Redmi Writing Pad launches in India as a purely note-taking or doodling tool for well under US$25

Redmi's latest electronic product for the Indian market has an 8.5-inch (21.6cm) display and a stylus that seems to have a magnetic attachment feature - however, it is no new Android tablet. This "Writing Pad" is aimed at those who like to scribble by hand or doodle a lot, yet would like to avoid paper waste in enjoying these pursuits.

Redmi asserts that the Writing Pad has "custom" LCD designed to replace the experience of drawing or writing on paper - however, it can of course also supplant the need for reams of the stuff, as the results can be erased immediately by pressing its big orange front-facing button.

Then again, Redmi has also incorporated a lock button along one side to prevent accidental loss of the content - which, as it seems, appears in just 1 shade of green on a background constantly set to black for eye-health protection.

The Writing Pad is rated for some degree of pressure sensitivity, at least, so that the user can execute various styles with the same pen. The new almost literal slate is also touted as so low-power that it is made to run off a CR2016 coin battery that may only need to be replaced every 20,000 "pages" created.

Therefore, the ~90 gram (g), ABS-shelled Writing Pad might be a good idea for those who need a constant pen-enabled companion without the usual trappings of a full-featured tablet.

At an introductory price of INR 599 (~US$7, or 70% off its recommended INR 1,999 (~US$24) price), it might have cost-effective, low-waste appeal for some. Then again, the lack of Bluetooth or maybe even NFC is a shame, as that might have allowed the user to move their drawings or musings onto a connected device that could have saved or shared them.

Find similar LCD writing tablets on Amazon.