Okay, I admit it, I'm tracking the prices for a refurbished Windows Surface Pro -- unlike my regular Surface, it would run Scrivener and I like the size, screen and keyboard. I can write with the Surface I have, I just can't run my favorite tools (Q10 to compose, Scrivener to plot, edit, revise and polish) on it.
But the Hemingwrite offers a genuine mechanical-switch keyboard, a plain-jane black-on-white e-ink screen, and wi-fi without the distracting temptations of the World Wide Web -- and it looks good. Turn it on and type! Most of the advantages of a portable typewriter or a netbook/pad-thing with keyboard, with few of the drawbacks of either. And have I mentioned how good it looks?
Now the bad news: it's in development. There's no word on price. There's no word on when.
Want, want, want.
I've been watching the Hemingwrite chatter on Reddit. One of the co-creators showed up in a thread and was answering questions and taking suggestions. If memory serves they're looking to price them at somewhere around Kindle + mechanical keyboard money. The high number mentioned was $300 I think.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm already sold on 'em too.
BGM
That's...not bad. I'd rather they were $60 and sold in vending machines, but it's not bad.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, that's also the price refurbished Surface Pros are converging on.
Have you looked into the ASUS transformer books? They run full Windows 8.1 and seem to be very economically priced compared to the Surface Pros. I have a t100 and really like it, although the keyboard is a bit cheap feeling.
ReplyDeleteYes - definite want. I've tried some alternates (that lack the modernity of Google API integration and wifi backups), but the best alternatives to something like this that I've found are:
ReplyDeleteAlphasmart Dana - can be had with (lame) wifi. good battery life, but can run on AA's. Full size keyboard, decent screen. Touch screen / Palm OS. SD card for transfer. Around $30 bucks for used ones on eBay. Discontinued.
King Jim Pomera DM100 - no wifi, slightly cramped keyboard. Japanese model, so some weirdness in punctuation placement. Runs on AA's for weeks. Instant on. SD card for transfer or attaches as an external drive. Also includes simple spreadsheet program. Limits you to 20 page documents or so. Around $300 shipped direct from Japan.
I own and have used both. Currently, I gave up on the Dana's because they were too big to carry easily (as an additional device besides other work junk) and I carry the Pomera.
Both are good, but neither is quite right. The Hemingwrite seems closer (although I'd love it to fold so the keyboard is protected when I drop it in my bag).
As an owner of an Alphasmart Dana I'm all for something like that. There's a niche for dirt simple devices that (hopefully) can run a solid word processor (can I hope for Scrivener?) without excess gadgetry. (My only serious complaint about the Dana is it sometimes gets gummed up on large text files when I'm typing fast.)
ReplyDeleteThe Pro's are amazing. The only issues I've run into with mine can all be laid at my own feet. Primarily, it's me lacking the discipline to focus on writing and avoid other distractions.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't do the Dana though. I tried it while deployed, it just didn't work for me. I'm one of the types that has to go back over what I typed last session before I get back to writing, and that screen was just too small for me to do it.