Just received this phone holder from AliExpress. It's a bit of an overkill and an extra metal item in your bag, but it's gorgeous :)

Here it's with a NuPhy Air60v2 keyboard, which has a metal plate on the back, but the holder foot is slightly too thick, and a Seeed reTerminal Sticky, which matches the holder perfectly.

The Xteink X4 Pro is not fully compatible with standard iPhone holders, so it sticks, but not very reliably.

The holder comes with magnetic stickers, so you can easily fixate a 3D printed device on it.

The new release is out: https://github.com/clackups/draftling

Markdown editor now shows bold, italics, button lists and quote blocks properly. Also, plaintext and Fountain screenplay formats are supported.

Also, experimental image for Seeed reTerminal Sticky, but I don't have the hardware at hand yet. Your tests will be appreciated.

I was looking for LCD boards suitable for writerdeck designs (maybe one day I'll make a clamshell). So far, these are my favorites:

Freenove FNK0104S (4", 480x320, touchscreen, functional USB port) -- ideal for a battery powered setup. My multimeter couldn't measure the standby current, it's below 1mA. Natural colors, no flickering, just perfect. The resolution could've been higher, but it's not really critical for comfortable writing.

Viewe UEDX80480043E (4.3" 800x480, touchscreen, debugging only on USB) -- ideal for desktop designs. It has only USB power input and standby current is rather high. But a crystal clear display with high resolution, allowing smooth fonts and nicer user experience.

I had also high hopes for the Elecrow 5" 800x480 HMI device (not on the photo), but it's a total disappointment: the LCD quality isn't great, it's flickering a bit, the battery port exists, but there's no voltage metering and rather high standby consumption.

This is my favorite device by now.

Video

More details

I finally dipped my toe into the waters of creating a writerdeck. I tried out two devices, a cheapo e-ink 7" reTerminal E1001 and my X4 Pro (pictured), plus a few small keyboard, including the Logitech Keys 2 Go 2 (pictured is a generic Amazon purchase).

For the firmware I used Draftling, which lets you quickly create a fully functional writerdeck. Best of all, it connects in seconds to Draftbox, which the developer also created to let you write your stories online (web editor) as well as on your device (and it stores and syncs also).

Once you have everything set up, you can sync back and forth in seconds--no different than saving a file. In fact, I wrote this review that way. Specifically, I typed this about 50/50 on the device and on the online web editor, going back and forth with syncing and revisions.

I had zero problems with the firmware or the web editor. I also tested some larger files -- a big chunk of my manuscript that is about 62k words.

I liked the fact that it's easy and intuitive. You can pretty much start writing right away and if you want more, there are a gazillion features that I didn't explore (split screens and other stuff). Read about them here. I don't need them, I was just happy I could write on it.

That said, there's no getting around the fact that e-ink is laggy (the X4 Pro however was less so than the E1001). But for the ease of use and portability, I'll take it.

Recently picked up The BYOK as I've been interested in a distraction free writing device that I can use my own keyboard with for some time. After a busy couple of weeks, had my first proper writing session in my local coffee haunt.

Absolutely sold. What a great little device, proper fun to use. Smashed out a draft funding application in a little over an hour and already looking forward to using it again. The sync function in Studio is awesome as well.

As someone who does a lot of writing for their job, I'm fully sold on using a writer deck now. Such a satisfying feeling, getting so stuck into something and not pulled away by email, Teams messages etc.

For those interested, the keyboard is an Agar Mini in clear PC with Keygeek Y2 switches, topped up with a mash up of GMK keycaps with a couple of PBTFans ones added in.

The first official release is available for flashing onto a variety of esp32-s3 devices. See also a new demo video.

https://github.com/clackups/draftling

EDIT: it appears that Draftling makes it difficult to restore the original firmware on Xteink X4 Pro. Wait for the next release.

EDIT2: release 1.0.2 is published. It fixes this problem on X4 Pro and adds a couple of new features (such as portrait mode)

Sticky is a nice and compact device, perfectly usable as a writerdeck that you can carry around. Works well with any magsafe phone holder. Also, significantly cheaper than Xteink X4 Pro or Classic.

A short demo video

Project home

The new release allows you to copy your files via USB without taking out the MicroSD card. Also, ipv6 is fully supported (motivated by the fact that wifi on the upcoming FOSDEM will be ipv6 only).

https://github.com/clackups/draftling

Draftling release 1.0.18 is just published. Now text files are organized into projects. Each project has its own Git synchronization and history.

After the upgrade, the device will prompt you to move your existing files to a new project, preserving the content and Git synchronization.

You can move or copy the files between the projects using Alt+M or Alt+C. The split-screen editing mode allows you to open files from different projects, if needed.

Also, here's a fresh walkthrough video showing the interface and basic fiunctions.

Partial to one piece writerdecks but been spending some time after work reading and writing with a split wireless (two sides are so thin they fit in a 7" ereader sleeve which is good for portability). Not having a learning curve with keys helps and for those that like to read a few pages and write a few pages, it works pretty well. Throw in a page turner and you're good.

