Pine64's Linux-Powered E-Ink Tablet is Making a Return (omgubuntu.co.uk) 19
"Pine64 has confirmed that its open-source e-ink tablet is returning," reports the blog OMG Ubuntu:
The [10.1-inch e-ink display] PineNote was announced in 2021, building on the success of its non-SBC devices like the PinePhone (and later Pro model), the PineTab, and PineBook devices. Like most of Pine64's devices, software support is largely tackled by the community. But only a small batch of developer units were ever sold, primarily by enthusiasts within the open-source community who had the knowledge and desire to work on getting a modern Linux OS to run on the hardware, and adapt to the e-ink display.
That process has taken a while, as Pine64's community bloggers explain:
"The PineNote was stuck in a chicken-and-egg situation because of the very high cost of manufacturing the device (ePaper screens are sadly still expensive), and so the risk of manufacturing units that then didn't have a working Linux OS and would not sell was huge."
However, the proverbial egg has finally hatched. The PineNote now has a reliable Debian-based OS, developed by Maximilian Weigand. This is described as "not only a bare-bones capable OS but a genuinely daily-usable system that 'just works'" according to the Pine64 blog. ["This is excellent as it also moves the target audience from developers to every day users. You should be able to power on the device and drop into a working Gnome experience."] It is said to use the GNOME desktop plus a handful of extensions designed to ensure the UI adapts to working well with an e-ink display. Software pre-installed includes Xournal++ for note taking, Firefox for web browsing, and Foliate for reading ebooks, among others. [And it even runs Doom...]
Existing PineNote owners can download the the new OS image, flash it to their device, and help test it... Touch and stylus input are major selling points of the PineNote, positioning it as a libre alternative to leading e-ink note-taking devices like the Remarkable 2, Onyx BOOX, and Amazon Scribe.
"I do not (yet) have a launch date target," according to the blog post, "as behind-the-scenes the Pine Store team are still working on all things production."
But the update also links to some blog posts about their free and open source smartwatch PineTime...
That process has taken a while, as Pine64's community bloggers explain:
"The PineNote was stuck in a chicken-and-egg situation because of the very high cost of manufacturing the device (ePaper screens are sadly still expensive), and so the risk of manufacturing units that then didn't have a working Linux OS and would not sell was huge."
However, the proverbial egg has finally hatched. The PineNote now has a reliable Debian-based OS, developed by Maximilian Weigand. This is described as "not only a bare-bones capable OS but a genuinely daily-usable system that 'just works'" according to the Pine64 blog. ["This is excellent as it also moves the target audience from developers to every day users. You should be able to power on the device and drop into a working Gnome experience."] It is said to use the GNOME desktop plus a handful of extensions designed to ensure the UI adapts to working well with an e-ink display. Software pre-installed includes Xournal++ for note taking, Firefox for web browsing, and Foliate for reading ebooks, among others. [And it even runs Doom...]
Existing PineNote owners can download the the new OS image, flash it to their device, and help test it... Touch and stylus input are major selling points of the PineNote, positioning it as a libre alternative to leading e-ink note-taking devices like the Remarkable 2, Onyx BOOX, and Amazon Scribe.
"I do not (yet) have a launch date target," according to the blog post, "as behind-the-scenes the Pine Store team are still working on all things production."
But the update also links to some blog posts about their free and open source smartwatch PineTime...
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Why would I want a smelly foot on my desktop?
Because the Linux developers opted to work with Gnome?
(And maybe it's not your operating system that you are smelling?)
Re: (Score:2)
Pine64 releases the hardware, more or less, sans-OS.
it relies on 'the community' to write the software, so if Gnome isn't your thing then by all means optimize some other desktop environment for e-ink.
Much of it is probably just turning off cosmetic eye-candy that causes screen refreshes and ain't that pretty in grayscale anyway.
big 10 inch (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
They already have, 3 times; PineTab, PineTab2, and PineTab-V. The perceived demand for e-ink is still high even though nobody really wants to pay for it.
Re: big 10 inch (Score:2)
Re:big 10 inch (Score:4, Interesting)
ePaper displays aren't that expensive. If you look on Alibaba you can get a 10" one for around 90 Euro/USD in small quantities, with prices going down for large orders. That's not dissimilar to high end LCD and OLED displays used in high end tablets.
The real issue is that the OS needs so much work to be usable with a touch eInk screen. Android has made a lot of progress on that front, and there are apps designed specially for such displays, but even so the OEM has to put a lot of effort in. It must be even worse for Debian.
I might end up getting an eInk tablet. They are at the stage where they are really good, and prices aren't too bad. Great for reading books, but also for document display. Even word processing and a bit of Slashdot posting.
Re: big 10 inch (Score:2)
I would get this Iâ(TM)m sure. I have a Boox Lumi 2 but donâ(TM)t use it for work due to worries about it phoning home and not getting a firewall working on it. Ordered a daylight computing tablet due in next month. But this sounds fantastic for work, Incan secure it too. Ideally it should work with an LCD style fast display like DCâ(TM)s and be 10 inches or more with good contrast as it is mainly for my eyes.
If it is priced right! (Score:2)
That's totally the kind of thing I would love to have. If it is priced reasonnably, I'll get one!
Re: (Score:2)
It's absolutely the sort of thing I'd buy ... for the right price. ReMarkable has had me interested for a long time, but it runs Android and doesn't have Play, so half the apps I would use it for (ie my book shelf in Play Books) won't work. A Debian-based tablet would be great. The comparable device seems to be the BOOX Go 10.3 - currently retailing for nearly $400, so I guess that's the price point they need to beat.
I'm not clear whether the relaunch includes an upgrade. 4GB RAM is pretty slim for a Li
Been using a Pine64 watch for years now (Score:5, Interesting)
A very basic semi-smart watch but it is perfect for the budget-minded such as myself (just $26!) Runs on the open source InfiniTime firmware [github.com], supports bluetooth, media playback, heart monitor, step counter, etc. I use it just for basic watch functionality. Really no need to spend hundreds.
More uses for this OS? (Score:1)
Re: More uses for this OS? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I bought my GF one of those, it is indeed impressive.
I fail to understand how an OS can get stale and how you can actually loose functionality?
I can't imagine that Onyx will actively remove functionality going forward but If you are worried that they might, then what's wrong with simply not accepting OTA updates? Its really just an E-book reader after all.
Is it reliable? (Score:2)
I bought a Pine64. Used it for a while. Then it died. Threw it away.
Is their other stuff any more reliable than it was?
Anyone want my wifi/bt interface? Kept that.
Exciting news (Score:2)
I have a pine book pro, but I have to admit I hadn't used it much. I use an older lenovo flex with (I'm ashamed to say Ubuntu) Someone else posted that theirs didn't last. I'll have to dig mine out and see.
Regardless, I wish nothing but success for the company. I love my kobo but hate the fact that the "browser" is still a beta thing, and doesn't really work smoothly. The original nook (I think it was the original) had the "beta browser" too. I have no idea on kindle's because I want to have actual files, n
Still just monochrome? (Score:2)
If I was in the market for an Eink tablet right now, I would be ignoring anything that doesn't have a color screen.