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A Startup's Faster-Than-E-Ink Android Tablet Challenges Apple's IPad (om.co) 97

It's "one of the most talked about devices in Silicon Valley," according to tech writer/investor Om Malik.

The company's web site calls it "the computer, de-invented," promising a tablet with "the world's first full-speed paper-like display." But Its founder has structured the company as a Public Benefit Corporation, with its web site describing the eyestrain-relieving tablet as "designed for deep focus and wellbeing. We refuse to accept a future where our devices are exhausting, addictive, and distracting."

Malik writes that Daylight Computer founder Anjan Katta suffers from ADHD, and "wanted something that allowed him few distractions and allowed him to work with intent." What the company has created is a beautiful tablet — about the size of a normal iPad Air. It is just a "little less than white," white, with a gorgeous screen. It is very simple, elegant, and lovely. It has an e-ink screen, and the matte monochrome paper-like display is optimized for reading, writing, and note-taking. It refreshes at 60 frames per second, a pretty big deal for e-ink displays. This different screen technology developed by the company is called LivePaper and it feels as snappy as anything you have experienced on an iPad. This is what puts it a notch above other e-ink tablets. This is precisely why the new Daylight tablet is much less stressful on the eye and easy to use even in direct sunlight. It has 8 GB memory, about 128 GB in-built storage, an 8-core chip, microphones, speakers, and a powerful battery.

There is no camera — thank God!

An ad from the company suggests the tablet "might change the way you think about screens," promising their device is "less distraction. Less addiction. Less eyestrain. Less blue light... Technology that feels a little bit more human, a bit less demanding."

The blog of product designer Arun Venkatesan calls it one of those devices that "signals an exciting new era where we can harness the power of technology without sacrificing our ability to live intentional, balanced lives."

Tom's Guide notes the tablet "is designed to run normal Android apps, and comes pre-installed with apps like Audible, Kindle, Google Docs and more" — and this may be the only the beginning: Based on various podcast interviews we could find of Katta, the DC1 isn't the end goal of the company. Katta wants to see the Live Paper display in all kinds of devices like monitors, laptops and watches.

Is the Daylight DC1 a technology flash in the pan or will we see a wave of Live Paper devices in the future? It'll be interesting to see how this devices truly works once its in people's hands.

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

A Startup's Faster-Than-E-Ink Android Tablet Challenges Apple's IPad

Comments Filter:
  • by bradley13 ( 1118935 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @03:00AM (#64499759) Homepage
    I couldn't care less about their tablet. What's important here is the display technology. E-ink displays with faster refresh. That would make them usable for applications beyond eBooks.
    • by Budenny ( 888916 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @03:32AM (#64499803)

      Don't think its e-ink, from the Tom's story. Seems to be monochrome LCD. Rapid refresh e-ink would be nice, but this isn't it.

      The thing I would really like for reading is not so much different displays, E-ink is fine for that. It would be an e-reader running plain vanilla Linux with an ordinary file manager. The e-readers I have are all completely irritating with how they handle the book management. Put up with it, because they are the only way you can take a bunch of books with you when travelling, but if there was one with plan ordinary linux on it....

      • If it isn't zero-power at idle thanks to persistent screen contents, like e epaper, then there's not all that much to see here.
        • by bradley13 ( 1118935 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @08:39AM (#64500241) Homepage

          This. I assumed from the grayscale that it was e-ink. If it's just monochrome LCD (or any other active tech), then it's a nothing-burger.

          Which, unfortunately, would fit with the typical OTT Silicon Valley hype. "Wow, man, let's make a crippled tablet and call it innovative. Awesome!"

        • by hey! ( 33014 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @09:36AM (#64500359) Homepage Journal

          If the current draw is low enough relative to the battery capacity, it might not matter. We should be careful not to extrapolate our most recent experience with backlit color LCDs to a device like this. In a transmissive color lcd panel, the backlight sucks the lion's share of power in the display. A reflective display draws only an insignificant amount of current, and still much less than a color panel when backlit. That's how watches run for a decade or so on tiny tiny batteries.

