AlphaSmart
Sign in to saveAlphaSmart, Inc., formerly Intelligent Peripheral Devices, Inc., was an education technology company founded in 1992 by Apple Computer engineers Joe Barrus and Ketan Kothari, and Kothari's brother, Manish Kothari. At the time of their initial release in 1993, the first AlphaSmart models were marketed as smart keyboards designed to promote writing in the classroom as an alternative to expensive computer labs. The units' durability, long battery life, and limited functionality made them ideal for K-12 classrooms. Later models expanded functionality to spell-checking, running applications, and ac
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~14 min read
Article
13 sectionsContents
- Background
- Company
- AlphaSmart products
- AlphaSmart
- AlphaSmart Pro
- AlphaSmart 2000
- AlphaSmart 3000
- Dana
- Dana Wireless
- Neo
- See also
- References
- External links
AlphaSmart, Inc., formerly Intelligent Peripheral Devices, Inc., was an education technology company founded in 1992 by Apple Computer engineers Joe Barrus and Ketan Kothari, and Kothari's brother, Manish Kothari. At the time of their initial release in 1993, the first AlphaSmart models were marketed as smart keyboards designed to promote writing in the classroom as an alternative to expensive computer labs. The units' durability, long battery life, and limited functionality made them ideal for K-12 classrooms. Later models expanded functionality to spell-checking, running applications, and accessing wireless printers.
After their initial public offering in 2004, AlphaSmart, Inc. was quickly acquired by Renaissance Learning, Inc., in 2005. The last AlphaSmart branded device, named the Neo 2, was released by Renaissance Learning in 2007. 6 years later in late September 2013, production of all AlphaSmart branded devices was discontinued. While AlphaSmart no longer exists as a brand, they have developed a cult following among writers as distraction-free writing devices, supporting a strong secondhand market.