What is the cheapest e-reader I can turn into a word processor?

[jago25_98]

Hmm.
It's hard for me to weigh up stuff. I'll just provide some things to think about instead.

It's true that the Alphasmart isn't so light. I have to admit that I haven't taken it with me on trips. This is a crying shame because unlike anything else it really helps me concentrate.

An alternative could simply be a modern smartphone with an external bluetooth keyboard and a stand to put the phone on while typing. In theory.

I say in theory because I find that really distracting. I'm just not displined for that. Maybe you're better than me though? Maybe you can put the phone in offline, do not disturb mode or maybe you can use a separate phone or tablet that doesn't have Google Play Services but does have that bigger screen for typing.

However, do you really need such a big screen for typing? Not with a type first, edit later flow like you would with an Alphasmart. For that you could have only 10-15 big words on the screen instead.

Do you really need that eink screen for typing? That aliexpress link you posted has no mention of bluetooth. I recommend bluetooth 4 - using that for tethering my phone instead of WiFi has made a massive difference to battery life.

We really need a modern, sleaker, and yet as simple as Alphamart. Bluetooth, old style LCD display, cheap. How hard is that? It's just a caching bluetooth keyboard.

Curious to see what you decide on. I'm kinda interested in something like this long term myself.

Originally Posted by vagabondvivant

I came across the Alphasmart and normally would've jumped right on it, but what I didn't mention in the OP is that I travel a lot (and for long stretches when I do), so I'm trying to keep my load minimal.

Since I already carry an e-reader (Kindle 10th gen in this case), it's worth it to add a 6oz folding bluetooth keyboard to my pack for the ability to write outdoors. A 2+lb Alphasmart, however, is another story.

That said, I found the Likebook Air on Aliexpress and it looks like it might be exactly what I want — an e-reader and e-writer in one. If it is, then it'll replace the Kindle in my pack and bring me one step closer to leaving my laptop behind completely.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

We really need a modern, sleaker, and yet as simple as Alphamart. Bluetooth, old style LCD display, cheap. How hard is that? It's just a caching bluetooth keyboard.

There are devices like the e-ink Freewrite, but they are way more expensive than Alphasmart. For no obvious reason. There's a current Black Friday discount, though. OP, check out their Traveler version.

[ETA: cancel that, I see $300 is outside your budget. But leaving this in in case someone else is searching for something similar.]

[BookCat]

Originally Posted by meeera

There are devices like the e-ink Freewrite, but they are way more expensive than Alphasmart. For no obvious reason. There's a current Black Friday discount, though. OP, check out their Traveler version.

[ETA: cancel that, I see $300 is outside your budget. But leaving this in in case someone else is searching for something similar.]

Apart from the expense of the Freewrite Traveller, there's also doubt as to whether it'll actually ever exist as it is well over the original release date. But if it does eventually get produced it'll just be a lighter, eink version of the Alphasmart. Not worth the money imho.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by BookCat

Apart from the expense of the Freewrite Traveller, there's also doubt as to whether it'll actually ever exist as it is well over the original release date. But if it does eventually get produced it'll just be a lighter, eink version of the Alphasmart. Not worth the money imho.

Maybe not to you, but maybe to some, assuming it does ship. A bigger screen, some editing ability, slightly lighter and definitely more compact in a bag, plus cloud backup - these can be worth a lot to some people.

[vagabondvivant]

So the Likebook Air turned out to be a bust. Bluetooth audio only. No keyboard support. Wouldn't even let me OTG the keyboard, like the Caesar 2 did. Back to the drawing board.

-----

To the "Why e-ink?" question: to be able to work in broad daylight without issue.

My ultimate goal is to be able to bring this on me on camping trips and thru-hikes and sit out in the middle of a field or on a sunny beach and happily type away at my work.

It does not need to be a big screen at all, for sure. But since I already bring an e-reader in my pack on trips, being able to use it (with a bt kb) as a typewriter is more convenient than having to pack a separate item — no matter how small its screen is.

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From how difficult it's been to find an e-reader that allows for KB input I'd almost think it was by design — if not for the fact that the Likebook Mars lets you do it no problem.

[jago25_98]

I hereby invite all my dear friends here over to the Alphasmart reddit thread where some brave souls are designing a replacement for the Alphasmart - something smaller, lighter, cheap and able to use any USB keyboard:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AlphaSmart/...hing_keyboard/

p.s. the Nook NST could do it. Mine's rubber disintegrated after a few years though and then wouldn't switch on. Plugging in a USB keyboard via the weak USB plug was sketchy anyway.

[vagabondvivant]

Originally Posted by molikotigo

That said, the lack of touch interface makes the app a huge pain to use

That's the main reason I gave away the Caesar 2. I was thrilled to discover it recognized OTG keyboards and didn't even mind the slow refresh, but having to use the d-pad to navigate was murder.

[vagabondvivant]

Originally Posted by jago25_98

I hereby invite all my dear friends here over to the Alphasmart reddit thread where some brave souls are designing a replacement for the Alphasmart - something smaller, lighter, cheap and able to use any USB keyboard:

I flirted with the idea of trying to come up with a Pi e-ink word processor, then realized I know jack-all about Raspberry Pi and gave up.

I'll be watching this thread closely, though.

[BookCat]

It's hardly light or portable, but there's the Write-O-Tron. It's pricey too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bwOnDp5z1Q

[azayn]

Dasung makes a device called Dasung Not-Ereader, that can mirror your smartphone. When paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, it can be used with any notes/word processor app on your phone. There are YouTube reviews for it that you can check out.

Be warned though, it's new technology from a small Chinese company so bugs and support could be an issue.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by azayn

Dasung makes a device called Dasung Not-Ereader, that can mirror your smartphone. When paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, it can be used with any notes/word processor app on your phone. There are YouTube reviews for it that you can check out.

Be warned though, it's new technology from a small Chinese company so bugs and support could be an issue.

We have a page Not-eReader on our wiki for this unit.

[Pajamaman]

FWIW you could use the onscreen keyboard to type. I do it on a nook St. The typos are frustrating, but it's doable. I put it in landscape to make the keyboard bigger. It might work better with an autocorrect keyboard.
You could try it with the file editor that comes with koreader on your kindle.

[jago25_98]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

We have a page Not-eReader on our wiki for this unit.

It looks like the phone screen needs to be on to use the Dasung?


---
On the https://www.reddit.com/r/AlphaSmart/...hing_keyboard/
thread there's mention of typing with a USB keyboard blind onto a keylogger. I can't see that working

[vagabondvivant]

One more update, for anyone interested:

I picked up an Inkbook Prime after hearing that it supported bt keyboards. The good news was it did. The bad news was the refresh on the device was unusably slow. It was clearly not meant for input of any kind.

So I sent back the Inkbook, sucked it up, and bought a $220 Likebook Mars. It's twice my intended budget, but it works (and works pretty well). There are a couple nitpicks here or there (like the constant ghosting, no matter how you set up the refresh rate) but for the most part it does what I was looking for so unless I hear about a better, cheaper option before my return window closes, I'll probably be sticking with this.

Thanks for all the input and advice, everyone!

[Pajamaman]

Apparently the Nook 7.8 has BT. It can be rooted and can install apps. However, it's quite a slow and flaky device, with a stunning screen. I read reports somewhere (was it here?) that the BT on it doesn't see any devices.

Edit: I can connect to a BT keyboard, but only by via adb atm. Apparently Renata on xda is working on it I imagine the lag will be bad though, but you never know.