          This is much more like a Palm Pilot from 25 years ago than a laptop. The tiny 3 watt hour battery ran the grayscale display of a Palm V for 20 hours of continuous use. Granted this is a much larger device with a higher resolution display than the palm, but we can expect it to have something like a 30 watt hour battery. Most users will probably go several days between needing a charge, which is not quite as long as an e-paper device, but a lot better than the smart watch battery life that consumers seem to tolerate.

          The real wild card isn't the tech, it's human behavior. What the founder has done here is create a device that would scratch his personal itch. That's far from the guarantee there's a sustainable market for the device that entrepreneurs who operate that way assume. Will people buy it when it costs a lot more than an iPad and the pitch is that it does *less*? Will this draw pragamatists after they've exhausted the rearly adopters?

        • by ET3D ( 1169851 )

          Low power draw isn't the main draw of e-ink. Rather that it's reflective. While it's nice to get a very long reading time out of an e-reader, I'm sure that charging a device more often will be less of an issue as long as it feels close enough to reading paper.

      • It's literally in the summary...
        little less than white,"with a gorgeous screen. It is very simple, elegant, and lovely. It has an e-ink screen, and the matte monochrome paper-like display is optimized for reading, writing, and note-taking

        So it's E-ink

      • Can you explain what's special about Linux in this context?

        I have a BOOX Android reader, and I typically read with the Kindle app, but for the built-in reader you can either use the library view, or see the files under "storage" in a file manager. I imagine that a third party Android file manager could be installed, though I haven't found a reason to try it. Moving files to the reader is also trivial, as you can connect to it via a URL and manage things conveniently from your PC's browser.

        I'd be surprised i

  • by javipas ( 1086007 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @03:02AM (#64499763)
    I'll sound pessimistic / sceptic here, but this seems just a normal Android tablet with a LCD 60Hz screen and a special color profile configuration to mimic an e-Ink screen. But it's not an e-ink display as Malik mentions, that's for sure. I could (and be delighted to) be wrong, but this seems to me an overpriced, overhyped tablet. We'll see if we don't have here another Theranos/Juicero scenario.
    • by Budenny ( 888916 )

      Yes. The Tom's Guide story claims a few days use from an 8,000 mAh battery. That's for sure not e-ink. So unless they have developed some totally new display technology... it must be what you say, a standard LCD screen.

      In which case, the hype really is so over the top as to make one very uneasy.

      • by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @04:37AM (#64499887)

        In which case, the hype really is so over the top as to make one very uneasy.

        Well, Om Malik is an investor in this company - so of course he's going to use over-the-top language when describing it. The founder may have structured it as a "Public Benefit Corporation" or whatever; but the investors are looking to turn a profit from it like they would with anything they've sunk their money into.

        But, in any case, despite what Om says this doesn't seem particularly innovative or new. There are already writing-centric monochrome / grayscale tablets available on the market. One of my co-workers has one.

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        There are special daylight readable LCDs that look like half way between a normal LCD and eInk. They have some limitations, particularly with colour reproduction quality, and aren't as good as eInk for visibility in direct light or ease on the eyes, but they have their niche uses. Industrial devices that need to work outside, for example.

        If you want eInk you might as well just get eInk though. Modern ones are not that bad in terms of update rate, to the point where you can quickly get used to writing on the

      • by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
        And in the us vacuum cleansers (also those not made bu hoover inc) are called hoovers, sometimes things that are sufficiantly simmilar in use/application gets to be called the name/brand of the first successful mass adopted product in that space. A better wording might be E-ink like display but that's extra words that for 99% of people don't convey any meaningful difference. Hold on petter example (well at least from when photocopiers where still relevant) most photocopiers where nopt made by Xerox INC, but
    • Na, doesn't look like an LCD to me. It is a monochrome display, i.e. no color or color profiles, and it has a non-PWM amber backlight.
      • by Budenny ( 888916 )

        Is it a hardware mono display, or is it just the software is set not to do color?

        • Seems like some new tech based on this article - https://www.androidauthority.c... [androidauthority.com] - but not a lot of information out there
          • by pz ( 113803 )

            That article makes it sound like it is in fact a monochrome transflective LCD, with a tweak to reduce the metallic appearance of traditional ones. The first idea that comes to mind would be a diffusive background (meaning, something like a sheet of white paper). The company representative talks about the reason they uses 190 DPI was that higher resolutions didn't have enough aperture, so they're definitely capturing light and doing something with it before reflecting it. Maybe they added a fluorescent ma

          • by pz ( 113803 )

            Look at the video on that page. The screen is clearly brighter than its environment, so it is not e-ink. There is some kind of backlighting. The border is unusually wide -- is that a clue? Is it being used to collect light?

