# PineNote - Open hardware/FOSS eink tablet **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [March 16, 2025, 5:09am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494 "2025-03-16T05:09:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shom](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/shom/32/291_2.png) [@shom](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/shom)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 5:09am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494/1 "2025-03-16T05:09:32Z")
[PineNote](https://pine64.org/devices/pinenote/) is an Open-Hardware, Free Open Source Software (FOSS), e-ink tablet that runs a full Linux distro that is purely community developed. I shared my enthusiasm for this device on the [Fediverse](https://gts.shom.dev/@shom/statuses/01JNSCDQ34G3KRXZNHBJ1NWE7D) and based on the interest and the questions, I wrote a [one-day-in blog post](https://shom.dev/posts/20250308_pinenote-day-one/) and made [a one-week-in video](https://makertube.net/w/cSDcWZVjFksZsxpPx5yo8j). I think it’s a great device and I’m impressed/shocked how good it is while still being open hardware and a completely community driven distro (Debian Trixie base). If anyone here is interested, AMA. ---
**Author:** ![ashraz](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/ashraz/32/509_2.png) [@ashraz](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/ashraz)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494/2 "2025-03-16T17:54:42Z")
I remember being interested in the device, and I was wondering what kept me from buying one. > 610.00 € inc. VAT Yeah, I remember now. It’s a cool project, but I’m not willing to spend so much. Back to topic: good hands-on post and video, much appreciated. I wonder how the PineNote fares against a customized remarkable 2, though. ---
**Author:** ![shom](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/shom/32/291_2.png) [@shom](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/shom)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 2:05am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494/3 "2025-03-17T02:05:21Z")
Thanks @ashraz! Yeah, it’s quite steep in €, it’s $399 USD which is actually a decent price for the hardware. All of this started because I kept looking at the Remarkable 2 (and that Paper Pro color, ooof) but I was unwilling to get into a proprietary system. I’m not sure about the customized Remarkable 2, but the main offering kept being locked down and forcing people to their cloud sync. It’s a great device and I’m sure the services are well integrated but I just couldn’t do it. I decided to throw in for the open hardware and FOSS company instead. We’ll see but so far so good. ---
**Author:** ![daviwil](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/daviwil/32/1_2.png) [@daviwil](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/daviwil)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 11:55am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494/4 "2025-03-17T11:55:26Z")
Damn, now I really want one of these. The video you made is _really_ good, too! I’ll link to it in the next stream (and the newsletter too if I can get that out this week ;)) ---
**Author:** ![shom](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/shom/32/291_2.png) [@shom](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/shom)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2025, 2:55am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494/5 "2025-03-18T02:55:18Z")
Thanks @daviwil, coming from you, that means a lot! Hopefully I can make the stream this week and answer any questions people may have and collect more to answer in later posts. It is a really impressive device for being an open hardware device released 3 years ago. With 4x1.8GHz ARM cores, 4GB RAM, and 128GB of storage; it’s definitely no slouch still. It is a bit pricey in € compared to USD. ---
**Author:** ![shom](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/shom/32/291_2.png) [@shom](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/shom)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494/6 "2025-03-25T02:13:15Z")
I made another PineNote [video to address the “rough edges”](https://makertube.net/w/w3MicEqLiVrpE1FcAvKKae) I mentioned in my previous video. TL;DW: minor inconveniences, overcome by config and awareness. Using PineNote as a “laptop” with a Bluetooth keyboard is probably the next thing I cover. Let me know what kinds of questions you might have around that use case. ---
**Author:** ![sls](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/sls/32/837_2.png) [@sls](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/sls)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 10:50am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494/7 "2025-03-31T10:50:59Z")
Oh nice, PineNote always looked cool and really needs more reviews 🙂 I noticed a slight delay with your handwritten notes, maybe besides Xournal++ you could also try to use [Rnote](https://rnote.flxzt.net/) ---
**Author:** ![shom](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/shom/32/291_2.png) [@shom](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/shom)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 3:08am UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494/8 "2025-04-02T03:08:25Z")
Thanks for the recommendation @sls. I have seen rnote and it looks interesting. Just haven’t gotten around to trying a lot of stuff since I’m trying to document as I go. It’s definitely on the list. Cheers! ---
**Author:** ![dgr](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.systemcrafters.net/dgr/32/394_2.png) [@dgr](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/u/dgr)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 12:52pm UTC](https://forum.systemcrafters.net/t/pinenote-open-hardware-foss-eink-tablet/1494/9 "2025-04-08T12:52:09Z")
How about a video covering using it with a Bluetooth keyboard and how Emacs would run in GUI and TUI mode? Is there a note taking option that does convert handwriting to text? EDIT: just found [GitHub - hmpthcs/inkput-fork: Handwritten text input for your PineNote - hmpthcs fork](https://github.com/hmpthcs/inkput-fork) Now I definitely want one!!!