After Astrohaus reignited interest in the writing appliance (or “writerdeck”) with its first product, the Hemingwrite, it took a stab at a clamshell variant with the less expensive and less stylized Freewrite Traveler. Now, the developer of the open source Zerowriter writerdeck (which competes more directly with Astrohaus’ Freewrite Alpha, itself an homage to the Alphasmart digital typewriters that drove interest in writerdecks), is launching the Zerowriter Fold. Unlike other products with Fold in its name, the Zerowriter Fold is simply a clamshell device and has a 6″ e-paper display that does not fold. However, it does feature a customizeable keyboard and a lower price than the Freewrite Traveler. The Fold also competes with the King Jim Pomera, the only version of a long-running line of Japanese writerdecks tailored for the U.S. market. While also far pricier than the Zerowriter Fold, the Pomera is much thinner and offers more robust word processing than the Zerowriter or Freewrite products that are optimized for producing drafts versus final works. Not interested in getting a dedicated device for distraction-free composition? Consider installing WriterdeckOS on an old laptop.