            • by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
              well even the Kindle paperwhite had front lighting of the e-ink screen to read in dark places, the video might just show the devise with a simmui\ilar function turned on, but yea since it's an LCD my bet would be a backlight
        • It will be a highly reflective proper mono LCD. There is zero use for colour as that would add at least two extra LCD layers which would reduce the reflectivity greatly.

          If you want to maximise the screens reflectivity than a good old single layer will do you proud.

          I think the revolution here is nothing more than producing a mono dot matrix type display in an age where mono LCD's are typically limited to 7 segment displays and older mono types that give you x chars by x lines on a green background much like

      • > Na, doesn't look like an LCD to me. It is a monochrome display

        So like every monochrome LCD then? I mean a good old Gameboy Pocket is pretty reflective, imagine how well a mono LCD would do today

        Even highly reflective colour LCD's have been around, my Nokia N93 for example needed no backlight at all in full sun, it's transreflective colour LCD was great. Although it did lose some contrast in sunlight.

    • by joh ( 27088 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @03:30AM (#64499797)

      It will be an Android tablet with a transflective LCD like the pebble watch. Surely expensive for what it is but that's what the hype is for.

      • It will be an Android tablet with a transflective LCD like the pebble watch. Surely expensive for what it is but that's what the hype is for.

        It would appear to be that the hype is more centered around this new medical device for those suffering from ADHD.

        In that case, it’s probably a bargain by comparison.

    • I'll sound pessimistic / sceptic here, but this seems just a normal Android tablet with a LCD 60Hz screen and a special color profile configuration to mimic an e-Ink screen. But it's not an e-ink display as Malik mentions, that's for sure.

      Malik never said that or anything resembling what you claimed. What he does say is that it’s e-ink, works in daylight, and has a monochrome display. Those sound an awful lot like an affirmative claim to be e-ink and evidence to support that claim. You’re making an extraordinary claim without any extraordinary evidence to back it up.

    • Hey! We bought a cheap android from Alibaba, customized android 13's interface and changed the screen to a Transflective LCD and added a PEN! Pay us lots and lots of Money!!

      I'd be more interested if they brought back the PixelQi tech [youtube.com] from a decade ago and sold it in a more modern tablet, but they decided to forgo color to probably get it thinner and lighter.

    • by ET3D ( 1169851 )

      Comparing this to an Android-based reader/note like the BOOX Note Air2, it's a little heavier and considerably more expensive. But I can definitely see the draw of a fast refreshing screen. e-ink is definitely too slow for comfort even if there are enough tricks by now to make it more palatable for note taking and reading.

  • 1. invent mildly cool thing 2. claim thing will revolutionize the world, raise hundreds of millions 3. fail completely to revolutionize anything
    • 1. invent mildly cool thing 2. claim thing will revolutionize the world, raise hundreds of millions 3. fail completely to revolutionize anything

      Unless you're Dean Kamen, that's probably not gonna pan out for you.

  • by bubblyceiling ( 7940768 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @03:32AM (#64499801)
    My biggest gripe with e-Ink was the lack of color and the slow CPUs inside most eReaders, making them useless for anything except books. If you want to read comics or browse the web, it was impossible on my old Kindle. An iPad Mini has none of these limitations. Sure, the screen is not as easy to read, but atleast it can do everything I need it to
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by ndsurvivor ( 891239 )
      The most compelling thing that I saw about this device, is that it may "decouple" the influence of social media from the device. Without the glitz, glamor, and color of all the videos, and other bullshit, then people may read things, and consider things in a more intelligent manor. I don't think I am expressing myself at the moment, maybe someone else may expand in this view.
      • by DingerX ( 847589 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @04:05AM (#64499845) Journal
        If it decouples the flash from social media, how are people going to find out about it? Once someone starts using it, that person disappears from the major marketing channel of our time. The problem with truly useful tools is that they don't propagate themselves or move as many copies as flashy, trendy crap that breaks or goes obsolete in two years.

