peebles, Coordinator, Technology and Learning, Madison Metropolitan School District, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

“Through dust, heat, mud, wind, and all kinds of environmental conditions – where I wouldn’t have even dared to take even a tough iBook out of its case… NEO proved itself as an indispensable and very practical writer’s companion.” Brian Byrne, Noted Irish travel writer and journalist

“It’s the perfect notepad: lightweight, comfortable, and tough… And it’s so portable that I enjoy using it in cafes, on park benches, even on trains and buses.” Jeff Greenwald, author of the award-winning books Shopping for Buddhas and The Size of the World

Requirements and ResourcesexpandClick to collapse

Prices

	Code	Media	Platform	$AUD Price	$AUD GST
	NEO 2 Rechargeable "All-You-Need" Kit	Includes one NEO 2 Rechargeable, a USB Cable, a USB Infrared Pod and a Carry Case
	ASSPEC-NEO2-RC-A			$379.00	$37.90
	NEO 2 "All-You-Need" Kit	Includes one NEO 2, a USB Cable, a USB Infrared Pod and a Carry Case
	ASSPEC-NEO2-A			$339.00	$33.90
	NEO 2 Rechargeable - UK Dictionary Version with Universal Power Adapter Kit	Supplied with UK Dictionary/Thesaurus. Includes rechargeable battery pack and Universal AC adapter Kit. Includes USB cable.
	ASSPEC-NEO2-RC			$299.00	$29.90
	NEO 2 - UK Dictionary Version	Supplied with UK Dictionary/Thesaurus. Includes USB cable.
	ASSPEC-NEO2			$259.00	$25.90