I bought a 'writer deck' and I'm so disappointed

Price When Reviewed

$499

Best Prices Today: Pomera DM250 US phrase processor

I wrote a novel ten years in the past. I’ve been attempting to put in writing a second one ever since. I began about half a dozen occasions, and by no means bought a lot additional than midway by means of the primary draft.

Obviously issues are quite a bit completely different in 2025 than in 2015. Both for me personally and [gestures at everything]. Like plenty of you studying this, my attention span has been absolutely shattered by trendy video and social media. Even once I’m not on my huge, triple-screen desktop, I’m parallel processing between work, media, and private stuff. I typically discover myself taking part in video video games and watching movies on the similar time, and I do know that I’m not alone — there’s an entire vary of movies on the market that at the moment are designed to be “second screen content,” and I don’t simply imply music with these little visualizers thrown on high of them.

KingJim

In an try to kick myself within the ass and truly get again to fiction writing, I’ve been in search of one thing that may facilitate extra centered, long-form textual content enter. My first concept was an excellent minimal laptop computer. Something like ye olde netbooks, the place the smaller dimension and restricted functionality would decrease my journeys to YouTube or electronic mail checking. The downside is that even an affordable laptop computer can run a browser today, and a handful of browser tabs is all I have to get off on a psychological tangent. I wanted one thing like netbooks was, designed for doing one factor at a time, and that one factor couldn’t be notably taxing from a technical standpoint.

Foundry

A pill plus a Bluetooth keyboard is nearer. I’ve tried this earlier than, however discovered it lower than best, if solely as a result of that setup has plenty of stuff to hold and wasn’t notably straightforward to make use of except there was a normal chair and desk round — it was arduous to make use of in a laptop computer kind issue. Ditto for the keyboard plus a telephone; my Galaxy Fold is best for portability, however even the super-tiny Logitech Keys to Go 2 doesn’t remedy the usability points, and, if something, my intense familiarity with my telephone makes me much more more likely to multitask on it than on a pill.

I assumed again to a number of the units I’ve used previously, and people I merely admired from afar. The Sony Vaio P, a teeny, tiny netbook design that skewed a bit extra premium whereas remaining super-portable, saved popping up in my head. This 2009 design was super-portable, trendy, and its footprint was barely larger than its keyboard due to a shrunken-down pointer mechanism and a super-wide display screen.

It wasn’t superb by the requirements of the day, maybe as a result of it had a less-than-optimal mixture of a premium worth and low energy. People needed it to be much more succesful than it was, particularly contemplating that it ran Windows Vista, and maybe that made it seem to be a poor worth. But by way of kind issue, it appeared retroactively good for my wants: laptop-shaped with a hinge for utilizing on, properly, a lap, and with a small display screen that would solely actually deal with one window at a time.

Pondering on these units made me go even additional again in my reminiscence. I recalled that within the group writing classes for NaNoWriMo I attended in Colorado Springs, a few folks had distinctive little devices, bridging the hole between a full laptop computer and something like an old-fashioned word processor. Word processor within the {hardware} sense, not the software program sense — primarily digital keyboards with a tiny display screen and a little bit of reminiscence for storing textual content information, and that was it. The spirit of those devices lives on within the “focused writer,” which you might have seen from Freewrite. These devices are fascinating, and theoretically precisely what I’m in search of.

But I haven’t purchased any of the Freewrite fashions. Something about them feels so performative to me, to say nothing of the massive worth for the {hardware}. The purposefully tiny screens and retro elaborations don’t enchantment, nor does the comparatively massive dimension — if I’m lugging round one thing that massive I’d really feel actually dumb for not simply utilizing a laptop computer.

To summarize months of imprecise poking across the web, particularly on locations like Reddit’s /r/writerdeck community, I discovered a bit digital typewriter referred to as the Pomera. More particularly, the KingJim Pomera DM250.

This factor seemed like precisely what I had been craving: a tiny, transportable kind issue primarily the identical dimension as a small keyboard, and a super-focused customized software program setup that does something you need to, so long as you solely need to write textual content. The display screen is a bit small, and I really feel like a a lot wider one may simply slot in there, nevertheless it makes extra sense within the legacy of this system household from the Japanese design firm. A earlier model of the Pomera seems to be like an evolution of the old Palm Pilot keyboards. I think about that at the very least a number of the components on this most up-to-date mannequin are the identical, explaining the big bezels across the 7-inch LCD display screen.