        So then I see a price of $800 for specs that are a little vague, but which most people are going to associate with a device that costs about $200; of course, those devices are the flashy ones, and they can be churned out for a profit much cheaper, given the economies of scale.

        And I'd want to see how this display works before plunking down. So we're doomed as a race.
        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by ndsurvivor ( 891239 )
          I try to be more optimistic. We are going through a Difficult time as a race right now in my humble opinion. I think the human race has a lot of potential, that we will see it through, and become a shining beacon of light in the Universe. At the very least, I think we have the potential to do that.
        • > If it decouples the flash from social media, how are people going to find out about it? Once someone starts using it, that person disappears from the major marketing channel of our time.

          How many people on the planet today use one device for everything?

          I'd summise they would have the following:

          - A laptop like device or computer.
          - A mobile phone, typically a smart phone but they *could* have a feature phone.
          - Work in a place that requires use of such devices.
          - Have a tablet.

          And if they dont, if they simp

      • by znrt ( 2424692 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @06:39AM (#64499989)

        wishful thinking. nobody needs to buy yet another premium priced handicapped gadget to have a more sober intellectual experience of life, they can already do that. the sole idea implies a superficial and consumerist mindset that is the direct opposite of the stated intention. this is just a fad for neo-hipsters (i think i just coined that term) with too much money.

        if the display tech is any good, though, people will want it in every color, with social media on it, and glitz, and glamor, and cheap, and fast.

    • by sg_oneill ( 159032 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @04:22AM (#64499871)

      I like my kindle. It does one thing, and only one thing, and it does it well. e-ink is so much easier on the eye over a long book than regular screens.

      If this thing can get the same reading comfort as eink over a fast refresh then its a good thing. Eventually someone will figure how to jam color on it, and it might end up a genuinely pleasant to use general purpose device.

      • I have an old kindle and an iPad. I can read on the kindle all day long, it's just delightful. The iPad I can look at for maybe 30 minutes before screen fatigue. I can't imagine reading an entire book on a tablet (iPhone, galaxy, etc).

        One of the huge benefits of e-ink is its extremely low power usage. Makes the kindle great because I only have to worry about charging every month or so. I can take it with me on long trips as if it's just a book.

      • by dargaud ( 518470 )

        Yeah. I have a kindle paperwhite and I love the screen (the latest updates have turned the software itself into somewhat of a mess though). There are 2 devices I've wanted for the longest time (at least 25 years):

        • - first is a very large (but thin and light) tablet with a color e-ink display to read comic books.
        • - 2nd is a standard 13 to 19" e-ink display thin enough to cover my laptop's screen and with an HDMI input, so I can use my laptop on the beach, in full sun, for work (you don't need colors for email
        • > 2nd is a standard 13 to 19" e-ink display thin enough to cover my laptop's screen and with an HDMI input, so I can use my laptop on the beach, in full sun, for work (you don't need colors for email, editing scripts or programming).

          Apart from the lack of thinness and being more like a monitor, that e-ink monitor would do just that. If you can part with the money :O

  • I currently use a kindle next to iPad and laptop. It is simply more relaxing on the eyes when reading a book.If this has indeed the high refresh rate combined with the pleasant reading experience, then I will eventually be able skip the kindle (or this new device) - do it all on your phone or laptop or tablet.
    Somehow it does sound too good to be true though...
    • by Budenny ( 888916 )

      Seems to be monochrome lcd, about which perplexity.ai says:

      While monochrome LCDs were considered for early e-reader designs due to their low power consumption and high contrast, they ultimately fell short in providing the paper-like reading experience and sunlight readability that e-paper technology offers. Additionally, e-paper displays have the advantage of retaining the displayed image even when power is disconnected, making them more suitable for dedicated e-reader devices

  • by Teun ( 17872 )
    Curious, it does not seem real E-Ink yet it is monochrome.
    Present E-Ink has two problems, it is slow to refresh and it's monochrome, both problems need to be solved before we can claim a new and better display.
    • by Pieroxy ( 222434 )

      Curious, it does not seem real E-Ink yet it is monochrome.

