The H45 QuickPAD: A Convenient Writer's Tool

For my birthday, my parents bought me the H45 QuickPAD from the CDW computer center. Remember that cute furry little creature Gizmo, from Gremlins? Before he was accidentally sprinkled with water and replicated into those mischievous little creatures? Well, that is what my QuickPAD reminds me of-- a cute technological Gizmo minus the fur and gurgling. It is efficiency for writers at its finest. The QuickPAD is battery operated, so I don't have to be at a computer desk, or God forbid, a Starbucks, outlet extensions in tow. And, it is quite inexpensive (my parents paid $200 for mine) compared to the running price for most techno gadgets these days. I know, I sound like I am advertising the QuickPAD, but I am not. I am just so happy I get to write from bed now that I thought I would share my happiness with you. The QuickPAD, very simply put, is a word processor. It looks like a computer keyboard with a built-in monitor on top. The monitor displays 4 long lines of text at one time. It holds up to 70 pages of written material, which it saves automatically for you. You can organize information in 10 different folders. And, you can transfer text to your computer via an infrared link included with your QuickPAD. A keyboard cable hooks the infrared receiver to your MAC, PC, or USB port. It runs for about 400 hundred hours, if you turn it off correctly, which can be a bit tricky at times if you don't exit your document properly. I've also found that the monitor can be hard to read if you don't have the right angle of light going. Minor though, compared to the benefits of this device, the beauty of which is its weight; It is so lightweight, I can pick it up with one hand effortlessly and take it with me anywhere. I must emphasize that the QuickPad isn't a laptop. You cannot play games on it or connect to the Internet. For me however, it solves the problem of my inability to write on paper as fast as I think. And again, the whole writing in bed thing is just superb. Check out www.quickpad.com for more information.

August/September 2001
Jennifer Gross of Escotal.com