And sure, it’s LCD, not e-ink as you would possibly suppose from the pictures, and is the case for the Freewrite. That offers it a bit distinction. One, it’s a lot sooner than a typical e-ink display screen, which is advantageous for writing, if solely since you don’t want to attend for a gradual refresh for every letter to seem. It’s additionally a colour display screen, although up to now the one colour I’ve seen is the Word-style pink squiggly traces below any phrase that the built-in dictionary doesn’t acknowledge.

Michael Crider/Foundry

It additionally has some downsides. The display screen is a bit more reflective than I’d anticipate from e-ink, although with excessive distinction and a vivid backlight, it’s not that massive of a deal in common use. The battery life can also be quite a bit decrease than I’d anticipate from a tool utilizing an e-ink display screen… although at 20 hours, and with straightforward USB-C recharging, you’re unlikely to get vary anxiousness except you’re utilizing this factor on a multi-day tenting journey.

The display screen isn’t essentially the most essential {hardware} part of the Pomera. In truth, I’d say for the extremely specialised target market, it may be the least necessary. Pride of place should go to the keyboard for one thing the place typing and writing is the primary focus. And I’ve to say, it might be quite a bit higher.

Michael Crider/Foundry

For context, I’m a PCWorld’s designated mechanical keyboard nut, and I’m a giant fan of ThinkPad laptops for his or her concentrate on a snug, sensible typing expertise. Obviously you’re not going to get mechanical keys in a tool this small and centered on portability. But there are laptop computer keyboards, after which there are laptop computer keyboards. And the Pomera’s is way nearer to a price range laptop computer, one thing like a Chromebook offered by the thousand to colleges, than to a high-end ThinkPad or Surface.

In a phrase, it feels low-cost. Not unhealthy, per se, however nowhere close to as good as even one thing like Logitech’s MX Keys Mini (which is about the identical dimension as a the keyboard right here, if a bit wider and thinner). I wasn’t anticipating a miracle right here — I don’t thoughts the shortage of backlighting, for instance, as anybody desirous about shopping for a Pomera is nearly definitely a fast touch-typer. But the small keys and broad spacing takes some getting used to, even with my common (American AMAB-sized) arms.

The structure is nice. In truth, once I construct 60 % boards for myself, I take advantage of a near-identical setup for the underside row, preserving devoted arrow keys on the left facet. I respect how there’s a full-sized proper Shift key, one thing that’s not assured, particularly when one thing is designed in a non-ANSI nation.

But the full-length structure is about an inch narrower than a normal 60 % keyboard, so that you’re nonetheless going to need to get used to the marginally shrunken chiclet keys, like many pill or telephone keyboards. It’s not insurmountable, nevertheless it’s disappointing for a tool so centered on textual content enter. And your mileage could range for a way properly and the way rapidly you’ll be capable of regulate.

Michael Crider/Foundry

I additionally want that the designers had included adjustable ft within the plastic case, and suppose they may have accomplished so with out sacrificing any dimension or battery capability. I resorted to my traditional adjustment for keyboards with no cozy angle choice (taking a look at you, Keychron Q collection): some little rubber feet from Amazon. It’s not a really perfect answer, because it makes this factor about half an inch thicker than it must be, nevertheless it already suits in my little 60 % keyboard case with my transportable battery, so I believe it’s a worthy sacrifice on the altar of the angle.

Again, the typing expertise isn’t horrible. I’m typing up this very overview on the system now, and solely getting rather less than my traditional (and never all that spectacular) typing velocity. But for a tool so singularly centered on textual content enter, and which is way much less technically succesful than many different issues in its worth vary, I can’t assist however discover it a really disappointing.

Michael Crider/Foundry

The Pomera runs a totally customized working system, not an Android by-product or Linux (at the very least not any type of Linux I acknowledge). And as a descendant of units just like the Alphasmart, it does really feel very dated, with none touchscreen and even an choice for mouse enter. You open the horizontal menu with the Menu button (the place the Windows/OS secret’s on a normal keyboard), and it solely has seven gadgets with nested instruments and settings.