      Present E-Ink has two problems, it is slow to refresh and it's monochrome, both problems need to be solved before we can claim a new and better display.

      Solving any one of them would already be a better and newer display.

      • by flink ( 18449 )

        There are color e-ink displays android tablets based on them. The colors are a little washed out compared to and LCD display, but they exist.

      • e-ink colour already is on the market - solved

        Fast refresh e-ink is on the market if you are rich enough = solved. But you wouldnt play games on it, so have a second monitor just for that.

        https://shop.dasung.com/ [dasung.com]

    • by Anonymous Coward

      Companies like DASUNG have been making 10-14fps E-Ink displays since 2014. They even make 25.3" full color E-Ink monitors with HDMI connectors and 3200x1800 resolution.

      It's about time somebody finally upped the refresh rates to 60fps.

    • > Curious, it does not seem real E-Ink yet it is monochrome.

      LCD's are monochrome. It's a monochrom LCD. Colour LCD's are 3x monocrome LCD's stacked on top of each other with RGB filters between them.

      But if you toss all that and go back to just the one LCD you get a very reflective display.

      This screen also adds a texture layer which helps with controlling the stylus a-la a pen on paper.

      Someone will do a teardown once they get one.

      > Present E-Ink has two problems, it is slow to refresh and it's monochr

  • The computer, de-invented [daylightcomputer.com]

    “Meet DC-1, A new kind of computer designed for deep focus and wellbeing”
    • What a horrific website. I hope they licence the technology to some other company that isn't fronted by a bunch of insufferable wankers. This reminds me of the Mudita phone - a nice idea, ruined by hipsters.

  • I'll check in a year to see if its around. Looks great.
  • It would be cool to have one of these, but only if it could run Linux natively and I could have root access. I'm totally down with paper white and simplicity, but not at the cost of yet another Android device. I might possibly consider getting one if a Cyanogenmod ROM became available for it; but even then, Android is pretty limiting compared with Linux, especially when it comes to FOSS apps. I guess I'll pass on this one.

    • I have the same reservations. I need it to be all mainline and OSS before I'm going to spend this kind of money on it. If it doesn't have a future where I can maintain it, I'm only willing to pay budget prices, if that. Having said that, I want not only mainline Linux support but also a repairable device that's not horribly difficult to open, and one preferably based around a common battery.

  • "No camera -- thank God!" Why the hate on cameras -- don't know how to flip the switch to turn it off? No masking tape available? Feel obligated to run Zoom if there's a camera. This is not a review, it's an opinion piece by a biased anti-camera person.

    The real problem with this is 8GB of memory. Memory is dirt cheap. Even my three year old GM1915 has more and that's not a tablet. If you're going to go all out on this "working with an intent" (whatever that means) at least have enough room to store a

    • I remember when a computer was really cool with 8kb of RAM. Not 8mB, more than a thousand less than that. You talk about 8Gb. Memory isn't what makes Computers interesting, it is the processing and the software.
      • Memory isn't what makes Computers interesting, it is the processing and the software.

        Without enough memory, there's lots of interesting stuff you just can't do. Therefore, it's all of those things.

      • And computers can do far more interesting things with far more capacity.

        Prove me wrong, while typing it on a device doing billions of operations a second, and ubiquitously connected to a global information network via widely deployed standardized wireless networking.

    • > "No camera -- thank God!" Why the hate on cameras -- don't know how to flip the switch to turn it off? No masking tape available? Feel obligated to run Zoom if there's a camera. This is not a review, it's an opinion piece by a biased anti-camera person.

      Why would you need a camera on a book/drawing device that is designed to remove distractions? Cant you use another camera as and when needed?

      > The real problem with this is 8GB of memory. Memory is dirt cheap. Even my three year old GM1915 has more a

  • Ok, what does this device offer me that is worth the price of 2 iPads?

    If I wanted an Android tablets, the Xiaomi Pad 5 costs half as much (i.e. similar to iPad), why pay twice as much? Just because of e-ink?

    • I know that I am out in the sun many times when I use my cell phone, and I can barely read it. The other point that I liked is that social media apps will be effectively "killed" by this device, simply because they won't see the red "hearts" floating up, or the colorful fireworks going off, giving endorphins to their users. instead, they would see poorly black and white imitations. Their poor endorphins won't have anywhere to go.
      • by khchung ( 462899 )

        I know that I am out in the sun many times when I use my cell phone, and I can barely read it.

