My Dream Productivity Device Is Done – and It's Becoming a Kit [video]
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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.
I kind of want the device in the OP, assuming it's cheap enough. Not because I think it will be more productive, but because it would be fun to pull out a Nintendo DS shaped device to note tasks down.
My pocket index cards haven't run out of VC money or instituted a new subscription model yet!
I’ve done something similar - usually buying tools only when I need them, or when I find something I’ve been thinking about at a great deal used.
I do periodically however take time to straighten, arrange, and fix workflow / storage issues.
(This became important when I purchased at auction from a hardware store closing down 30+ 3 foot tall of bins of hardware - the exact ones used for display in the store - still filled ).
Maybe the workshop is what brings them the most joy about the hobby.
Maybe the recipe person appreciates their collection this way.
Maybe they don't frame things in terms of productivity, like you do (even if they do use that word).
So that's all well and good. I don't believe that my way is the one true way, I think each to their own. What I don't like is that people won't stop telling you about their note taking systems and that you should take notes. Well, things have calmed down a bit now, but a few years ago it felt like people would actively hunt you down and force their note taking opinion on you if they suspected you didn't keep your own knowledge base.
It's managed to fill a niche for me, but no magical experience and probably not worth the price. In retrospect, I was "keeping up" with wealthier coworkers.
(edit) That one is on me though, I genuinely thought it would be a neat bit of tech, and I am glad I tried it because I think I'd still be considering it otherwise.
This is also most programmers. Lots of time spent picking languages, configuring tools, switching frameworks, updating dependencies, etc. Very little time making useful code.
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.
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.
Adapt it out of the conventions of the inferior form factor by making it a detachable, i. e. a UMPC in a smartphone-like form factor, and you might have a winner... if you don't skimp on all the other good stuff that makes a great ultra-portable general-purpose computing platform.
> "Thinking about it as I type this, perhaps a psion-style keyboard for an iPhone might hit the spot [...]."
The problem with the iPhone is that it's not a UMPC, but locked-down crap.
#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.
It really shouldn't be. Other threads have mentioned the Psion 5. That came out almost 30 years ago and could get 20 hours on a pair of AA batteries. A similar modern device should be able to get 200+ hours on a pair of AA batteries. For typical PDA use, that should be many months of use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Mobile_Sidekick
A review from 2003:
your phone, laptop and cellphone (Mar 5, 2003 by scott williams)
the hiptop is the coolest thing ever. the web browser is surprisingly nice to use. the phone is slightly awkward, but usable. email is a dream. the web has almost all the features of ie. bookmarks, homepage, recent pages and a url capture for email. the browser is a wee bit slower than a 56k. as a phone, the speaker is plenty loud enough. I do not like headsets, so I always hold the phone to my ear. at first, the phone was awkward to hold, but after a few calls I actually found I liked it better than previous phones. the larger size made it somewhat easier to hold. no hand cramping like with a se t68i. that said, the phone isn't tiny, but doesn't feel like a brick either. the screen, while small is very easy to read. the backlight is the nice calm blue. very nice. the keypad is small but not too small. it took me about two days to get used to typing text messages on a qwerty keypad. so after having the sidekick for a week I will never have another phone again. well, maybe when the new color one comes out. it does everything but the laundry. and I wrote this on the sidekick too.
That device hit a sweet spot the Palm, Blackberry, and WinCE phones hadn't, and iPhone didn't for a while* either (maybe still hasn't, depending on the importance of the mechanical and tactile UX).
Oh yeah, Danger, Inc. was cofounded by Andy Rubin, who would become the author of Android.
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* Early on, people purchased case sleeves for iPhone with tactile keyboards. It took Apple a while to tune the haptic and prediction to hide how relatively poor iPhone keyboards initially were compared to a Blackberry or Sidekick. Even now: https://www.clicks.tech/
I'm wanting to do that too but don't have the skills.
Productivity usually refers to enabling people to be productive through planning. Which includes calendar, todo lists, text editors, file managment, etc. This seems to fit in that category.
Modern phones and web browsers are full of weaponized distractions with billions of dollars in forces fighting to steal your attention. To actually be productive, many (most?) people benefit from a device that does less.
It's why reMarkable is vastly superior to eInk Android tablets that do "more". It's why some people have switched to cameras instead of phone cameras and to other analog technologies - be it a paper notebook or what have you.
Fewer tools but fewer distractions beats many tools and push notifications.
I use 4-5 of these devices for mostly writing comments online and writing various mediums of comedy. I do other creative work on my personal devices but I have found I enjoy doing more with my hands and body as well.
For example, often when I am stuck on writing I go for a walk. I often don’t take my phone and force myself to focus only on the problem at hand. I often take a notebook and write any notes about my conclusions along the walk. Eventually the notes make it back into a computer.
I also enjoy cooking and can use my device to look up recipes or order food online and avoid cooking all together. But I choose to use the stack of throw away desk calendar paper to write down my grocery list and go to the store without my phone. I choose to chop the broccoli and carrots even though I cab buy a bag of pre steamed for less. I even keep a passive grocery list on my phone in reminders app. But I still do the ritual. Not at all because it’s productive.
But what I really enjoy about life and creating is not sitting at a desk by myself hammering the ideas and draining myself reading, reading, reading. And I like to read but a lot of reading these days is distraction and those devices are designed to be distracting. So much that I go out of my way to prevent them from distracting me and keeping me in a sitting position.
With a little device dedicated for productivity I gain the benefits of computing without all the distracting tracking, “use my product!” Side effects.
And do it because you have agency to do it. Living your life with productivity doesn’t mean being an efficiency slave.
At the end of the day I still may be middle/lower class consumer cattle. But at least I am cattle with agency.
My first thought was “I’m glad this has progressed and looking slimmer, this inspires me to investigate building the 4-inch square device of my dreams.”
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.
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.
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.
IMO an e-ink (or whatever it is, black and white and, I think it is non-emissive?) screen with a small text-only OLED display is pretty good. But, to be called a productivity device, it needs a bigger screen and a full keyboard.
This thing is a PDA. Which is fine. But a PDA is an organization and communication device, right? Not productivity.
Making it unpleasant to use seems like a mistake. Productivity requires ergonomics, and ergonomic things are pleasant to use, there’s no getting around it. But we can maybe kill off the flashiness.
So perhaps what's needed for productivity on the device itself is in fact a much bigger screen. Those "tri-fold" phones might be big enough, if you could somehow also fit a usable keyboard in your pocket along with the phone.
Not LoraWAN, not Bluetooth.
Whereas for US orders, maybe offer a delivery to hotels in case the buyer is having a trip outside of the country? (Presumably it's not a sustainable idea, there'd be just a handful of people wanting to buy this product who'd happen to be travelling out of the country soonish)
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.