I gained’t bore you with a breakdown of each choice, nevertheless it has a bunch of fundamental settings you’d anticipate in case you’re aware of these units from again within the 80s and 90s. Font sizes, outlines, textual content spacing, that kind of factor. There are solely two font choices, serif and sans serif, and the choice for black textual content on white or vice versa. One factor I modified instantly was the fullscreen view — “fullscreen” being a relative time period for such a small window — and the standing bar that reveals the present phrase depend and time (in 24-hour clock solely) may be introduced again by hitting menu.

I’m most desirous about simply inputting a bunch of textual content, so the define view doesn’t actually curiosity me. But you may open two textual content paperwork without delay in a splitscreen, with all sides being VERY small, concerning the dimension of the unique iPhone display screen. I can see how that might be useful in case you’re revising and enhancing, although I believe I’d choose to try this on a full laptop. I used to be happy to see that you simply swap sides to the opposite textual content doc with the acquainted alt-tab command.

Michael Crider/Foundry

You would possibly discover that there’s a full perform row on the Pomera, or at the very least F1-F10, plus Escape on the left and Insert and Delete on the fitting in very pure spots. This offers you plenty of choices for issues like textual content dimension and backlight adjustment with out diving into the menus, although I didn’t know that at the beginning.

I needed to dive into a really old school guide, frustratingly offered in PDF-only format and never included within the field. An insert for the commonest keyboard shortcuts would have been appreciated, as would some fundamental labeling on the Function keys, as is usually commonplace on laptops now. Well, I suppose that’s one of many foibles of utilizing such a intentionally retro system. I finally discovered an on-device menu that reveals you the shortcuts, and permits you to modify them.

Other software program instruments embody a rudimentary find-and-replace perform, textual content and time markers, unicode enter and customization, and some extra methods to customise the show and kind expertise. I used to be stunned to search out that I may exclude sure phrases from the spell examine perform (nice in case you occur to be writing a style novel) or flip the pink squiggly traces on or off at will, however there’s no strategy to truly run a spell examine perform on the entire doc and allow you to undergo it to examine your work.

Michael Crider/Foundry

Again, the Pomera could be very a lot supposed for WRITING, not enhancing. (Incidentally, you can also’t set any explicit textual content as daring or italicized — I had to try this in enhancing.) And sure, that is truly a colour display screen, although the one trace of that I’ve seen in any respect is the pink traces for misspelled phrases.

There’s one final trick up the Pomera’s sleeve: a Bluetooth connection. But I used to be stunned to search out that this isn’t for transferring information over to the telephone app, which might have been quite a bit simpler than utilizing Wi-Fi, since I’m typically utilizing my telephone’s Wi-Fi for, properly, my telephone’s web.

No, the Bluetooth is meant to allow you to use the Pomera as a Bluetooth keyboard for a telephone or a pill. Which is neat, and really barely extends the performance of the system. However, as I’ve already stated, the keyboard of the Pomera isn’t that nice in and of itself. The solely actual benefit it has over a daily journey keyboard is that the highest half of the gadget works as a telephone stand.

Michael Crider/Foundry

If you’re intending to put in writing in your telephone, there are simpler, much less cumbersome methods to take action, they usually don’t require digging right into a text-based menu. This solely is sensible if you wish to carry ONLY your telephone and your Pomera, switching over to the previous to, say, sort with pals or coworkers for a prolonged dialog.

So when you’ve banged out ten or twenty thousand phrases of your screenplay on the Pomera, how do you get it into, say, Google Docs? Unsurprisingly, it’s not as seamless as it will be on a laptop computer or perhaps a telephone. But contemplating its limitations, the Pomera does offer you plenty of choices.

Email might be best. The Pomera can hook up with Wi-Fi networks, although it doesn’t keep a relentless connection. The concept is that you simply hook up with the community, electronic mail your self (or another person?) a textual content file, after which swap to a extra highly effective system. This was tough, requiring plenty of trial and error to get these fundamental attachment messages to each authenticate in my Gmail account and ship to myself. There are simpler methods to do it.

