e-Ink reader that I can hook a bluetooth keyboard up to?

July 18, 2019 1:18 PM

Is there any smallish e-reader with an e-ink display (say, 7" or so) that I can hook a bluetooth keyboard up to to create text files I can save to Dropbox?
posted by dobbs to Technology (4 answers total)

Onyx makes an eInk reader type device called the Boox that run Android and have Bluetooth, and can connect to a keyboard. They have a 13" one called the Max Pro (now Max 2 Pro actually) and a 7.8" one called the Nova Pro. The smaller doesn't explicitly say it has keyboard support but both just run normal Android 6 Marshmallow so it probably does. (The Max 2 Pro does explicitly say it supports keyboards.)

Caveat: unless someone else actually does make something like this, and they make a better version of it, you really need to debate the pros and cons of such a device. I heard about these things through the Technology Connections YouTube channel. Here's part one of a pretty in-depth review of sorts about it, spawned by a more generic video about eInk itself, and here's a part 2 on that same device after some firmware updates and living with it. (Note that in both cases this is the larger Max Pro version.) While the use case for him was different than just basic composing, and with the note that the firmware updates help a good bit, it's still pretty janky, and the Nova one is going to run you about $350, so it's worth a second thought.

Both these devices (and I suppose the other ones they make too) are just Android devices, albeit somewhat old, so you've got at least a fairly decent web browser and can load apps on them and such. They'll ultimately do what you want, I think, but I'd probably make sure I'd trust the seller to honor the return policy on it just in case. (And, if you want a truly distraction free experience, these are still Android devices so... yeah, there's a Web browser and all that stuff.) This is all I got really, I didn't even know this was a product category at all until I saw those videos. also the one on the toasters is pretty good too
posted by mrg at 2:12 PM on July 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

Dasung Paperlike Pro

Note that all the eInk displays I know are at best greyscale, so if by text you mean code, be prepared to spend a lot of time reconfiguring your editor to work well without color.

Also note that the refresh latency forces some serious UI changes.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 3:31 PM on July 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

I was trying to pull up the AlphaSmart, which you can get used. It looks like Freewrite has a similar newer option.
posted by typecloud at 10:33 AM on July 19, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks, all.

(Typecloud, I already have the perfect keyboard. Just looking for a light screen to go with it.)
posted by dobbs at 2:23 PM on July 19, 2019