        I don't know which phone you used, but I recall I no longer have any problem using the phone under the sun with around iPhone 11, at least 4-5 years ago.

        Even assuming iPads still have that problem, are you really seriously suggesting that "useful when out in the sun" is worth twice the price? I very much doubt this device presented any sort of "challenge" to the iPad, which is dying on its own already, its market squeezed out by the Macbooks on the top and bigger/foldable phones from the bottom.

        • Every phone I have seen incuding the iphone 14's we use at work are practically useless in the sun.

          We are talking about actually having full sunclight on the screen, not outdoors generally.

          The screens wash right out.

          The only phone I had that was usable in sunlight, excluding the mono LCD displays of my first mobiles, was my Nokia N93 which had a simply amazing trans-reflective colour LCD that actually LIT UP in sunlight as a mono LCD would. I kept the backlight off all day. The coloyrs washed out a little

    • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      It's got the major social media sites blocked in /etc/hosts.

    • > Ok, what does this device offer me that is worth the price of 2 iPads?

      It's not made by Apple.

      It's not an ipad.

      Thats two great reasons right there.

      I'll add a third:

      It doesnt run iOS.

      • In all seriousness however.

        > Ok, what does this device offer me that is worth the price of 2 iPads?

        1. Battery life that wipes the floor with both ipads.
        2. A screen that wipes the floor with both ipads as neither i-device will be visible in the sun unless you blast through the battery.
        3. No distractions at all. You can focus on your work, be totally offline yet still use a computational device. Unlike the ipads which today might have "focus mode" but you have to have the disipline to not switch that bac

  • (All this stuff about "non-distracting" and emotional mumbo-jumbo. Their website is typical s***, forced smooth-scrolling, huge photos, forced scrollbars, moving hamburger menu, lack of specs list, etc.)

    Like others have said, I have zero interest in their version of Android skin, "Sol:OS." In fact, it would seriously detract from the market potential. Give me plain Android or maybe something similar to what Samsung does. The screen technology is exciting, since I have been watching tablets with better e

    • Oh, followup to self.... this is not eInk, there is no pigment. It appears to be a transflective "IGZO" LCD panel. (A traditional LCD panel with better IGZO circuits and a reflective panel in the back that allows ambient light to reflect back to the user).

      https://liliputing.com/dayligh... [liliputing.com]

      The IGZO tech:
      http://global.sharp/igzo/sp/te... [global.sharp]
      https://www.displayninja.com/i... [displayninja.com]

      So while it *does* require power to show anything on the display (so it is not a true "always on" display), it still uses much less power an

      • Having Wacom is worth some significant money, so as long as it's a fully compatible Wacom digitizer that automatically makes this device worth quite a bit more than it would have been otherwise. This is especially true if it's their combo wacom+10 points touch setup. I'm not sure that with its processor this device it merits $700, it's a much better argument if it's the full Wacom.

        I'm skeptical about the resolution, though. It is decent, but at this size I think it's going to fall short of expectations for

        • I am not quite sure what exact market they are going after. Since they chose to be mono and not color, that will through out most of the tablet market. Might be better than an eInk for outdoor tablet market that remains. But still no always-on display, and less battery life than an eInk tablet, which would make a much better 'reader' device (and for less money). Doubly so for those who don't want to be forced to use an amber-only backlight when indoors.

          For example, my Samsung S-series tablet, at around t

  • Turned off all iOS notifications and switched to grayscale.
    Do I send Apple a check for another $400?

    • & don't log into apps that annoy you or just delete them.
      • So alcoholics wanting to quit just have to put the bottle opener in a drawer... or give it to a charity shop.

        Problem solved!

        Addiction is addiction and some people might be able to use small inconveniences like uninstalling an app and not saving the app store password and make it work.

        Others will go for a bit, then just type the password back in.

        People who look for distraction free systems and workflows actually sometimes want to make it impossible to simply "pop on the net for 30 mins, whats the harm". Tha

    • That isnt good enough.

      Now have the device work, screen on for several days with no standby.

