come on baby write by fire

April 17, 2014 2:58 PM

What device is to writing what the Kindle is for reading? Assume a Kindle is, for purposes of this question, electronic, single-purpose, efficiently designed, portable, small and stylish -- and not a tablet like an iPad or Nexus. The method of document storage does not matter.
posted by michaelh to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

I imagine something like the AlphaSmart Neo, although I'm not aware of a newer version of that or anything like it, and I'm pretty sure it's now been discontinued. Most people I think have gone from that sort of thing to a tablet+keyboard combo.
posted by Sequence at 3:03 PM on April 17, 2014

The Neo has definitely been discontinued; the only alternatives in that kind of form factor seem to be made specifically for education markets. There's nothing really like the old Psion Series 5 these days.
posted by holgate at 3:07 PM on April 17, 2014

What device is to writing what the Kindle is for reading?

This a trick question. As asked, I'd answer: a Livescribe pen.

You did say writing, after all.
posted by BrunoLatourFanclub at 3:10 PM on April 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

MeFi's own sonascope on the AlphaSmart.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:10 PM on April 17, 2014

Back in the day, the Radio Shack Model 100.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:52 PM on April 17, 2014

I haven't used this myself, but I've just started seeing ads for the Boogie Board electronic pad. Maybe that's an option for you? It seems to bill itself as "electronic paper, so Eco-friendly!"
posted by instamatic at 7:23 PM on April 17, 2014

I wrote my second novel on an AlphaSmart 3000. I LOVED that machine.
A++ Would Write On Again.
posted by John Kennedy Toole Box at 3:41 AM on April 18, 2014

A blackberry with. Physical keyboard.

An iPad Air with one of these: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/ultrathin-keyboard-cover-ipad-5?crid=1325 (on the iPad you can use parental controls to hide everything except your writing application, pages is good and will sync bidirectional ly with your computer...)
posted by n9 at 5:50 AM on April 18, 2014

I picked up the Asus Transformer mainly for writing.

10.1 inch tablet meant that it was small. I didn't want to haul around a large laptop. Or even a small laptop.

The keyboard dock functioned like a stand AND extra battery. The keyboard was something like 92% of a full size keyboard which even my big man hands had no problem adapting to use.

I save my files directly into my google drive account. Overall it works well.

So I guess I'm n'thing tablet + keyboard. It's just up to you to pick out the ergonomics, price, and specs that work best for you.
posted by PlutoniumX at 7:36 AM on April 18, 2014