Hey all, brand spankin' new to Arduino here! I've had a project stuck in my head for a while now, and I wanted to ask here if Arduino would be the right way to go about it. I'm wondering if I could make a device that is simply a phone-sized keyboard and screen, and it would run a notepad style application. I may be misunderstanding what exactly an Arduino board should be used for, so any help is greatly appreciated!
Hi, welcome to the forum.
Every tablet can do that. Why do you want to use an Arduino ?
An Arduino can be used to blink leds, read sensors, turn on a motor.
I ask because I want the device to be solely used as a digital note taking device, with no other functions.
Sounds like you might want to do fast typing and store data to files, better stick with a tablet 
An Arduino would not be suitable for what you want. A RaspberryPi would probably be suitable. But you can do it on all smartphones or tablets, and they already have all the hardware for input, output and storage as well as the program.
Maybe you could write your own tablet or smartphone program?
...R
It can be done, if you throw enough extra hardware at it like a screen, keyboard, and storage device. The Arduino is great for lots of applications, but I agree with others, this is not an ideal application for it.
I appreciate everyone's concerns, and I understand that it is a pretty redundant project, but it is a project I want to pursue nonetheless. Thank you Robin2, I will look into RaspberryPi!
Well, if you must....
This is possible : Adafruit PiTFT - 320x240 2.8 TFT+Touchscreen for Raspberry Pi : ID 1601 : $34.95 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits
Or eInk : RePaper - 2.7 Graphic eInk Development Board [SM027] : ID 1346 : $39.95 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits
Do you want keys or is a touch screen also okay ? Real keys is a problem. There are no nice phone-style keyboards as far as I know.
I think you heading for many problems: storing data, battery, too big, and so on.
There are tons of devices that can do that, even before there were tablets and phones, there were digital agendas/calculator/clocks that could do that.
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=casio+diary
Can you tell why you want a small text writer ?
There could be other ways to achieve your goal.
So I'd like to work on a similar project as a way to take notes / keep a journal without using my everyday phone or tablets (because I'm addicted to them, and I would like to keep the focus on journaling without distraction).
Any suggestions/feedback appreciated. I'd also like to do this as a way to learn some programming and hardware skills with Arduino.
Ideally it would be connected to a projector screen, so that I can turn it on in the morning and see my notes and goals on the wall. It'd be connected to a wireless keyboard / trackpad so that I can start journaling before I get out of bed. I can turn off & on everything involved with one button.
Some tools that look useful (open to suggestions)
Note-taking software: Paperwork Is an Evernote Alternative You Can Host Yourself
Projector screen: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H18TVHG
Keyboard: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HG8DB5E
SD card breakout: MicroSD card breakout board+ : ID 254 : $7.50 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits
The lessons that I think I'll need to learn are:
- How to connect a projector screen to Arduino
- How to enable bluetooth keyboard with Arduino
- How to add Note-taking Software to Arduino
- How to add an on/off switch for all devices involved (eventually with Alexa but that can wait)
- Storing data with Arduino (SD card?)
This will be my first Arduino project. I'm sure I'll have an interest in adding features once these basics are done, but I also want to avoid over-complicating this and making sure it stays simple.