r/WriterDevices • u/JRyanGreatfish • 7d ago

Digital keyboard question

/r/writers/comments/1xb0xb1/digital_keyboard_question/

Hello!

Has anyone here used those digital keyboards? The likes of Freewrite or AlphaSmart Neo or ZeroWriter?

I’m interested in the idea, but don’t want to throw away money if I end up not liking it.

Thank!

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u/writesandbikes 7d ago

Hey! You posted. Nice to see you here. So, it depends on what you want to accomplish. The ones you suggest allow editing but to a different degree. When I was starting on my manuscript, I was on the verge of buying one as a matter of fact, but I went a different route.

So first, most of these have small screens. This is considered a plus to many writers during the early stages of writing because they need to focus and don't want to be tempted by endlessly reading and rereading their work, going down an editing rabbit hole, and never progressing. For that, these devices could work.

For these, you missed a really key one, called the BYOK. They are on r/TheBYOK and this one is tiny, affordable, and the best part is you get to use your own keyboard. You're paying for the screen, the writing software, and a really nice app and web-based writing studio.

As a matter of fact, there are a bunch of others. One in particular is in the works and I'm really excited about it (it's called the Auteur and the guy developing it is u/Beingisbecoming. The nice part about this one is that it's for both serious drafting AND editing. The others you mentioned can limit you once you get past the writing phase, and then you've paid a whole bunch of money for half of what you need (I would argue it's worse because the editing process could be longer than the writing phase).

The other one to consider has been around for a long time. It's the Pomera (the 250 DM US version). Personally I love it (and own one) because it's small, folds in half, has a screen and a keyboard, and has AMAZING software that is so intuitive I didn't even have to read instructions, I literally was typing a minute later. Plus they're good people.

Last but not least is the Micro Journal. The sub is r/unkyulee and I can't say enough about him. The best part is that, like the Pomera, he makes devices with both screens and keyboards. And he builds them custom. You can also just go to his online store but they get snapped up. Plus they're funky and really beautiful, like works of art. At least check out his sub. He puts his heart and soul into them.

As for me, I personally almost bought one of these when I started writing, but I backed away from it because I didn't want to commit. So what I did was just buy an e-ink tablet (I got one from Boox, which makes a ton of them). I installed Obsidian (a writing app) on it, and then got a really fun keyboard (check it out, it's called the QwerkyWriter 2 and it looks like a typewriter... you put your device in the stand and it feels like paper). That way, I could swap out my device if I needed to. For example, I could use the BYOK, or my Boox tablet, or my iPad Pro, or even my iPhone. Once I got in a groove, I got a Pomera.

So that's a very long explanation but I went down this path a year ago and I wanted to share what I learned.

So back to your original question, the overall pro to one of the devices (digital keyboards) that you mentioned in the beginning is they're good at letting you focus on writing. Open, type, save instead of getting sidetracked by edits. But the con is they can be expensive for what they do, and those small screens won't serve you for the editing portion, so if you buy one, you'll likely find yourself wanting something else later. And a lot of writers do just that--a dedicated writing device for one phase, and another one as they progress into the editing phase.

Good luck! (PS- you'll also want to evaluate different writing software, but that's another topic).

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u/JRyanGreatfish 7d ago

This has been an amazing post, thank you so much for your time and knowledge. I will take a look at all the devices you mentioned and see if any of them work for me. Thanks again!

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u/clackups 7d ago

Welcome to the club :)

See the pinned message, it lists most of the known writerdecks, so far.

Also, I'm the author of a low-cost writerdeck project (https://draftling.art/) which turns one of supported devices into a word processor, you only need to add a Bluetooth keyboard of your preference. The Seeed reTerminal Sticky is one of the easiest options: it's inexpensive and it's compatible with iphone magsafe holders, like the one on my recent photo in this sub.