Michael Crider/Foundry

Like utilizing the official app, for instance, which solely has 5,000 downloads on the Google Play Store proper now. This allows you to switch textual content information to your telephone… utilizing Wi-Fi. Which is a little bit of a chore, however doable. The QR code perform may be sooner. It’s an enchanting little device that converts a doc into QR kind so the app can scan it in visually.

At first I assumed this may be too limiting, as a result of with the intention to get a considerable amount of textual content throughout it has to separate it into a number of codes — a 2,500-word doc wanted eight separate codes, for instance. But the app is surprisingly clean at dealing with this.

You level your telephone on the Pomera’s display screen, generate the codes, then cycle by means of them with the arrow keys. The app can instantly inform what number of codes and in what sequence it wants, and reveals you within the UI in case you skipped any. Those eight codes had been capable of get the textual content into the app in lower than 30 seconds, even with a few skips. From there it was straightforward to get the textual content into one other app with Android’s Share perform.

Michael Crider/Foundry

There are extra old school choices, together with manually transferring (or straight writing) onto an SD card that matches into the Pomera’s open slot. This is, once more, a bit extra complicated than it appears at first, as a result of the apparently historic slot couldn’t learn the 128GB SD card I take advantage of in my digital digital camera. I needed to monitor down an antiquated 8GB card, utilizing far older requirements, to check out this perform. But it’s simply doable, and may be a extra simple methodology when you have a PC with an SD card.

The least complicated methodology was merely plugging the Pomera right into a USB port. With a couple of button presses you may put it right into a PC connection mode, at which level it primarily turns right into a USB flash drive (simply 1.3GB, however that needs to be large enough for thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of phrases in textual content). There you may merely copy the textual content information onto your PC, and it additionally labored with a USB-C cable going to my Android telephone.

Michael Crider/Foundry

Aesthetically, I do just like the Pomera quite a bit. When closed it reveals no logos or branding from the highest. It seems to be quite a bit like a chunkier model of the Logitech Keys-to-Go 2. When open, the one emblem you see is “Pomera” in delicate off-grey on the hinge. Carrying round this super-light doohickey that’s primarily a bit of grey plastic with a small display screen and a keyboard makes me really feel like John Conner, whipping out his Atari palmtop in Terminator 2. (I’ve but to hack into any ATMs, in case you’re questioning.)

The soft-touch plastic is somewhat susceptible to fingerprints, if not a lot as one thing like glass, however as a ThinkPad fan I’m fairly used to that. I doubt that a budget printing on the keys will maintain up greater than two or three years, which is disappointing, particularly once I’m used to high-quality dye sublimation or double-shot keycaps on mechanical keyboards. But once more, that shouldn’t be an enormous downside for anybody who’s used to the touch typing, and by that point a consumer needs to be extraordinarily snug with the system.

Michael Crider/Foundry

I just like the Pomera. I like its focus, I like its simplicity, I like its deliberate evocation of a time from in the beginning from a telephone to a monitor to a fridge was a convergence system. And I believe that within the extraordinarily restricted area of modern-ish phrase processors, it’s in all probability on the head of the pack.

That stated, $400 USD once I purchased it, $500 now due to Trump’s import taxes, is quite a bit for a single-use system. Especially when you will discover a pill or a Chromebook that may deal with the whole lot it does and extra. If you’re spending cash on the Pomera, you have to be completely certain it’s what you need, particularly contemplating a few of its less-than-premium elements just like the price range keyboard.

If you’re enthusiastic about it, I’d virtually recommend spending $50 or so on an previous Alphasmart first. See in case you just like the ultra-focused expertise and the restricted functionality. If you actually join with that, and also you need one thing that’s simpler to cost up and sync or switch textual content, then you may upgrade to the Pomera DM250 or a Freewrite mannequin. Just do not forget that it’s quite a bit like shopping for a treadmill — spending the cash gained’t truly make you do the work.

Michael Crider/Foundry

Eventually I gave up my minimalist writing quest, and simply went again to my laptop computer (this lightweight Asus, on sale for $650) with the Wi-Fi turned off. It’s solely a bit costlier, and much more succesful and sensible. I’ll in all probability promote the Pomera to a different aspiring novelist…who I hope will get much more use out of it.