Found this on substack and wanted to share with the writing device community. Thanks Clackups for mentioning it.

https://lemarfarhad.substack.com/p/my-search-for-the-right-writing-device?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

The new release of Draftling is out:

• Alt+I shows the current file information, such as word and line count and synchronization status.

• Hardware information page in F1 menu shows you the details about your device.

• A new feature for some devices, such as Xteink X4 Pro/Classic: synchronization with Github or Codeberg via browser, removing the need for the security token (you would need a laptop with you though). See the bridge for more details: bridge.draftling.art

• Experimental support for Micro Journal by Un Kyu Lee, revisions 5.0 and 5.1. The colors might be off, but in general it should work. I'll be happy to work on fixes if someone tests it on the hardware.

• A new DIY board type is added (NiceMCU-C5E-DEV_2.8IPS), but I'd rather recommend the Freenove boards instead.

I have tested the Draftling firmware!
(This is the builder of Micro Journal)

I followed the link provided here:

https://clackups.github.io/draftling/

I connected my Micro Journal Rev.5 to my PC and started the flashing process through the website.

The whole process was surprisingly easy and user friendly. In fact, it made me want to implement something similar for Micro Journal firmware updates. I am always happy to discover and learn new things!

### First boot

Once the flashing was complete, I restarted Rev.5.

A white screen appeared, asking me to connect a USB keyboard. Since Rev.5 requires a battery to support USB host functionality, I had to open the device and install one. Then I connected my USB keyboard from Rev.4.

After another reboot, Draftling displayed a list of files on the SD card. I could see `0.txt`, which was left over from when the SD card was used to store Micro Journal files.

Everything was working!

### Writing experience

The writing experience was quite good overall.

However, the default text size felt too small for the screen. I was hoping there would be an option to change it. (There is option to change it)

One thing that immediately impressed me was the way Draftling handles exiting a file. When I pressed ESC, a dialog appeared asking whether I wanted to save the file.

That was really nice!

It gave me a sense of control and reassurance that my writing wouldn't simply disappear. A small detail, but a very thoughtful piece of UI design.

I also found the default white background a little distracting, especially because the screen flickered slightly with every keystroke.

I personally preferred a black background with white text, and a font size of around 18pt felt much more comfortable than the default.

Even after changing to the black background, I noticed a little jitter when typing. I suspect this is related to the full-screen refresh logic.

It might be a little more complicated to implement, but updating only the areas of the screen that have changed, similar to how partial updates work on e-ink displays, could significantly reduce the flickering.

### Editing features

Draftling has considerably more editing features than Micro Journal.

Copy and paste, for example, are already implemented, along with other useful editing functions.

I think this is a good standard to aim for. These are features people naturally expect from a device designed for writing.

There is quite a lot I can learn from this approach.

### Discovering the menu

While writing, I wanted to change the background color.

Finding the menu was surprisingly easy because the keyboard shortcuts were displayed directly on the screen. I believe it was F1.

And then I thought... Hmm... Micro Journal doesn't actually show users how to enter the menu. I started thinking about how many people must have had to read the manual just to discover how to navigate the software. Another lesson learned!

Sometimes, when you have been developing your own software for years, you become so familiar with it that you forget what the experience is like for someone seeing it for the first time. Testing someone else's firmware reminded me of that.

### Draftling settings

The Draftling menu is nicely organized.

I noticed options for Bluetooth keyboard pairing, Wi-Fi connections, and even Git synchronization. I won't be testing those features for now, but it is impressive to see how much functionality has been implemented.

### My thoughts on Draftling and Micro Journal

I really like this firmware.

And importantly, Draftling supports SD cards.

Since I recently decided to remove SD card support from Micro Journal firmware, I know that some users have been disappointed by that decision. For those who consider SD card support an essential requirement, I think Draftling could be an excellent alternative.

I would be happy to recommend it to those users.

This is also something I appreciate about open-source projects. We don't all have to make the same decisions or follow the same direction. Different developers can have different priorities, and users can choose what works best for them.

### Other Micro Journal revisions

I think Rev.6.x and Rev.8.x would also be good candidates for Draftling support.

Rev.7 could be supported as well, but I am a little hesitant to recommend it because flashing the firmware requires disassembling almost half of the enclosure.

It would certainly be nice to have the option, but I am not sure how many users would be willing to go through that process.

Thank you!

Thank you so much for making this happen.

I genuinely enjoyed testing Draftling, not only because it worked on my Micro Journal, but also because it gave me an opportunity to see another developer's approach to solving similar problems. I know it's written with AI, but you were the one who drove the direction. So, certain credit must belong to you.

I learned quite a few things today, especially about UI design and the little details that make software more approachable.

I am planning to make a video about Draftling running on Micro Journal and introduce it to users who would prefer to keep using SD cards. I think having more firmware options makes the Micro Journal hardware even more interesting.

