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Work · alternatives · 2026

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24 alternatives to Beepberry – a portable e-paper computer for hackers

Hi. I heard HN likes e-paper gadgets so I wanted to share a little side project I’ve been working on with @sqfmi. We’re building Beepberry - a portable e-paper computer for hackers, designed for chatting on Beeper. My day job is running Beeper [0], but I will always have a soft spot for building hardware. I wanted to create a ‘weekend’ device that would let me stay in touch with friends and family, without the distractions of a full smartphone. I imagined a tiny, hackable e-paper screen with a physical keyboard, powered by a Raspberry Pi, that I could use to chat around my home…and pretty…

Beepberry is a portable e-paper computer powered by a Raspberry Pi that features a small e-ink display and physical keyboard. Designed for developers and technically-minded users, it connects to multiple chat networks… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Beepberry – a portable e-paper computer for hackers launched in 2023; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1

    E-ink bird frame for Raspberry Pi - real-time bird detection by audio, fully local AI, rendered as real, hand-cut 1800s bird illustrations. - arnegiacomo/fugleramme

    Sep 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    A few months ago, I was inspired by this post on Reddit, titled: Food items should have QR codes that instruct the microwave exactly what to do. Like high for 2 minutes, let stand 1 minute, medium 1 minutes.. I thought this was a pretty cool idea, and that it

    2013 · madebynathan.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    Using only a Raspberry Pi and an $11 video capture dongle, you can create your own KVM over IP device, allowing you to send keyboard input to a remote computer and capture its display.

    2020 · mtlynch.io · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    Hi HN! I’m proud to share that we have built a real 3rd party iMessage client for Android. We did it by reverse engineering the iMessage protocol and encryption system. It's available to download today (no waitlist): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beeper.ima and there's a technical writeup here: https://blog.beeper.com/p/how-beeper-mini-works. Unlike every other attempt to build an iMessage app for Android (including our first gen app), Beeper Mini does not use a Mac server relay in the cloud. The app connects directly to Apple…

    2023 · beeper.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5OH
  6. 6RP

    2013 · raspberry.io · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    Get the most popular messaging services, all in a single app. WhatsApp, Signal, Instagram, Telegram, and more.

    2021 · beeperhq.com · its alternatives →

  8. 8
    Beep! 2.0▲871

    Fastest tool to assign and share visual tasks with your team

    2023 · justbeepit.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9MS
  10. 10

    3nd generation with faster processor, wireless and Bluetooth

    2016 · raspberrypi.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    The $5 computer

    2015 · raspberrypi.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12
  13. 13

    A complete PC built into a keyboard for $70

    2020 · raspberrypi.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14BA

    Hello Hacker News, My co-founder and I have spent the better part of years developing a completely hackable Home Automation toolset that runs on a Raspberry Pi, or any machine running Linux. With just a Raspberry Pi and a $45 Z-Wave dongle (https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Z-Stick-Z-Wave-create-gateway/...), you can run a complete home automation system! Our hub will support any Z-Wave or Z-Wave plus device. We are cloud hosted service that doesn't require you to purchase any proprietary hardware. Our hub software runs on NodeJS and is completely open source. We encourage…

    2018 · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Micro Displays for Raspberry Pi . Contribute to igbit/micro-displays development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16AH
  17. 17
    BEE Free▲270

    Free editor to build responsive design emails. Embeddable.

    2014 · beefree.io · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    Building a Bus Clock for my House using a Raspberry PI and Python. I won't miss the bus ever again!

    2022 · purplehoisin.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19
    A pager▲104

    Hello HN, I basically don't use notifications for anything. The noise is too much. Slack is too loud. Email is too slow. But sometimes you do need a note in your face. I found myself missing 1990s pagers. I wanted a digital equivalent - something that does one thing: beep until I ack it. So I built UDP-7777. Concept: - 0% Cloud: It listens on UDP Port 7777. No accounts, no central servers. You don't need Tailscale/ZeroTier/WG/etc, it's just easy for device sets. - CAPCODES: It maps your IP address (LAN or Tailscale) to a retro 10-digit "CAPCODE" that looks like a phone number…

    Dec 2025 · udp7777.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    2nd generation with faster processor and more memory

    2015 · raspberrypi.org · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    New Raspberry Pi Zero with wireless LAN and Bluetooth

    2017 · raspberrypi.com · its alternatives →

  22. 22WB

    http://picirus.com For Startup Weekend Tulsa, we created a small low-power appliance (built on Raspberry Pi) that you connect to your different cloud accounts -- Facebook, Flickr, Dropbox, etc. -- and it downloads a copy of all your stuff every night. I was thinking about all the people I love who share directly to the cloud, without a lot of planning for the case where their Facebook account gets hacked, their Dropbox account has a glitch, or one of these services they love goes out of business suddenly some day. We had a ton of fun building Picirus during Startup Weekend. I highly…

    2012 · picirus.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23
    Beep▲157

    Giphy for sound bites

    2018 · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    Make your home smart with Raspberry Pi

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →