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Blloc – minimalist smartphone

blloc.com

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Re: Blloc – minimalist smartphone

#131

Post by ColanR »

01001010 wrote: post #114
jjrh wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lot of people want eink on a laptop (including myself) - mostly for the benefit that it's readable in the sun and low power. My understanding is the refresh rate is still too slow and the cost of a large panel is pretty high. I'd just grab a used thinkpad, chromebook, whatever and treat it as a dumb terminal. Pretty much how I used my laptop these days, ssh -X to a powerful machine and go. emacs --daemon / emacsclien…

Yes! My most recent search for any developments in e-ink laptops was literally yesterday. My understanding is that current e-ink screens are not technically limited to low refresh rates, but are artificially limited to save power. (I think someone hacked their e-reader to run linux at fairly high refresh rates?) Regarding dumb terminal, if your situation allows you to I feel this is currently one of the better option…

I was looking for something like that and settled on i3.

Re: Blloc – minimalist smartphone

#132

Post by craftyguy »

adhambadr wrote: post #8
decebalus1 wrote: post #6

Any other details about the OS? Is it an Android? How are the applications managed and what's their update pipeline? Are they whitelisted and managed by the manufacturer's own App Store? What's the privacy policy like? How often will it issue updates? I really like the display. I've been waiting for a phone with minimalistic display to save battery ever since the Motofone F3. But there's way too little information th…

we def. screwed up communication as we've been focused lately on finishing hardware. its based on Android 8.1 and the apps are downloaded via play-store normally. We don't white or black list, but rather are going through the most used apps and building easier integrations for them

Consider using LineageOS instead. There's nothing 'minimalist' about the crap that Google 'requires'.

Re: Blloc – minimalist smartphone

#133

Post by bytematic »

cryodesign wrote: post #84

Who designed this site? Readability is very poor. 8px font size for the 'pre-order' button, really? And the contrast ratio is pretty low too. Please, don't hire designers who just care about the graphic design aspect and making it look beautiful, but a pain to use, i.e. totally neglect usability. Erik Spiekermann said it best (enable english captions): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw0syzCeH4Q

Probably someone with a 4k or very high pixel density monitor

Re: Blloc – minimalist smartphone

#135

Post by thinkxl »

etatoby wrote: post #129
thinkxl wrote: post #52

So, I'll give some unsolicited recommendations for your website, regarding accessibility: - The contrast between the body text and background is to low; it makes it difficult for people with visual impairments to use the website. - Font size and font weight, the font is too thin and adding this to the low color contrast, it makes it even more difficult to read. - Images that don't add meaning (textually) to the page,…

What website? I only saw a white page. (I have Javascript disabled)

Looks like you are getting downvoted. I upvoted you, so I'll leave this here because is relevant: https://sonniesedge.co.uk/posts/progressive-enhancement

Come on, the website is only text, images, and a few forms, why would you render it in JavaScript. I don't see any additional benefit compared with plain HTML, CSS.

It is not a rich web application, even if it were.

Also, there's been server-side rendering for a while now.

Edit: Opinion

Re: Blloc – minimalist smartphone

#136

Post by asteli »

I like the idea! Aaaand I'd love to try it on my Pixel, because I know and love its hardware.

Is there a functionality reason that restricts the OS to the Blloc hardware, or might we see OS builds for certain hardware targets available for purchase eventually?

Re: Blloc – minimalist smartphone

#137

Post by patentatt »

na85 wrote: post #103
adhambadr wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

we def. screwed up communication as we've been focused lately on finishing hardware. its based on Android 8.1 and the apps are downloaded via play-store normally. We don't white or black list, but rather are going through the most used apps and building easier integrations for them

What's the differentiating feature between the Blloc and all the other black rectangles that run Android?

looks like a custom app launcher and some matching apps for some popular APIs. Still cool, but the reality is a bit of a letdown after the initial good impression. Ultimately, having to rely on your phone maker to keep up with every relevant service's APIs and features seems like a losing game. Seems impossible to meet everyone's expectations here long term. Also, I thought/assumed it was an e-ink display at first -- that would be cool. But the app thing, it's hard. Can't really launch an appstore for a new OS, too much momentum in the established players. Ask Microsoft. Perhaps an Android phone with an E-ink display and a custom display driver/some other cool tech to make every app in the play store work with it would be cool.

Re: Blloc – minimalist smartphone

#138

Post by patentatt »

adhambadr wrote: post #100
nickles wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EDIT: Given the presence Blloc has established online, it's likely that this is a real project. My apologies to adhambadr and the rest of the team. ------------------- I noticed this as well. The images of the device are entirely inconsistent with one another [0]. * Rendering effects are visible in some of the images * The front is displayed inconsistently. In some renders, a speaker is shown. In others, it is absent…

not sure how to proof we're legit, but here are some more links : from berlin university ( https://bit.ly/2vDJHSs ) & our trademark registration : https://bit.ly/2HoiXed (why would we bother if it was a scam?) pictures are a mix of renders and post edited photos, the models changed over time as we tested / verified components

No comment on the original question, but a simple set of photos taken today of you handling the phone would be proof. Trademark registrations are relatively cheap and easy, pointing to one as proof that you made a phone seems really sketchy. Again, not taking sides here.

Re: Blloc – minimalist smartphone

#140

Post by JensRex »

bytematic wrote: post #133
cryodesign wrote: post #84

Who designed this site? Readability is very poor. 8px font size for the 'pre-order' button, really? And the contrast ratio is pretty low too. Please, don't hire designers who just care about the graphic design aspect and making it look beautiful, but a pain to use, i.e. totally neglect usability. Erik Spiekermann said it best (enable english captions): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw0syzCeH4Q

Probably someone with a 4k or very high pixel density monitor

I'm using a 27" 4K monitor. I can't read anything on that site.
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