I purchased a ‘author deck’ and I am so disillusioned

Greatest Costs Immediately: Pomera DM250 US phrase processor

I wrote a novel ten years in the past. I’ve been making an attempt to write down a second one ever since. I began about half a dozen instances, and by no means received a lot additional than midway by means of the primary draft.

Clearly issues are quite a bit totally different in 2025 than in 2015. Each for me personally and [gestures at everything]. Like lots of you studying this, my consideration span has been completely 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 identical 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 display content material,” and I don’t simply imply music with these little visualizers thrown on prime of them.

KingJim

In an try to kick myself within the ass and really get again to fiction writing, I’ve been searching for one thing that can facilitate extra centered, long-form textual content enter. My first concept was a brilliant minimal laptop computer. One thing like ye olde netbooks, the place the smaller measurement and restricted functionality would reduce my journeys to YouTube or e-mail checking. The issue is that even an inexpensive 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 preferrred, if solely as a result of that setup has lots of stuff to hold and wasn’t notably straightforward to make use of until there was a typical chair and desk round — it was laborious 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 clear up the usability points, and, if something, my intense familiarity with my telephone makes me much more prone to multitask on it than on a pill.

I believed again to a few of the gadgets I’ve used prior to now, and people I merely admired from afar. The Sony Vaio P, a teeny, tiny netbook design that skewed just a little extra premium whereas remaining super-portable, saved popping up in my head. This 2009 design was super-portable, fashionable, and its footprint was barely greater than its keyboard because of a shrunken-down pointer mechanism and a super-wide display.

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 value and low energy. Individuals wished it to be much more succesful than it was, particularly contemplating that it ran Home windows Vista, and maybe that made it look like a poor worth. However when it comes to kind issue, it appeared retroactively excellent for my wants: laptop-shaped with a hinge for utilizing on, effectively, a lap, and with a small display that would solely actually deal with one window at a time.

Pondering on these gadgets made me go even additional again in my reminiscence. I recalled that within the group writing periods for NaNoWriMo I attended in Colorado Springs, a few folks had distinctive little devices, bridging the hole between a full laptop computer and one thing like an old school phrase processor. Phrase processor within the {hardware} sense, not the software program sense — primarily digital keyboards with a tiny display and a little bit of reminiscence for storing textual content information, and that was it. The spirit of those devices lives on within the “centered author,” which you might need seen from Freewrite. These devices are fascinating, and theoretically precisely what I’m searching for.

However I haven’t purchased any of the Freewrite fashions. One thing about them feels so performative to me, to say nothing of the massive value for the {hardware}. The purposefully tiny screens and retro gildings don’t enchantment, nor does the comparatively giant measurement — if I’m lugging round one thing that large 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 neighborhood, I discovered just a little digital typewriter known as the Pomera. Extra particularly, the KingJim Pomera DM250.

This factor regarded like precisely what I had been craving: a tiny, moveable kind issue primarily the identical measurement 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 is just a little 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 gadget household from the Japanese design firm. A earlier model of the Pomera seems like an evolution of the previous Palm Pilot keyboards. I think about that not less than a few of the components on this most up-to-date mannequin are the identical, explaining the big bezels across the 7-inch LCD display.

And sure, it’s LCD, not e-ink as you may assume from the photographs, and is the case for the Freewrite. That offers it just a little distinction. One, it’s a lot sooner than a typical e-ink display, which is advantageous for writing, if solely since you don’t want to attend for a gradual refresh for every letter to look. It’s additionally a shade display, although up to now the one shade I’ve seen is the Phrase-style crimson squiggly traces beneath any phrase that the built-in dictionary doesn’t acknowledge.

Michael Crider/Foundry

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

The display isn’t essentially the most essential {hardware} element of the Pomera. In truth, I’d say for the extremely specialised audience, it is perhaps the least necessary. Satisfaction 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 could possibly be quite a bit higher.

Michael Crider/Foundry

For context, I’m a PCWorld’s designated mechanical keyboard nut, and I’m an enormous fan of ThinkPad laptops for his or her concentrate on a snug, sensible typing expertise. Clearly you’re not going to get mechanical keys in a tool this small and centered on portability. However 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 Floor.

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

The format is nice. In truth, once I construct 60 % boards for myself, I exploit a near-identical setup for the underside row, preserving devoted arrow keys on the left aspect. 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.

However the full-length format is about an inch narrower than a typical 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 might differ for the way effectively and the way shortly you’ll be capable of modify.

Michael Crider/Foundry

I additionally want that the designers had included adjustable ft within the plastic case, and assume they may have finished so with out sacrificing any measurement or battery capability. I resorted to my typical adjustment for keyboards with out a comfortable angle choice (taking a look at you, Keychron Q collection): some little rubber ft from Amazon. It’s not a super resolution, 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 moveable battery, so I feel it’s a worthy sacrifice on the altar of the angle.

Once more, the typing expertise isn’t horrible. I’m typing up this very assessment on the gadget now, and solely getting rather less than my typical (and never all that spectacular) typing pace. However for a tool so singularly centered on textual content enter, and which is much much less technically succesful than many different issues in its value vary, I can’t assist however discover it a really disappointing.

