Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#11

Post by Sosh101 » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:04 PM UTC

I don't see the attraction of the Mudita Pure (other than a very nice aesthetic). It just seems like a (hugely) overpriced Nokia feature phone.

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#12

Post by ainar-g » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

Alec of the YouTube channel Technology Connections has a video[1] about his experience with an E-Ink device on his second channel. He wanted to see if this would improve his productivity, so it's not exactly the same as your question, but it's still worth a watch, imho.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfX0vlCa4k

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#13

Post by huachimingo » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:06 PM UTC

pseingatl wrote: post #8

Great battery life, light.Great for ebooks. I wish there was a laptop option as well, like HP's old Omnibook. Color is not required for many applications.

Or like the Gameboy Color's screen, you NEEDED external light to see it.

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#14

Post by netizen-936824 » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:11 PM UTC

the_af wrote: post #9

tluyben2 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are color touchscreens (Boox has one, there are phones that have those), but yeah I work in monochrome when there is sun or when I run out of battery; it works very well for me. But obviously YMMV! It beats sitting inside or squinting into my Macbook screen by a large stretch.

What about the refresh/redraw speed? I suppose e-ink has evolved past Kindle Paperwhite standards, because otherwise I can't see how you can use it for coding. Turning a page has a terrible redraw speed, it would drive me mad -- it looks like it was with LCD screens when they were first introduced: terrible. It doesn't matter for reading books, of course.

I'm sure you don't have to wait for each letter to appear before typing the next, I would expect some slowdown but I don't think it would be as bad as you seem to imagine

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#15

Post by scottndecker » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:14 PM UTC

I use the LightPhone. IMO, eInk takes things maybe a bit too far. The refresh rate is terrible and I have yet to seen an eInk phone that has a good texting experience. Most of the companies doing this are trying to get people off their smartphones (a goal I agree with). But making texting harder ironically leads to me using the phone longer than I would if I had an easy way to send a text.

The battery life and visibility in the sun are both great features. I'm hoping the middle part of the spectrum between the eInk phones and the iPhone/Pixel starts to fill in. Something more along the lines of the Wise Phone (https://techless.com/).

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#16

Post by criddell » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:15 PM UTC

lurn_mor wrote: post #5

nivenkos wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's monochrome though right? I can't imagine using a monochrome computer screen nowadays.

Oh, do books print the text in color now?

I think they were more talking about how modern code editors use color for syntax highlighting.

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#17

Post by nraynaud » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:24 PM UTC

I really would like that for the map on my bike.

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#18

Post by philips » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:24 PM UTC

What are you using it for?

I use a normal Android phone and a phone sized Android e-reader. IMO, doing anything beyond reading long form material on an Android eink device is too painful to replace a phone because most apps have animations and lots of color.

https://www.cect-shop.com/en/xiaomi-moaan-inkpalm-5.html

https://github.com/philips/inkpalm-5-adb-english

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#19

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:24 PM UTC

scottndecker wrote: post #15

I use the LightPhone. IMO, eInk takes things maybe a bit too far. The refresh rate is terrible and I have yet to seen an eInk phone that has a good texting experience. Most of the companies doing this are trying to get people off their smartphones (a goal I agree with). But making texting harder ironically leads to me using the phone longer than I would if I had an easy way to send a text. The battery life and visibi…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Why E-Ink Phones?

#20

Post by temp234 » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 2:25 PM UTC

scottndecker wrote: post #15

I use the LightPhone. IMO, eInk takes things maybe a bit too far. The refresh rate is terrible and I have yet to seen an eInk phone that has a good texting experience. Most of the companies doing this are trying to get people off their smartphones (a goal I agree with). But making texting harder ironically leads to me using the phone longer than I would if I had an easy way to send a text. The battery life and visibi…

Yes. I actually tend to call people back when they text me if I'm on the Light Phone lol, the physical experience of typing is that frustrating. I find myself hoping nobody texts me when my SIM is in the Light Phone because then it's hard to keep track of what info is on what device, iPhone or Light Phone, because yeah, I had to keep both, while I love the Light Phone and regret nothing and it's helped me practice better habits, the lack of productivity tools means the Light Phone is mainly a hike phone or going on a date phone for me.

I still would love an everyday phone that isn't an iPhone. Amazing rec for Wise Phone, has anyone tried it personally?