Searching for the perfect e-ink writing device
I was into a big research this week.
I plan to write a lot during the summer, outdoor, under the sun.
While drastically improved in their latest models, iPad and MacBook displays, while great indoors, are quite hard to use outside.
I looked into e-ink devices.
Famously Remarkable has an e-ink tablet.
Last year they released a keyboard and thought it could be a good fit.
Until I read on Reddit someone asking about the use case of writing, and people replied it’s not really well-thought out for writing. It’s mainly a scratching / handwriting device, with the pencil.
The keyboard appears to be mostly an add-on not well integrated, so far.
One of the comments made me discover the Freewrite brand.
They have a bunch of writing devices, in particular the Traveler looks perfect:
Looks because I’ve been reading a ton of user comments on Reddit not particularly encouraging when it comes to both hardware, and software.
I can’t get the Italian keyboard layout, something I’m used to.
Price is 577€ but then there’s the “extended warranty” which lasts 1 year and it’s 52€ otherwise I only get 90 days of warranty.
Shipping is 24€ and in the FAQ I’m told ”you are responsible for all duties and taxes associated with the shipment”.
So there’s no VAT handling or import tax.
I’ve read “130€ import tax for a delivery in France”. Plus I’ll have 22% VAT? Or is that part of the import tax?
So with all this FUD I looked elsewhere.
I kinda want this because it’s cute and all but as a single-purpose device (can’t read books on it, no pencil, no browser), I’m probably looking at ~800€.
I went back to the Remarkable.
It looks great and as I said it has a keyboard attached.
Price with pro pencil and keyboard is 677€, all taxes and shipping included (above brand should learn from this).
Keyboard however does not have the Italian layout option, too.
I could workaround it with the available nordic layout as they have the common punctuation marks.
The writing experience is a bit “meh” according to user reviews.
But what stopped me was the fact you can’t export a writing as text.
Just as PDF or as an image.
Not ideal at all, actually pretty disruptive for the kind of workflow I imagine.
I saw a review of an e-ink display I could attach to my iPad, which is made by Boox, called BOOX Mira.
I think this would be pretty cool but I couldn’t find it sold in the EU store.
Then I went and saw their tablets, which are Android based.
Now I’m this close to getting one of those, the Note Air3
The higher-end Tab Ultra C Pro (but 50%+ more expensive) model has a keyboard case, but I think I’ll just use the Apple bluetooth keyboard I use every day, so I’ll save money (Air3 black/white is $399, Tab Ultra C Pro - with colors - is $649 and keyboard is $149 = total ~$800).
It’s mostly a bet.
Will I use it a lot?
I hope.
I imagine I’ll be using Notion, for example, so everything I write is automatically synced to all my devices.
This sounds like an ideal workflow, even if I won’t have the keyboard attached.
The device is also reusable in many ways, for reading, browsing the web, etc.
I just never had an Android tablet, but if I want to have an e-ink tablet at all, I need to look into this new ecosystem that’s new to me (I can’t see Apple making one as it’s kind of a very niche device)
Here’s all I learned on these devices in a few days of research.
I’ll post more info when I’ll get one.
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