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The Japanese have modern devices like this - this one is about $250 and had a E-ink display and a folding keyboard. You can put the keyboard in English mode - a
by benjohnson 6y ago
The Japanese have modern devices like this - this one is about $250 and had a E-ink display and a folding keyboard. You can put the keyboard in English mode - a few keys are in odd places but bearable. It's increased my output by several orders of magnitude.
https://www.kingjim.co.jp/pomera/dm30/ https://www.kingjim.co.jp/pomera/dm30/
- boplicity 6y agoThat is exactly the type of device I've dreamed about for years. Thank you for pointing it out. I wonder if there is a version targeted more for English language.
- nwienert 6y agoAlso have wanted to find/build this since forever, though I’d like something simpler and sturdy.
- microcolonel 6y agoWow, ATOK is like $5 a month on its own, on PC. I'm impressed they went to that length to get a high quality input method into this device. Wonder how much trouble it would be for them to integrate RIME, I'd buy that in an instant.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y agoFor that price a NOS Brother Geobook would be competitive.
- inyorgroove 6y agoThere is also the Freewrite, its a little expensive but is targeted to English speakers: https://getfreewrite.com/ https://getfreewrite.com/
- double0jimb0 6y agoThe Cherry mechanical switches are big plus on the Freewrite. AlphaSmart uses membrane switches, a deal killer for some.
- DoingIsLearning 6y agoToo each their own, you could argue the noise and downward force required on a cherry mechanical keyboard is a deal killer for some.
- AstroAdam 6y agoFreewrite supports at least 35 languages via configurable layouts in software: https://support.getfreewrite.com/article/27-freewrite-keyboard-layouts https://support.getfreewrite.com/article/27-freewrite-keyboa...
- Digory 6y agoBeautiful, but $400 is steep for a monotasker. I'd gladly let students use these in a class, though, as an alternative to notepads. Which probably says something about the rise of keyboards and the fall of handwriting; I get that ASCII is more useful than paper, but $400 buys a lot of luxurious pens and paper.
- BolexNOLA 6y agoProduces a lot of lost pens and paper in waste bins though!
- splintercell 6y agoCheck out the fountain pen thread from last week.
- carterschonwald 6y agoLink please ? :) Granted I’m a huge user of fountain pens and note books already :)
- splintercell 6y agoThere you go: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23497259 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23497259
- kovek 6y agoHow does that compare to a foldable keyboard + smartphone on airplane mode setup?
- clarkevans 6y agoI've used the DM100 for ~5 years now. It's an entirely different feel from a general-purpose device /w foldable keyboard. For starters, it's "always on" -- when you open the case, you're in the text editor and can start typing immediately. Second, it's a distraction free device: there's no wifi, no checking email, no browsing. Third, it's physically convenient, you can put it on your lap in a meeting or keep it on the table top (the display is not tall), taking notes without disrupting flow. Lastly, it uses easily replaced 9-volt batteries, which last a few weeks of occasional usage. There are two quirks in the older model I have. First, when opening the cover, it always starts in Japanese, so you have to press a key to get it to English. Second, some of the characters are in different slots; e.g. the apostrophe is inconvenient. Third, the keyboard is a tad scrunched.
- rtkwe 6y agoPart of the point of having a separate device is the additional friction of switching to distractions like Twitter etc and creating a separate context where you're just doing one task like writing. Using a cellphone even on airplane mode breaks both of those because it's super easy to turn back on and doesn't define a separate context.
- 5- 6y agothey've run an unsuccessful funding campaign to bring this device to western audiences: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2132003782/pomera-pocket-typewriter-with-e-ink https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2132003782/pomera-pocke... quite unfortunate -- i think they needed a little more hype.
- kalium-xyz 6y agoBecause of this it has english language support
- numpad0 6y agoMost of Japanese input happens in IME software so English support is more or less matters of changing UI string resources and keytop re-labeling
- billfruit 6y agoFreeWrite traveller seems another option, it is listed here for 389 USD: https://getfreewrite.com/collections/all/products/freewrite-traveler https://getfreewrite.com/collections/all/products/freewrite-...
- falcrist 6y agoFYI - The article specifically mentions FreeWrite in the second to last paragraph.
- andrewzah 6y agoThis seems rather expensive for what amounts to a keyboard + eink display. It would be nice to have an e-ink display, but I can also buy a thinkpad x201/x220 for <$70/<$100 usd on ebay right now. It's not the smallest thing ever, but the x201 is pretty dang small for a "writing only" machine with a good keyboard. And I can still do basic web browsing or email if I really want to.
- tartoran 6y agoThere's a bunch of cheap devices/older laptops that could fill this space the problem is that it's hard to install a stripped and locked down OS if one is not a computer whiz or no such OS exists. I have a better idea for an OS that runs off a stick and only has text editor capabilities and nothing more. Once can reuse their own laptop for writing. Once they boot in the writing mode with the memory stick on there's nothing else to access. The only problem is that as of now no such OS exists. I'd also love to boot off a stick and only have access to a repl of my favorite language, nothing more. Anybody out there up for the challenge of creating such an OS?
- Something1234 6y agoSomeone could make a distribution based on tiny core and have it boot into bash, and only install vim. Then create a separate partition to mount as a usb drive to move your work over.
- kalium-xyz 6y agoInterestingly I just bought a second hand DM30 and am looking into how I can get it to run a code editor (or just accept different file types). If anyone has any idea on how to accomplish such a feat please share.
- numpad0 6y agoIf anyone’s planning to hack them, IIRC, DM30 is custom RTOS on ARM926EJ-S, DM200 is Linux on AllWinner(rooting available), anything else is obscure Toshiba CPU with very little RAM running unknown RTOS.
- DoingIsLearning 6y agoThis is why I love this forum! Would you happen to know any details on the OS/processor of the old sony PRS-350 e-readers?
- biryani_chicken 6y agoOr just get a Bluetooth keyboard and connect it to you smartphone. But I guess the appeal is the reduced distractions in the screen. Is there an app that pauses any distractions (messages, calls, notifications, etc) so you can focus on the current foreground application?
- fidrelity 6y agoThe latest Android version has a focus mode: https://www.blog.google/products/android/android-focus-mode/ https://www.blog.google/products/android/android-focus-mode/
- tartoran 6y agoStill to easy to get out of the focus mode. Procrastinators blindly go back to the distraction mode without knowing how/when they got there.
- spaceisballer 6y agoYou don’t need an app iOS and Android have easy to access do not disturb modes you can schedule or manually enable.
- numbers 6y agoWow! This is perfect, for a long time I've been using a bluetooth keyboard with my iPhone for writing but every notification means distraction while trying to write :(
- DenisM 6y agoSadly, it seems to require a hard surface - no typing on your lap sitting on the beach.
- tartoran 6y agoWhat happens if one types away while not resting the device on a hard surface? Does it miss keys? Is it uncomfortable to hold it on ones lap ?
- DenisM 6y agoI don't have one, just searched the forums online and found this.
- benjohnson 6y agoIt's as floppy as you'd expect. They do make another device with a more laptop form factor - but as I understand it, it doesn't have as good English support. I could be wrong.
- codpiece 6y agoIt's a bit floppy, but certainly doable. If you have a hard surface like a sketchpad, it's fine.
- haecceity 6y agoI love these constrained devices. It'd be nice if there's a way to get the cost down.
- codpiece 6y agoThanks for making me aware of this, I just got the DM30 and it's excellent. I was looking at a Remarkable tablet, but this is far better for my needs as text files are central to my workflow.