Viwoods AiPaper Mini
I have massively enjoyed using electronic writing pads up to now, including the Viwoods AiPaper product over the last couple of years; I rewrite my daily TO DO list at least twice a day (sorry if that’s weird) and this kind of tool is something of a staple for me.
The problem is – and this is in the age of man-bags remember – that although I really like the Viwoods AiPaper main unit, it’s just a bit big. As luck would have it I got myself the Viwoods AiPaper Mini and it’s just so much more convenient.
I mean, spoiler alert, go to any tech show these days and pick up a notepad, they don’t give you an A4-size paper pad do they? Why should it be different for electronic notetaking devices?
The 10.65-inch Viwoods Aipaper is nice, but in my view the 8.2-inch Aipaper Mini is nicer and it comes after two years of what the company calls “meticulous development” and testing.
e-ink technology
This is Viwoods merging traditional e-ink technology with AI to create a product that offers options for both reading and writing. The Aipaper is built without what its makers call “unnecessary features” like video and audio playback, so they really do want you to just immerse yourself fully in text.
Viwoods AI can analyse content, organise handwritten notes, assist with research and writing, provide AI Q&A services and it supports handwriting and voice input for interacting with AI.
The AiPaper Mini is presented with a marketing pitch that reads “do less with it” … so what the manufacturer is saying is, in a world of notification storms, infinite scroll and AI agents jostling for our attention, go the other way and just write some notes.
Paper, with pragmatism
Writing on the Viwoods AiPaper Mini is a pleasant experience; it’s fluid, and it almost feels like paper. There’s a pleasing audible noise when writing or drawing (which helps a lot, cognitively speaking) and the glare-free canvas is very readable, even in this summer’s bright sunshine.
The hardware includes the 8.2-inch e-ink display running at 1920×1440 resolution, or 292 pixels per inch, which is sharp enough for the “fine serifs” of a PDF or the random and sometimes slightly scratchy fidelity of handwriting.
Viwoods points to its “smooth page turning” functions that feel a little like an actual page being turned… and the device works with a front light that’s adjustable across a 0-20 degree brightness range, meaning you can work on this thing in the dark, or at least in the dim light of a tech conference keynote. The processor is okay. Personally, I think Viwoods should have upped the engine power a little because switching between apps isn’t exactly rocket speed, but it’s certainly good enough for the job.
The bundled W2 Stylus Pro, now in its third generation, runs at a 960Hz report rate, weighs 16 grams, and Viwoods confirms that it has a “displacement amplitude” of 0.05mm with a slimline 0.5mm nib.
Extra AI on-board
The pen ships with two nib types, one is longer lasting, and one is tuned for a smoother glide. It has a built-in eraser at the top and a customisable button that can be set to erase or trigger a shortcut of the user’s own choice.
Viwoods has done a lot of work on its AI for this unit. The tools here are designed for content productivity i.e. analysing documents, generating articles, summarising what you’ve read and retrieving information.
An annotation layer that works across e-books, notes, manga and even third-party apps, and a “Record” function that automatically files anything you jot down into a holding area called Pickings whenever inspiration strikes.
Handwriting-to-text conversion comes in three functionality options: real-time, partial-select, or full-page.
The company has done this because very few users will ever want to convert an entire meeting’s notes the same way they convert a single annotated thought.
Handwritten emails, old school charm
A couple of the best features (in my opinion) with the Viwoods AiPaper Mini are the ability to create handwritten email messages (the device syncs nicely with your email of choice) and be able to send people notes with scribbles and drawings on them. Almost everyone I send one to replies back with a “that’s cool” as it’s just not something people are used to seeing.
Very fundamental, but also great, is the fact that the device turns itself off when you shut the cover; it’s like a real notepad in that sense i.e. when you close the front cover, you’re done. There’s also calendar integration with Google and Outlook – and a sketchbook mode for drawing and also Bluetooth keyboard support across nine languages for typing.
An AI-assisted meeting minutes generator is also a bonus; I’ve yet to put it to the test in press interviews, but I plan to.
The firm pitches it explicitly as a travel companion, citing low power consumption and extended battery life, all of which add up to a week of daily use and four weeks on standby, according to Viwoods’ own figures.
Eco-friendly fabric-texture case
The AiPaper Mini comes with an eco-friendly fabric-texture protective case and five spare pen tips. Viwoods backs it with a 60-day return policy and a 14-month warranty covering free repairs for quality issues.
File sync and interaction are simplified by logging into a user’s AiPaper account on my.viwoods.com – at this portal, users can sync documents to AiPaper’s sections, including Paper, Daily, Meeting, Learning, Picking, and Memo App.
AiPaper allows one-click local-to-web transfers through the built-in file management app ViTransfer.
The device has 128GB of storage, which is enough for around 20,000 books of 220 pages each and 2.4 million pages of notes.
Each document can be passcode-protected, and handwritten titles are automatically used for document naming.
The product is available here and is currently priced at £361.