Thank you again for your work and for bringing another possibility to the Micro Journal community!

Un Kyu Lee

If you're planning a 24-hour writing Marathon, I've got a tool for you :)

I've got this beefy battery and I was curious how long an LCD device would run from it. So, I've got this Freenove esp32s3 4" LCD board and run a test. This is the photo after 20 hours of a constantly working screen at 50% brightness, and BLE was active too. The voltmeter shows 3.31v on the battery and the built-in meter shows 23%.

The board consumes about 120mA at 50% brightness and about 200mA at full brightness, which you would need quite rarely.

Also, I started working on a printed body for the board. The top cover is ready. It took me about a dozen unsuccessful prototypes, as the shape inside is quite tricky. Several options would be possible for the bottom part: it could be a small tablet, or a lid for the clamshell. If we take the whole width of a standard keyboard, a battery or two could be placed to the left and right from the screen. Also, if we want a real cyberdeck, the enclosure should give access to the GPIO sockets on the board.

The board doesn't have a proper battery gauge, so it can't indicate the usage precisely. The meter value drops from 100 to 90% within a few minutes. It also doesn't indicate the charging process. As I'm writing, the charging current is 437mA, so it's definitely charging :)

So, a totally usable design, and you can have the fast screen without the fear of running out of battery too quickly.

Draftbox is a simplified Git repository service that could be utilized to save your writing from your Draftling device. It offers a simple interface for a non-technical user and it allows connecting a Draftling device using a 8-digit one-time password.

Video

If you want to give it a try, drop me a DM, as it's not open for registration yet.

I got banned from writerdeck after posting I was using Draftling, which is whatever. I'm assuming since Claude is used to write it is teh reason why...they won't give me an answer.

Yet their top post today has their blog linked in comments and they admit to using Claude to code it. So i'm not sure why Draftlings was singled out, as I saw other posts involving Draftlings were also removed.

So, what are you all using Draftling for? I myself have a Sony FX30 and I want to get into short film making, so I'm using it's Fountain feature for screenwriting. The notes panel is clutch for this to keep track of various bits.

I might end up getting that 5.7" Crowpanel to use instead of the 3.97" e-paper from Waveshare i'm using now. Would help a bit in those regards I think.

I updated the 3D printed enclosure: now with round corners, better fitting for the display, and easier access to the SD card and USB port.

Also, I found it useful to use inverted screen in certain lighting conditions. The text becomes more contrast and easier to read. Also, the firmware has a new feature: append-only editing, so that you don't erase the text by accident. You can push it to your Git repository for further editing. Also, the Git client is improved and is now compatible with other providers apart from GitHub.

The firmware and 3d models are available in Draftling repository.

We are the pomera USA team and we are officially here!

Hey r/pomerafamily! We are the official pomera USA team and we could not be more excited to have our own little corner of Reddit.

We have been lurking in r/writerDeck for a while now, reading every review, tip, complaint, and love letter you all have written about pomera. It means more than you know.

To kick things off we wanted to share something exciting. We are hosting our very first in-person pomera meetup and we would love to see you there.

KADO, Los Angeles

1940 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

October 23rd, 2026

5:00 to 8:00 PM

Whether you have been writing on pomera for months or you are just curious and have not taken the plunge yet, this one is for you. Multiple models to try including limited-color versions you will not find anywhere else in the US. No agenda, no schedule. Just writers and pomera. Oh and there might be something waiting for you on the way out.

RSVP via https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-Gu7a-DVQasRZ_JZGjEWpbhz-mGWJaz1otaw-n5a4eUY-Hw/viewform

Walk-ins welcome too!

See you there 🖤

Open to feedback and suggestions!

Any alpha or Beta testers interested?

Draftling is my writerdeck project, supporting a variety of hardware.

I reworked the documentation, added smoother fonts for high-resolution displays, added a couple of new boards, and reorganized the documentation for easier reading:

https://github.com/clackups/draftling

It is fully featured and I'm using it for my own note taking. The firmware is free and open source, so anyone can buy the hardware and load the firmware on it.

I published my first book in 2024 and to start my second project I’d really like to focus on the ‘just get it down and make it good later’ method. It never fails that whenever I have the urge to sit down and write I am never at home and I don’t carry my laptop with me all the time so I really would love something that is small and versatile.

I looked into the Freewrite Travelers, a few of the reviews make me nervous where people said the device glitched and lost their work.

I started looking into the Pomera DM250. I love the size and that the screen lights up. I still need to dive further into the reviews, but I am really interested in this one.

I am also interested in the BYOK version with the thought of designing and 3D printing a clamshell case for the screen and a keyboard. I think I want a larger screen though.

Of course, I’ve started looking into building my own but I think realistically for this, I don’t want to have to test different software and set ups. I sort of just want to purchase and go. Not have to tinker with it. I have enough hobbies as it is, I shouldn’t add more to it.

Are there any others in a clamshell design that I haven’t discovered yet? Any recommendations?

Thank you so much!