nowfound

Work · May 17, 2023

BA

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…

In plain words

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 through Beeper to enable messaging without smartphone distractions. The device prioritizes hackability, allowing users to customize and modify the hardware and software for their own needs.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

In the maker’s words, at launch

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 much nothing else. Before Beeper, the idea probably would not have gone anywhere. Most chat apps do not have an API, making it practically impossible to hack something like this together. Enter Beeper, with connections to 15+ chat networks. Built on top of Matrix, Beeper is fully hackable. You can write alternative fun clients [1], bots [2] and more! Today, sqfmi is starting to take pre-orders at https://beepberry.sqfmi.com for the first batch. It’s $79 (or $99 including a Pi Zero). Specs: Sharp Memory LCD (same display tech as in Pebble!), Pi Zero (BT/WIFI), physical keyboard, 2000mAh lipo. On top of being an amazing Beeper chat device, it’s basically an e-paper Cyberdeck that fits in your pocket. It’s a ton of fun to hack on. Keep in mind - THIS IS NOT A REAL FINISHED PRODUCT. It’s basically a devkit. More info in the blog post: https://blog.beeper.com/p/beeper-x-sqmfi-beepberry, or join the Discord/Matrix channel https://beepberry.sqfmi.com/docs/getting-started#join-the-be.... I’ll hang out a bit here to answer questions as well. [0] https://beeper.com [1] https://github.com/tulir/gomuks [2] https://github.com/maubot/maubot

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