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Hip And Happenin' -- eMate 300
It's not a notebook computer. It doesn't seem like a Newton, either. The Apple eMate 300 is a student's dream--portable computing with integrated keyboard for lessthan $800. The transluscent green, stylish case is a real attentiongetter. You'll get those looks formerly reserved for drivers of sleeksports cars (and rugged Hummers). Don't tell anyone it's one of the hottest portable computers around oryou'll never get to your destination. People love to talk about therevolutionary eMate. Grown men and women (even software programmers)can't get enough of the eMate 300, either...seduced by its roundededges, spring-mounted display and steel-reinforced chassis. Like aHummer, rugged, yet hip. Like a sports car, a Porsche of the portablecomputing world---to fit a Volkswagen budget! If you're expecting to be able to fit a standard-sized disk into theeMate, you'll be in for a big surprise. The eMate has no hard drive. Itdoes, however, contain 3 MB of built-in storage RAM, 8 MB of ROM and a PC Card slot (for Types I, II, and III cards). Although there isan automatic save feature, you'll need a PC storage card to transferdata or you can network the eMate with either a PC or a Mac (cablesprovided) to upload your data to another system or to print out adocument. The 25-MHz ARM 710a RISC processor allows for faster boottimes, while a high-speed infrared (IrDA) port allows students andteachers to transfer data wirelessly up to 115 kilobits per second with3.3 feet. Its screen is a 480 by 320 pixel gray scale LCD display withbacklighting (6.81 inch diagonal viewable image size) which displays upto 16 shades of gray. With the backlit feature, the screen has afuturistic green glow and is very easy on the eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple's Newton division soon launches aneMate aimed at adults--for business use and for pleasure. You can kissyour DayPlanner and PDA goodbye if that happens. Maybe, it will evencome equipped with a standard-size disk drive. It is, after all, a mostaffordable mobile tool which offers long battery life--up to 24 hoursof continuous use without recharging! You won't find this long term,relatively inexpensive battery life on your average notebook computers.Think of that the next time you go on a business trip or familyvacation! The eMate 300 is a solid traveller thanks to its rechargeablenickel-metal-hydride battery pack. In fact, I only needed to rechargethe eMate once a week...amazing! Your mileage will vary depending onits use. The eMate is obviously well-suited for the classroom, the library andespecially for working in teams. Think of it as an organizer (with ahandy address book and calendar), a word processor, a spreadsheet, agraphing calculator and a note-taking and Internet tool. Weighing in ata meager 4 lbs., and complete with a kid-size built-in handle, youdon't need a case to carry the eMate around safely. It's built Fordtough--as they say. Kids can easily carry their eMates from class toclass, take them on field trips and bring them home to transfer schoolwork to their Mac or PC. Teachers can use the eMates (with softwareapplications) as electronic grade books and can take them out of theclassroom home (where they are safe from students who may try to getinto their grade books--as if!). Never have I seen a computer boot up as fast as the eMate 300. TheNewton 2.1 operating system is a tough and able system. The instant-on and auto-save features onthe eMate 300 are nothing less than awesome. Teachers and students who are Mac advocates or may favor that otherplatform (ahem, ahem -- Windows) love the eMate 300. Think of the eMateas the neutral contender---the Switzerland of the digital world. AneMate 300 can transfer information to a studly Mac or a PC. It is,after all, politically correct.  One Scottsdale elementary school teacher, Christie Hilliker, took anentire 5th grade class on a desert hike. They brought along one eMate300. If one eMate 300 can survive the rugged Arizona desert with 120kids, just think of the unending possibilities. Meteorology studentsstudying severe weather conditions could prepare their calculations,observations and results in their labs with Newton Works and itsgraphing calculator in the eMate; geology students in Hawaii could takethe eMates and share them for field notes as they observe a now-activevolcano; aviation students could use them for flight observations andto keep track of their hours in the air; culinary students could keepeMates in the kitchens to keep track of accurate measurements,inventory ingredients, recipes and menu-planning. What's to stopelementary students from learning how to read and type by using eMatesin the classroom? High school seniors, on the other hand, could plantheir prom by using the eMates to keep track of vendors, dates andrental equipment costs.The possibilities are absolutely stunning. TheeMate is not for geeks.
