You should definitely check out https://getfreewrite.com/. You'd like that. It's like getting the best of both worlds.

I personally don't like small screens. I have s smartphone and it suits me well for other purposes, but for writing I want to feel that key hammering the paper, smell of the machine, and vibration they produce whey you type. You are definitely connected to the machine in some way. And while we don't have delete button, the way you think is pretty much different then when you have that delete button.

Ah, an expensive Alphasmart! Yes, it has a backlit screen and wifi (and maybe a nicer keyboard), but fewer lines on the screen and a shorter battery life than the Neo.