Strange soldering inside an Alphasmart Neo?

"the mesh sounds like ground strap, especially considering the points it is soldered to.

I looked up the product website, and see they offer two models - with and without rechargeable battery pack. The pic of the unit with the battery pack appears to show the pack soldered into place - a red wire is clearly visible:

http://www.neo-direct.com/NEO/productdet...

Perhaps this explains the difference you are seeing? Or it could be a refurbishment modification..."