updated 7/21/2025
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All Micro Journal models are designed and hand crafted by Un Kyu Lee. This site represents my own views and I in no official way represent Un Kyu Lee. So, opinions and mistakes here are mine and mine alone. I just truly appreciate these great machines.
For years after the Alphasmart Neo 2 stopped being made, no one in the commercial sector seemed interested in picking up the ball. Luckily, when the Alphasmart products became unsupported, schools dumped them and so they became available on eBay for pretty cheap. However, years went by with no option that was really up being a true Neo 2 replacement and, as supplies of used Neos became thinner, prices skyrocketed. Then in 2024, thanks to Vance at the Alphasmart Forum, I stumbled into the Micro Journal 6. It was basic, inexpensive, durable, had good battery life, allowed navigation and, best of all, had a mechanical keyboard. It was truly a Neo 2 replacement.
The Micro Journal Rev 6 is a very simple, easy, distraction free and writing focused draft writing digital typewriter. It has a 48 key ortholinear keyboard with mechanical switches and a small but sufficient LCD screen. You only see a little of your text as you type, as with the Neo, but you have full navigational capability to scroll back through your text if you need to. I wasn't sure about using an ortholinear keyboard, but I found I adapted to it pretty quickly. The mechanical keyboard makes it a pleasure to type and the switches have a nice clicky sound and feel. This is the same keyboard used for the Rev 2. Key assignments are made via a text file called a json file. The file can make key assignments on four layers for each key using keypress, shift-keypress, alt-keypress and shift-alt-keypress. In addition, you have cursor movement key assignments for easy navigation and review of your text. Information about the json file is listed below. Battery life is very good on this model. It uses a single 18650 Lithium ion battery (3300 mAh max)that you install yourself. I have used this for hours at a time without a worry about running out of battery. It doesn't beat the Neo 2's 700 hours, but I'm pretty sure it can go an entire day. If you are only typing a couple of hours a day, it can go days, maybe a week, but I tend to charge things overnight.
The Rev 6's OS is very basic, whatever runs off the ESP32 SOC, so it is very focused functions and capabilities. Exactly what you want in a pure drafting digital typewriter. The setup page is linked below. When you turn the Rev 6 on, you are immediately taken to the text editor, either a blank new file the first time you start it up or to whatever was the last file you were working in. You can just start typing. You type and it keeps track of the number of character (spaces are counted) at the bottom. It saves after some few seconds with no activity or when you use Esc to go out to the menu. You can use navigation keys to scroll back and review what you have written with you need to. Luckily the screen is too small to encourage real editing. There is a limitation here. The Rev 6 has a limited text buffer so it is possible to not be able to scroll all the way back if you are typing a longer piece. However, that is just the buffer—you are not losing any text. It is all safely in the file.
The ESC key will take you out to a menu. The menu has all the "file spaces" which you select by typing a number. Writing can be easily transferred to the computer, though nothing as much fun as SEND on the Neo. You can use a script to set up sync with Google Drive. It really is easy, quick and reliable. You then find your text file on Google Drive and do a copy and paste into whatever editor you want, or just use Google Docs on Drive. If you don't like using the cloud, you can just pull the SD card. Admittedly, the SD card slot doesn't make it easy to pull the card, but it's not too difficult. I do, however, recommend using the Google Drive sync.
The Rev 6 does not have all of the features of the Neo 2 such as copy and paste and spell checking. If those are important, you should look at the Rev 2. But if simply getting your draft out without a lot of distractions and not worrying too much about editing typos, this is an ideal successor to the Neo 2. I have moved to the Rev 7 which is mostly fancier and with a full staggered Qwerty keyboard. I like the aesthetics, but it is a necessarily pricier option. If you are on a budget, the Rev 6 is a great choice.
While I haven't done it with my Rev 6 yet (because I mainly use my Rev 7 these days), with an Ortholinear keyboard, custom key caps that put prints for the different layers on the keys is really helpful. You can go see what I did with my Rev 2 keyboard using the YUZU site. They are great folks and I highly recommend them (again, no one is compensating me for this. I'm not endorsing, I'm just a satisfied customer). No need if you are on a budget, just a nice to have.
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You need to understand that Un Kyu Lee not only designs all his Writer Decks, he also builds them by hand. Because both things take time and care, ordering is tricky. Watch the date for the next restock, but you have to act quickly as he will only put up as many as he thinks he can build in the next reasonable period of time. Be patient. It's worth it. There is also a lot of other good information on this page. |
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A fantastic and detailed documentation of how to get going with your new Rev 6 |
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Here is where you can watch for firmware updates for the Rev 5, 6 and 7 (Not the Rev 2, which runs on Linux). |
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A useful, little deeper dive into using the json text file to reassign keys on your key map for the Rev 6. |
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Un Kyu Lee's YouTube page with informative and useful videos for all his different models, including the Rev 6. |
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There are several people on this forum I frequent that have and discuss the Rev 6. I am H0ok there. Feel free to ask questions and we'll try to help. |
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I mentioned above how I designed custom key caps for the ortholinear keyboard on my Rev 2. It's a great thing to do for the Rev 6 as well if it's in your budget. These are the folks I worked with. Great results. |
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If you would like to contact me, you can either find me on the Alphasmart-Writing Tools Forum on Flickr or you can Email me.