The Zerowriter Ink is an upcoming E Ink typewriter/word processor that fits into the growing (but still very niche) category of distraction-free writing devices.
It combines a mechanical keyboard with a 5 inch E Ink display. Sure, you could use a laptop computer for writing on the go, but this device won’t distract you with videos, social media, or websites – it’s first and foremost a mobile writing machine that starts up instantly and offers long battery life.
Developed by Adam Wilk with aid from the folks behind the InkPlate line of wireless ePaper displays, the Zerowriter Ink will go up for pre-order soon through a Crowd Supply crowdfunding campaign.
Wilk is the guy behind the original DIY Zerowriter project from 2023, but the goal is to make the new Zerowriter Ink a real product that you can buy and immediately begin using, rather than a device that you have to assemble from parts.
It also has a few key changes from the original DIY project. Instead of a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W, the Zerowriter Ink uses an ESP32 microcontroller and runs Arduino code. And instead of a 4.3 inch display, the new model uses an InkPlate 5 display, which is a 1280 x 720 pixel electronic paper screen from Soldered Electronics. It has a refresh rate high enough that there’s almost no lag between the time when you press a key and when you see the character pop up on the display.
The Inkplate Zero’s keyboard is a 60% mechanical keyboard (meaning there’s no number pad on the side), with low-profile switches and keycaps and support for hot-swappable keys.
Wilk says the Zerowriter Ink should get up to a week of battery life from its user-replaceable 5,000 mAh battery if you use it every day, and up to a month of standby time. It supports USB Type-C charging.
Since the emphasis is on distraction-free writing, there’s no web browser or social media apps – the default software is designed for typing documents and not much else. Files are saved to a microSD card, which you can use to copy them to other devices for archiving, editing, or sharing.
But the device is also an open source project: Wilk says that “by the time Zerowriter Ink ships to backers, we will publish the code base on GitHub and release our hardware design files.” And since the device runs Arduino code, users who know their way around Arduino project should be able to program their own apps or games or make modifications to the default software.
One of the disadvantages of this being a niche product from a small team is that they don’t have the resources to support every keyboard layout or user language that customers might want. But one of the advantages of making the project open source is that it should be possible for knowledgeable and motivated users to make their own modifications so that the device will better fit their needs.
While Wilk hasn’t officially announced how much the Zerowriter Ink will cost or when crowdfunding will launch, he’s indicated that he hopes to keep the price in the $199 to $249 range, and that the more people sign up for the campaign ahead of launch, the lower the price is likely to be (at least during crowdfunding).
via /r/zerowriter