      Also, how long can you go with your attempt at going offline by simply turbing off notifications? Many of us who want to have distraction free computing use DOS and other ineritly offline OS's as we simply CANT STOP DISTRACTIONS.

      Do you know anyone with ADHD or is on the Autism spectrum? Ask them how they manage to keep focused. A software or hardware toggle swithc on an ipad isnt going to cut it as... you can turn

  • If the display is really that good, I want a monitor with this technology in it. Even if it's just fast-refresh LCD. I do have a Dasung Paperlike monitor that uses e-ink technology. It was horribly expensive, but my eyes were really suffering. While the Dasung monitor is a pleasure to read, the technology is really not there yet. Refresh artifacts eventually build up and you need to refresh the entire screen by pressing a button every few minutes.

    If I could have a fast-refresh display with paperlike

    • I had a phone with transreflective display, and it was completely readable in sunlight with backlight off. The colours disappeared and you got gray-scale in sunlight. The drawback was that you needed sunlight level of brightness for it to be readable without backlight.

      It would be mildly interesting if they managed to improve the reflectivity by some orders of magnitude so that it worked in indoor level of light without backlight. Personally I don't think it would look as nice to look at though, it's still L

  • What I want it a device suitable for reading A4 PDFs (i.e. at least 10 inch screen) and light enough to hold in one hand for long periods. This weighs 550g, more than any standard 10 inch tablet (Fire HD 10 is 433g for example).

  • Well, I made it to the November delivery which is kind of far away but I figure they will get the bugs out by then. A little concerning they never show a web browser in it, I kind of need that for work but figure Android will allow it.

    It's similar in price I paid at the time for the big BOOX Max Lumi (13.3 in.) e-ink tablet I have which unfortunately I have not used as I hoped because very heavy, could not get a firewall working on it. Refresh being slow also was a problem but not as huge, there just were o

  • https://us.kobobooks.com/produ... [kobobooks.com]
    So it exists, not with a 60Hz refresh rate, but who needs it for reading. And alright the colors look rather washed out, but hey, it's progress.

    And this isn't color and like most posters say, probably not e-ink at all. I doubt we will see video refresh rates for e-ink in the near future, monochrome or not.
    When my current e-ink a Kobo H2O gives up the ghost, the color is what I will opt for. I like Kobo because of many reasons, no 1 being it's not amazon.

    If kindle is all you

    • If you want to sell it to the masses it has to be cheap, if you want to sell it for a lot it has to be plush. The masses don't care about your stylus. The people with expectations want Wacom. The masses don't care whether your display is great. The people with expectations want high resolution.

  • I'm always weary of these companies that sell in batches that are sold out in advance of shipping. And this line quoted from the CEO at the bottom of their web page made me do a double-take as well. "It meant big tech do bad not cuz of who runs them, but because of the systematic forces they're beholden to ...". Really, "big tech do bad not cuz". Again, we'll see how this turns out.

  • I spend the majority of my working day out in bright sunshine and need to use my phone quite often. Having a dual screen phone would be really interesting to me, with this screen technology. I still miss my Yotaphone. It was great to have a color screen for indoor use and also an e-ink screen on the back for outdoor viewing. The e-ink screen was incredibly useful to me, albeit a bit slow on the refresh and with ghosting. If these guys could produce a high-resolution, high-quality RLCD screen for a pho

  • >"It refreshes at 60 frames per second, a pretty big deal for e-ink displays. This different screen technology [...] This is what puts it a notch above other e-ink tablets."

    The wording is extremely misleading. It is not eInk, it is just a trasflective LCD panel.

  • Thatâ(TM)s all very fine. For most iPad users thatâ(TM)s a small portion of what they use their iPad for. I guess there are people who will be well served by this, but I canâ(TM)t see anything near a challenge to the iPad.
  • ... better offerings, view/scren update frequency and speed aside.

    However, given the usage scenarios of these devices I don't see that much of a compelling value added with the faster screen, especially given that Boox devices come with options that are loaded with all the features you'd expect from a modern tablet.

    And then there's the Remarkable Tablet which looks way better, has - AFAICT - more features and an already existing track record.

  • Apple iPad Air wannabe and not able to do what Apple iPad Air can.

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