updated 12/14/2025
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This site was created during an unusual burst of activity from people and companies making new writer decks available to the public in 2024. This was surprising and exciting as there had not been much commercial activity in this sector since Renaissance Learning closed down the Alphasmart operation. I like to support anyone who develops commercial technology to help writers and so I began backing those that were being proposed for crowdfunding and bought any that became available for purchase. At least as my wallet allows, I'm buying to support these folks, but I'm also always hoping to stumble on the next Alphasmart Neo, which I hold in very high esteem. I already had pages dedicated to providing information about the Alphasmart Neo 2 and Dana. I decided I should set up similar pages for the new projects as I got my hands on them.
As of this date, I am still awaiting two of the crowdfunded Writer Decks (not unusual for crowdfunding), but expect good things from both. But a funny thing happened during all this. I discovered The Micro Journals created by Un Kyu Lee. Because this line of Writer Deck so fit my needs and wants, they have become a large focus of this site. This isn't a bias as much as just a preference. I'm perfectly capable of giving strong positive evaluations to other models. I have just become more involved in following the evolution of the Micro Journal line, as you will see.
Hi! I'm a writer who uses the name "Hook" on the internet (sometimes "Hookmt" or "H0ok" when "Hook" is not available on a forum).
I said this is a site devoted to Writer Decks. I should start by giving my answer to the question "What is a Writer Deck?" A Writer Deck is a digital typewriter. Full stop. Ideally, a Writer Deck is designed so that both hardware and software are writing focused, offering a minimum of alternatives to writing in their capabilities. Right now I am focusing on Writer Decks that have been built for you, but there are DIY Writer Decks you can buy parts for and assemble yourself. There are also ways to use old tech lying around the house to cobble together a Writer Deck very inexpensively and requiring little technical skill. I plan a future page dedicated to the latter.
The following is how I view and evaluate Writer Decks, which will help you decide how likely you are to agree with what I say about these Writer Decks. The central idea (in my opinion)is that it needs
A keyboard that is comfortable to type on for extended periods of time
A way to get your writing files from the Writer Deck to your computer
Good battery life (so you aren't having anxiety about how long you have while typing in a café)
The ability to be fully functional offline.
The use of the network for backing up files is fine, but it should not be capable of using the web or social media. I'm really not looking for sophisticated editing capability in a Writer Deck, just going back a paragraph or two to review, and local changes because I changed my mind in real time while drafting. Anything beyond that has diminishing returns for getting your draft out. This is not the same as the "writing forward" approach where the hardware or software is designed to prevent or make difficult any attempt to review or look back. In fact, I will likely not buy any hardware or software that forces that.
This is a very common question. Commercially available Writer Decks cost from $200 to $500 or more. Even used Alphasmarts are getting pricier. For that kind of money you can get a lower tier but capable laptop or Chromebook that can let you do so much more. Why pay that kind of money for something that does, at the extreme, only one thing.
The answer deserves a longer treatment, which I will be doing in the future. But for now, my answer is to say that "writing" involves 4 different kinds of tasks: story development, writing, editing, formatting. Of these, writing is the most difficult and all of the other three are capable of derailing the writing. A full computer is fine for the other three. In fact, I want a full computer for the other three. However writing requires being able to block out the world and write! I have problems with the term "distraction free," although I use it because others do. From personal experience, I know the brain can always come up with endless distractions, even in an empty room. The best you can hope for is that the environment you are in, and the tools that you use, direct your focus on the writing that needs to get done. In other words, let thinking about and drafting words be what distracts you from other distractions. Writer Decks are tools designed for one job and that makes the investment worth it. In my opinion. I will have a lot more to say about this when I give the topic a full treatment.
My very first Writer Deck was an Alphasmart Neo 2 in 2007, when I bought it new shortly after its release by Renaissance Learning. It revolutionized my writing experience, giving me a great deal of focus. It allowed me to draft 5 novels and a large collection of short stories. It was, and still is, a remarkable Writer Deck more than 10 years since it was discontinued.
I wouldn't have found the Alphasmarts without the helpful people on the Alphasmart-Writing Tools Community on Flickr. It started with someone who came over to the long gone Brighthand PDA forum I frequented to talk about the Dana, and that sent me to the Flickr community. They answered all my questions and more and were so helpful with both the tech and the writing over the years. The community still thrives, and this is another way to pay forward all the help I have received (and continue to receive) from them. I can help others with what I have learned.
More recently, there has been an eruption of new Writer Decks being produced. While I still have my Neos, I have fallen in love with the Micro Journals created by Un Kyu Lee. There is also the Pomera 250 which was recently released in the US but has existed in a Japanese version for years. There are also two others that are still forthcoming: the Zero Writer, and the BYOK, both of which I have backed. Finally, there are the various Astrohaus smart typewriters (I have the Alpha, but in general I don't like Astrohaus for reasons I will get around to explaining). I'm not trying to be a completest (Haha-- really), but if I am really drawn to a Writer Deck, I want to put my support behind the folks trying to serve this niche. So I will have pages here for any device I own and have experience with. I may post about other devices, but will make it very clear when I don't own them and don't have direct experience with them.
This site will only feature fairly positive reviews. Some Writer Decks I will like better than others but If I don't like a Writer Deck, I won't post a negative review. I just won't include it. I may have criticisms even in a positive review, but if I am talking about the Writer Deck here, then the positives out-weigh the negatives (in my opinion), but the negatives may need to be considered in making your own decisions. I would only post something about a machine I don't like if I thought the consumer needed to be warned about something important. I'm not going to have much experience with a Writer Deck I truly don't like and life is too short for negative reviews. This site is informational and positive. Feel free to contact me if you want to know why I haven't included some model.
This is a new site. The Neo and Dana help pages have been around for a few years as separate pages on another domain I have, but have now been placed here and updated. Everything else is new and all of it is evolving, so I'm not sure what all I will end up doing here and there may be lots of fluidity while I figure it out.
I am not anyone special. I write. I love to write. I have been published some, but not a lot. I have self published, but it hasn't ever paid the bills. I am lucky enough to be retired and write because I want to, not because I need it to take care of my mortgage. I am not a great technical expert, neither for software nor hardware, though I have experience with both and learn things as I go. I'm just a Writer Deck and keyboard enthusiast and writer of stories. The point is, there is nothing special about my opinions or evaluations of any of these devices. I am not an "influencer." There is no compelling reason to listen to me. But I hope you enjoy what I have to say. I'm trying to be helpful, not clever.
It is probably useful for you to know I am an old guy. I didn't become digital until I was turning 30 (I missed Atari and Tandy before I noticed there were personal computers). I still like analog ways of interacting with digital (physical buttons and mechanical keyboards). I understand that if you grew up digital and grew up using a phone as if it was a full computer (which it is) that you may have a different perspective. I respect that. The purpose of my "reviews" are not to tell you what is best for you, but to describe and provide information for you to make your own decision, while also making clear what works and doesn't work for me.
I hope this site proves useful. But it's purpose is mostly to provide publicly accessible information that I can point to when I'm trying to help people with their writing tech. I don't drive traffic here. You are unlikely to stumble on this site by accident. It is a site for me to share information. You are welcome to contact me. I enjoy conversations over email. My contact information is at the bottom of the pages at this site.
All content © 2025 Hook Mountain Studios, except where other authorship or sources are indicated.
If you would like to contact me, you can either find me on the Alphasmart-Writing Tools Forum on Flickr or you can Email me.
