Digital Typewriters, a low-tech pipedream?

I learned today about the newest device in the Kindle family, the Kindle Scribe, which features a stylus for including handwritten notes on books in your library, and the ability to create personal documents and journals on your device. It is arguably a new competitor for the reMarkable tablet, which has similar features, as well as the iPad and Apple Pencil.

The concept of “low-tech” tech has been on my mind for quite a while, and it seems that to indulge in a low-tech life, you have to have the funds to do so. I have a Kindle Paperwhite and I love it, it’s got a great battery life and the fact that it is waterproof is very reassuring. It’s the simplicity that I find appealing, I’m not bombarded with ads or apps or the internet, which is the main issue I have with laptops and iPad. Access to distraction.

We have the world and beyond at our fingertips with smartphones and other gadgets. I am twenty-five years old, on the cusp of foundational years without a whole lot of technology. I didn’t get a phone until I was fifteen and it had a QWERTY keyboard on it and looked kind of like a Blackberry, I then moved up to my dad’s hand-me-down Blackberry and eventually an early iPhone, but that occurred over a matter of years.

As it stands, I have an iPad so old that it won’t update past OS 12.017 and is no longer compatible with the latest versions of several apps including Google Docs, which as a writer is rather difficult because the portability of iPads is quite important to me. Now there are many things about an iPad and Apple Pencil that would make my life as a creative much much easier, like GoodNotes, Procreate, and access to my Google Docs and Drives. That might seem contradictory considering this is a thought dump about low-tech tech, but I digress. I can admit when mainstream tech would benefit me.

One device that has had the writer in me absolutely drooling is the Freewrite Traveler. It can store a million pages, has weeks of battery life, users can easily upload their work to the cloud, and it has a full-sized keyboard. The company is one of, if not the only manufacturer of digital typewriters, with a slogan that even I latched onto when I first learned of its existence: Distraction-Free Writing.

When I was in high school in the early 2010s a classmate of mine had an AlphaSmart as an accommodation tool. He later got a laptop, but I was floored by the thing. If laptops and devices like Chrome Books hadn’t quickly become much more accessible and commonplace in learning environments, I’m sure AlphaSmarts would still be very popular. As it stands, AlphaSmart is about obsolete and Freewrite has emerged as its, rather highly-priced, replacement. Someone could just as easily purchase an iPad for the same price as a Freewrite.

Which brings me back to the idea that “low-tech” tech really seems to be a privilege. The ability to disconnect from the overbearing nature of ads, apps, push notifications and instant information is afforded to those who can pay for it. Obviously, iPad and laptop owners alike can turn on airplane mode and shut down the stream of notifications, but my point is, you can’t opt-in, you have to opt out, and you have to pay to do that.

Being that Freewrite seems to be the only company making digital typewriters, it got me thinking whether a similar device with similar features wouldn’t be appealing to more people for a lower price point. I’m no developer but it doesn’t seem like that complex a task to manufacture something like that. I would actually like to do the math on what it would take to develop a device with these features: weeks of battery life, good default internal storage, the ability to add your own SD card for more storage, and easily transferrable to an external drive, a full-sized keyboard, reasonably sized, possibly e-ink screen, a modern and functional OS with a quality spell-check and dictionary, and waterproof like the Kindle Paperwhite, all while considering portability.

Knowing myself, and other writers, a backlit screen and lit keys might also be important features. Many among us are night owls, and many more work full time and only have time to write at night.

A lot of these features come to mind to serve a certain purpose. For me, that would be the ability to write anywhere without worrying about battery power or internet connection, as well as hardiness. I personally worry very little about dropping my Kindle, and the case I have makes me worry even less. It would also be wonderful to be able to buy a variety of fun and practical cases to demonstrate users' individuality.

The people I believe such a device would benefit fall into demographics that may overlap. People who write. But what type of writing, and in what kinds of contexts? People who may not be somewhere with a stable internet connection, like journalists or scientists, would also need to rely on long battery life and water resistance. I also think of writers, of any sort, fiction, non-fiction, diarists, and poets, who may benefit from a device that stands apart from the distractions of the internet.

And certainly students, from elementary to high school, and again this may be more applicable for locations without a stable internet. But even when I was in high school and college in Montreal, there were times when typing out a paper or assignment was necessary, there would be limited distractions and the environment could be easily controlled. Even a Ph.D. student working on their thesis might benefit from such a device.

I would personally use it to put the quantity over quality mentality of a rough draft into effect. This is something I can do now with a laptop, but with the features I’ve described, and what I already know and desire out of a Freewrite Traveler, the inability to edit as I write would be a serious gift that willpower alone has not yet afforded me.

Would a digital typewriter as I’ve described be easy to manufacture and sell for under $200? I’m not sure, but I do know that if it was available, well marketed, and could have applicable buying and partnership options for educational programs, and even perhaps writing retreats, a whole lot of people would be writing a whole lot more.

I don’t have any grand plans or pithy conclusions to this thought dump. I just think I’d like to see more good quality products that fill smaller niches. Devices that don’t need to be everything, but that are incredibly valuable for the purposes they do serve.

Thanks so much for reading! I am a disabled writer and Vocal provides me with an opportunity to make a modest income. If you enjoy my work, please consider leaving a tip. For other ways to support me please see the landing page link below or in my bio.

Best wishes to all.

— Rooney