Besides the built-in software applications on the eMate 300, a varietyof educational software applications are available from many softwarecompanies. I installed Sunburst's (http://www.nysunburst.com)award-winning Type to Learn, a comprehensive keyboarding course forstudents in grades K-12, on an eMate 300. Type to Learn emphasizesletter, number and punctuation keys while reinforcing grammar,composition and spelling. Type to Learn is a hit because it includesfour games: Star Maker, Blast Off, Map Games and How Many? It's also anincredibly cool program to learn to type! My 12-year-old tester,Stefanie, insisted that practicing keyboarding skills with theportability of the eMate 300 was more fun than typing on the Power Macdesktops in her school's computer lab. She could take the eMate outsideand sit on the garden swing while practicing her typing. She could alsonegotiate the eMate in-between endless phone calls on her cordlessphone. Teacher Options allows teachers to individualize Type to Learnfor each student. For instance, you can select reading levels (fromprimary to advanced), current lessons, words per minute and accuracygoals. It's also great for record keeping and progress reports. You caneasily find out which lessons have been completed, the WPM and accuracyfor each lesson through reports, graphs and bar graphs. Sunburst also offers Author's Tool Kit, a writing guide for kids ingrades 4-12 to help draft, organize and proof their writing; GradePoint, an easy-to-use electronic grade book for teachers; and LearnerProfile, an electronic student performance assessment tool forteachers. Ron Rossman, a high-tech lab teacher at Mountainside Middle School inScottsdale, Arizona, borrowed four eMates from his school district. Hewondered whether eMates would be popular with students, especially kidswho may not particularly favor Macs. Rossman said that the eMates wereextremely popular with Mountainside students who took advantage of theeMates' portability for taking notes, graphing in math class, drawing,and word processing. Approximately 30 different students shared theeMates were allowed to take them home. Best of all, the eMates were allreturned without a hitch and got rave reviews from the kids. Portable computing integrated into the classroom curriculum allows fordistributed learning. What is distributed learning? Technology whichenables kids to expand their horizons and explore the world aroundthem. This way, teachers can integrate outside learning (field trips,outdoor classes, etc.) into the core curriculum by using eMates forgathering, accessing, and communicating information from writing toscience by expanding the classroom setting and enhancing it withtechnology. The eMate's portable technology is an excellent tool forstudents to learn, share ideas and acquire essential problem solvingskills. The eMate 300 comes with a pen stylus, which you can use to draw, writeor navigate directly on the screen.There are two pen holders on theright and left sides of the eMate, although the pen is not tethereddown (it should be). The pen likes to "grow legs" and disappear,especially when younger kids use it. Perhaps, the pen stylus could beattached with velcro to the eMate. How about a pen stylus remote optionthat could come with eMates to help us find lost pens? The eMates do,of course, use infrared tranceivers to communicate with each other(when networked). Its handwriting recognition capabilities worked well--it issurprisingly intuitive and although not 100 percent accurate, it seemedto decipher chicken scratch. Could it be the perfect tool for doctorswith illegible handwriting? For now, it will suffice for young doctorsto be. Just think of the scenario: Student hastily scrawls notes oneMates in class; eMates translate messy handwriting into legible words.Student loves eMate. Teacher then asks student to shut down eMate andwrite on real paper. Student then hands in writing assignment toteacher; student who uses eMate isn't concerned about illegiblehandwriting. Teacher reprimands student for poor handwriting. Studentargues that if eMate 300 could decipher his handwriting, so should theteacher. Case closed. There's a handy headphone port, a speaker, and a sliding volume controlon the eMate as well as an important light button for an easy to readbacklit screen. An excellent eMate tour takes kids on a super tutorial--so super thatthey don't wind up reading the 460 page user's manual. That'stechnology for you---save your valuable time for productivity andcomputer time. Kids love playing with built-in organizers such as theDates and Names applications, where they can input important dates (forhomework assignments, school projects, parties and other importantstuff) and create an address book of names, addresses and phone numbersof all of their friends (and foes). There's even a clock application where kids can set a daily alarm andtimer and the current time and date. Who needs a watch when you have aneMate? In the way cool category, you can also connect an external (Newtoncompatible) modem; surf the Internet and send/receive e-mail with aneMate (dial-up access required). NetHopper version 3.0, a web browser,is included with the eMate. Don't tell your teens that you can alsomake and log telephone calls through this puppy. Doodling and the eMate go hand in hand. In Newton Works' draw program,children can create drawings of pictures, maps, timelines and otherimportant stuff. In the word processor application, kids can writereports, notes, crib-sheets and letters of all kinds. Many of the cut,copy, paste commands in Newton Works are similar to Mac's shortcuts(Command C is Copy, Command V is Paste, etc.) Deleting text anddrawings becomes a game as you can draw a zig-zag line over them and itmagically converts into a disappearing cloud. Innovative, sassy, and spirited, Apple Newton's eMate 300 goes to thehead of the class for this sleek, green workhorse for the educationcrowd and students of all ages. Looking forward to the next eMatelaunched by Apple's newest Newton division--my guess is it'll be evenbetter. As if! The eMate 300 retails for $799 and can be purchased in various bundlesincluding the eMate with PC cables and/or Mac cables; eMate and thePerforma 6400/180; eMate and the 6400/200 and a special offer on anApple Color Stylewriter printer. Currently, parents of K-12 students, college students, teachers anduniversity faculty can purchase the eMate 300 directly from Apple orfrom a campus reseller. Parents who purchase an eMate for their childcan designate the child's school to receive school rewards points whichthe school can redeem for free hardware and software offers from Apple.Apple is also offering low-interest loans for students and parentsinterested in the eMate bundles. For more information about the loans,call 1-800-APPLELN (277-5356). To order an eMate, phone Apple at (800)434-3033.
For more of Tina's in-depth reviews on software, hardware and computer stuff,be sure to visit The REVIEW ZONE.
http://www.TheReviewZone.com
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