My Dream Productivity Device Is Done – and It's Becoming a Kit [video]

Something I’ve noticed in a few friends and family members is that there’s this whole hobby of setting up to be productive but not actually being productive. One person has a brilliantly laid out workshop with so many custom built shelves and cleats and jigs and tables, but about 90% of the woodworking they’ve done is the workshop itself. Another spends ton of time figuring out the absolute best way to organize her recipes and todo lists and desk and organizers and pens and finding the right foot rest, but that’s about it.

And I can see her being really into this device as an idea, but I would bet all the money in my pockets that she’d never actually use it.

None of this is a critique on these individuals, or how well this PDA performs at being a productivity device. It’s just this meta layer of productivity I’m noticing around me more and more.

My dream productivity device is a modern take on a Psion 5MX.

I don't mean I want a Psion 5MX with a bunch of hacks to keep it running - I've seen that, no thanks.

I want the same great keyboard, same form factor, some ergonomics, but with a modern screen (mono/e-ink is fine), modern CPU, modern connectivity (wifi, bluetooth, usb-c, maybe 4G/5G eSIM if we're being fancy), and improved battery life with usb-c charging.

The first thing that goes with all these geek PDAs and mini form-factors is the keyboard. I want to be able to type a short email, I want to be able to ssh into a server and use vim (so, yeah, ESC is needed or ability to remap caps lock or something), and also do some basic doc writing and perhaps a spreadsheet or two. A web browser would be nice.

I don't need apps. I don't need a compressed desktop. I don't need games. It's a productivity device.

Thinking about it as I type this, perhaps a psion-style keyboard for an iPhone might hit the spot if I figure out the right focus mode setup in iOS for when I need that mode. Maybe.

I'm glad this hits the spot for some people... but that keyboard... no thanks.

Spoiler: it's PocketMage, home-made PDA based on ESP32.

Github says "custom OS", but it's more like "custom UI", it's actually Arduino-based and relies on Arduino libraries for all OS-like functionality.

https://github.com/ashtf8/EinkPDA

#1: This is fantastic from a conceptual perspective! Focus on simple computing tasks that are important, without distractions, ads etc. Open source, kit, looks well-designed.

#2: I've programmed and used those EPD displays (The same model used here I believe specifically). They are neither a joy to program, or use. The programming is much more complicated than a normal display because of how you manage refreshes: Partial, full, when to do each etc. The latter because, as you can see in the video, the latency is high.

I think responsivity and latency are one of the most important things for a pleasant user experience. We as engineers and developers have failed at this in general over the past ~2 decades. I think a device like this that breaks conventions is in a nice spot to also break this trend. Especially not using an OS (Or using an RTOS?), there should be no perceptible latency, if he changes to a normal display. I could tolerate a display like this for some uses and like a static sensor that runs on battery, but for an interactive device like this? No.

I really love that electronics is at the point that people are able to create their dream device.

I'm wanting to do that too but don't have the skills.

Congrats on making a product. I see the appeal of these products because they embrace the productive aspects of technology and prevent the intrusive attention seeking technologies from being involved.

The reason I would not get a device like this is because the device I have is already capable of doing all this. The problems that hamper my productivity are psychological and unless I’m going to completely get rid of all the devices and thoughts that are distracting me, I don’t see how another device is going to help me. In fact, I can see me being more unproductive just trying to get every little thing right with synchronization and using the product versus just doing the thing I should be productive at.

I really do like the aesthetic though. It’s a hell of a thing to build your own hardware and software and I hope it helps others and can grow.

I reckon that all these "productive" takes on smartphones don't really solve the issue, they end up being too "dumb". The one big thing that makes smartphones addictive is not all the apps: it's the big beautiful piece of glass at the front.

The screen is what makes smartphones addictive. You can tell just by looking at the history of them. So my ideal productivity device would be a smartphone underneath - full android, great cameras, decent processor - but the screen would be small and rubbish. Let me do everything I want to do, just make it unpleasant to do it unless I really need to.

why are so many things with "productivity" in the name for the opposite? Not that there's a problem with fun but why market it this way?

Neat concept. It’d be interesting to do a spin on it that expands it to a 12”/13” footprint, allowing it to have a full keyboard, making it thinner (since components can be spread out), and making it more practical for tasks like writing. Think something like the defunct 12” MacBook, but with a minimal UI reminiscent of an 80s Mac on a grayscale display.

There are e-ink tablets that can have a keyboard attached to them that kinda approximate that, but I’ve always found the KB-tablet-stand form factor clunky at best, and they tend to run some Android derivative which is going to feel slow compared to “bare metal” software running on an SBC.

Need a price to know if I will buy. I doubt you would cover R&D at >$1000, could easily be >$100 unit cost for a short run, but more complex watches can be <$10 strait from China.

I really just want something under 50 bucks with a keyboard that can chat over wifi.

Not LoraWAN, not Bluetooth.

This looks amazing except the number of keys seems too small.

Dream product pshaw, let me click on this ohhhh shit I want one.

Well sort of. I have wanted a Sony Client PEG-UX50 for ages, if it had a proper modern hardware and OS. Some of the other Clie form factors would make amazing and geeky phones.

I really miss the mobile device era where big names tried random shit to see what people would buy. These days, everything is basically an iPhone. And to be fair, Apple is now mostly an iPhone company.

My second thought was “Will this kind of project be dead once tariffs hit in the USA?”