from Hacker News

BYOK – Bring Your Own Keyboard

by kevinbluer on 6/21/25, 4:41 AM with 68 comments

by wenc on 6/24/25, 3:32 AM
There are a bunch of distraction-free writing devices, from the BYOK to the Freewrite. They range for $100 - $500.
List here: https://kadavy.net/distraction-free-writing-devices/
To me, YAGNI.
Let me suggest two cheaper alternatives (battletested by me):
1. Fountain pen and a nice notebook with nice paper (Mnemosyne, or Rhodia)
2. A foldable Bluetooth butterfly keyboard ($43 on Amazon) paired to an old tablet (I have an old iPad Air 2) with Wifi turned off and no apps except a writing app. Google Docs works in offline mode! (this is what I use in cafes when I’m traveling). I recommend a Samsers keyboard. This is what I have:
https://a.co/d/3kIJZsv
I love good typography and I just can’t with these distraction free devices. The iPad Air 2 has a retina screen that displays beautiful typography.
Forget e-ink devices — they might sound like a good idea at first, but their refresh rate is slow enough to be annoying.
If you don’t need portability, an old DOS PC running Wordstar or WordPerfect is also distraction free. I used to write long articles for my school newsletter using nothing but Wordstar.
by Workaccount2 on 6/24/25, 2:10 AM
The question is how gimped the device is going to be if you don't want to lease their software monthly?
There is a special place in hell for people who make hardware that runs static software, but still withhold ownership just so they can indefinitely bilk money from you.
by joeblubaugh on 6/24/25, 1:36 AM
If you’re charging $200 you should really be able to see more than 15 lines of text at a time.
I know the idea is to be distraction-free but it’s hard to justify over a basic writing app on the phone you already own, which includes a nicer screen.
by ryukoposting on 6/24/25, 3:27 AM
There's a guy I see at my local coffee shop who uses a word processor. Based on what I found on eBay, I think it might be an AlphaSmart. If so, it would have run him about $75. I thought about getting a similar device, as I also write a lot, but settled on a $90 used laptop instead.
Not seeing the case for spending $175 and only getting half a word processor. If portability was the goal, an external keyboard goes against that. If the goal was better ergonomics, the screen wouldn't be the size and shape of a table tent. So... why?
by rickcarlino on 6/23/25, 11:31 PM
Cool idea, you should consider adding a photo of the device on the landing page. It did not make sense until I clicked into the device page (Firefox mobile iOS).
by dsr_ on 6/24/25, 2:14 AM
"Universal keyboard compatibility" -- bah!
I have working keyboards in my possession that this thing cannot connect to.
- No ADB port for a Mac keyboard
- No Sun Type 5 Mini-DIN
- No PS/2 port
- No PC keyboard port
- No Newton serial keyboard port
- No RJ11 for an LK-201
So much for universal.
by KevinCarbonara on 6/24/25, 5:21 AM
I've never understood these devices. I get that they're for people who just don't have impulse control, and need some sort of hard separation between play and work. But inevitably, these devices become the abstraction. People obsess over the features and look for upgrades and otherwise immerse themselves in trivialities, because buying a device still doesn't improve your impulse control.
by voidhorse on 6/23/25, 11:53 PM
Glad to see it has a micro SD.
My main gripe with the freewrite (and to a lesser extent, this option) is the whole cloud/app/document management offering. I get that those features are important to several people, but I am happy to pull data from the device on occasion, or to back things up via git myself. Having to lock in to some vendor's cloud thing without any alternative is an instant way to make a device untenable for me personally.
by DrillShopper on 6/23/25, 11:29 PM
The standalone device's display reminds me of the Apple LCD display for the //c: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIc#Portability_enhancem...
by mavilia on 6/24/25, 12:40 AM
If you wanna DIY then you could achieve something similar with the open source ZeroWriter
https://github.com/zerowriter/zerowriter1
by weare138 on 6/23/25, 11:33 PM
I'm from GenX. I remember these.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart
by wenc on 6/24/25, 5:39 AM
Writing isn’t a linear process. You need to keep enough of a context window viewable and to scroll/jump to different parts quickly.
Devices without fast refresh or a large enough screen are unsuitable for many of today’s writers except for the very few who write linearly (streams of consciousness).
A word processor is a tool of thought. You need to be able to manipulate thoughts easily in it. Small devices don’t serve this purpose well.
by kebokyo on 6/24/25, 3:47 PM
This seems like something you could make yourself for under $50. Pi Zero W2, battery, cheap LCD screen, and 3D-printed case. The only exceptions would be a) the extra physical buttons (requiring a custom PCB) and the amber backlight (not sure if you can get a screen that comes with one, or if you’d need to get it separately and install it yourself).
If I had more experience in making stuff like this (and money to buy the components and other tools I’ll need to make it), as soon as I saw the price of this thing I would have started making my own clone right away and thrown the code and hardware specs on GitHub.
by mwambua on 6/24/25, 12:52 AM
Why do none of these have larger displays? I imagine it's annoying to type without the ability to at least skim over the last page of content? Are larger monochrome displays just harder to procure?
by Tepix on 6/24/25, 11:26 AM
I have an alternate proposal:
• buy a ball-head typewriter. Very satisfying to write on. And you get to see your text on paper right away.
• modify it to have a USB interface
• setup a Pi Pico to log all text entered on the typewrite
• when you connect the Pi Pico to your PC it replays the entered text at high speed.
by Xevion on 6/24/25, 3:44 AM
Honestly, this just looks like someone made a really basic writing app as a demo project on an LCD, and then their friend said "You could totally sell this" and then they ran with that.
This is a "solution" looking for a problem.
by SideburnsOfDoom on 6/24/25, 7:15 AM
"distraction-free" because there's nothing else on that screen.
But it's another screen. There will be other distracting screens, if only a smartphone screen.
We have just moved the problem into hardware.
by joshmarinacci on 6/23/25, 11:35 PM
I’ve been considering making something like this since usb host support showed up on the raspberry pico. My dream is something like this with an eInk screen for weeks long battery life n
by HumblyTossed on 6/24/25, 2:59 PM
Looking at the app, for people who write, say fiction, do you really write like that where everything is broken out and summarized?
by fnord77 on 6/24/25, 12:24 AM
So you can get a working vintage Smith Corona hardware word processor for under $100. Probably much less at a garage sale.
by ajsnigrutin on 6/24/25, 1:21 AM
Why is this so expensive?
Raspberrypi zero 2w + some stripped down OS that boots directly to an editor, lcd display and a nice case would be much cheaper. Also easier to implement other stuff, like different fonts, use your own 'cloud' to sync stuff (and not being forced into a subscription), etc.
by flobosg on 6/24/25, 2:52 PM
See also the many iterations of the Micro Journal: https://github.com/unkyulee/micro-journal
by littlekey on 6/24/25, 7:04 PM
I just don't understand why all of these distraction-free devices use screens that are so small they're basically unusable. What's the point?
by mnky9800n on 6/24/25, 3:54 AM
I don’t understand the point of a distraction free writing device. I am constantly flipping out of what I’m writing to go look at codes, chat with ai, read papers or tutorials, and then back to what I am writing. I realise I may not be the target audience. I guess if I was writing fiction then I wouldn’t want a distraction.