Michael Crider/Foundry

The Pomera runs a very customized working system, not an Android by-product or Linux (not less than not any type of Linux I acknowledge). And as a descendant of gadgets 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 Home windows/OS secret is on a typical keyboard), and it solely has seven objects with nested instruments and settings.

I received’t bore you with a breakdown of each choice, nevertheless it has a bunch of fundamental settings you’d count on for those who’re acquainted with these gadgets from again within the 80s and 90s. Font sizes, outlines, textual content spacing, that type 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) might be introduced again by hitting menu.

I’m most excited by simply inputting a bunch of textual content, so the define view doesn’t actually curiosity me. However you’ll be able to open two textual content paperwork without delay in a splitscreen, with either side being VERY small, concerning the measurement of the unique iPhone display. I can see how that may be useful for those who’re revising and enhancing, although I feel I’d desire to do this on a full laptop. I used to be happy to see that you simply change sides to the opposite textual content doc with the acquainted alt-tab command.

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You may discover that there’s a full perform row on the Pomera, or not less than F1-F10, plus Escape on the left and Insert and Delete on the proper in very pure spots. This offers you lots of choices for issues like textual content measurement and backlight adjustment with out diving into the menus, although I didn’t know that in the first place.

I needed to dive into a really old school handbook, 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 Operate keys, as is generally normal on laptops now. Properly, I suppose that’s one of many foibles of utilizing such a intentionally retro gadget. I finally discovered an on-device menu that reveals you the shortcuts, and means that you can modify them.

Different 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 for those who occur to be writing a style novel) or flip the crimson squiggly traces on or off at will, however there’s no option to truly run a spell examine perform on the entire doc and allow you to undergo it to examine your work.

Michael Crider/Foundry

Once more, the Pomera could be very a lot meant for WRITING, not enhancing. (By the way, you can also’t set any specific textual content as daring or italicized — I had to do this in enhancing.) And sure, that is truly a shade display, although the one trace of that I’ve seen in any respect is the crimson traces for misspelled phrases.

There’s one final trick up the Pomera’s sleeve: a Bluetooth connection. However 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, effectively, 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 gadget. Nevertheless, as I’ve already stated, the keyboard of the Pomera isn’t that nice in and of itself. The one actual benefit it has over an everyday journey keyboard is that the highest half of the gadget works as a telephone stand.

Michael Crider/Foundry

In the event you’re intending to write down 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, kind with buddies 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 might be on a laptop computer or perhaps a telephone. However contemplating its limitations, the Pomera does offer you lots of choices.

E mail might be best. The Pomera can connect with Wi-Fi networks, although it doesn’t preserve a relentless connection. The concept is that you simply connect with the community, e-mail your self (or another person?) a textual content file, after which change to a extra highly effective gadget. This was tough, requiring lots 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 Retailer 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 is perhaps sooner. It’s an enchanting little software that converts a doc into QR kind so the app can scan it in visually.

At first I believed this is perhaps too limiting, as a result of as a way 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. However the app is surprisingly easy at dealing with this.

You level your telephone on the Pomera’s display, 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 for those who skipped any. These eight codes had been in a position to 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. That is, once more, just a little extra advanced than it appears at first, as a result of the apparently historical slot couldn’t learn the 128GB SD card I exploit in my digital digicam. I needed to monitor down an antiquated 8GB card, utilizing far older requirements, to check out this perform. However it’s simply doable, and is perhaps a extra simple methodology if in case you have a PC with an SD card.

The least advanced methodology was merely plugging the Pomera right into a USB port. With just a few button presses you’ll be able to 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 must be sufficiently big for thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of phrases in textual content). There you’ll be able to 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 quite a bit like a chunkier model of the Logitech Keys-to-Go 2. When open, the one brand you see is “Pomera” in refined off-grey on the hinge. Carrying round this super-light doohickey that’s primarily a bit of grey plastic with a small display 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, for those who’re questioning.)

The soft-touch plastic is relatively liable 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. However once more, that shouldn’t be an enormous downside for anybody who’s used to the touch typing, and by that point a consumer must be extraordinarily comfy with the gadget.

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 at the beginning from a telephone to a monitor to a fridge was a convergence gadget. And I feel that within the extraordinarily restricted subject of modern-ish phrase processors, it’s most likely on the head of the pack.

That stated, $400 USD once I purchased it, $500 now because of Trump’s import taxes, is quite a bit for a single-use gadget. Particularly when yow will discover a pill or a Chromebook that can deal with all the pieces it does and extra. In the event you’re spending cash on the Pomera, it’s essential be completely certain it’s what you need, particularly contemplating a few of its less-than-premium elements just like the price range keyboard.

In the event you’re eager about it, I would nearly recommend spending $50 or so on an previous Alphasmart first. See for those who just like the ultra-focused expertise and the restricted functionality. In the event 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’ll be able to improve to the Pomera DM250 or a Freewrite mannequin. Simply do not forget that it’s quite a bit like shopping for a treadmill — spending the cash received’t truly make you do the work.

Michael Crider/Foundry

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