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Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

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Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#261

Post by codethief »

PurpleFoxy wrote: post #200
charlesdaniels wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was under the impression that ReMarkable in particular was pretty good about this. I believe they just run a custom Linux variant and you can even ssh into them. I was really considering getting one, but I think the bigger issue for me is the LiPo battery. You can’t take the thing apart without a heat gun because it’s held together with adhesive, so in a few years when the battery doesn’t hold a charge, you have an…

The iPad is much better at it. You just install Nextcloud on it and now all apps have support for saving to your own server

Looks like you replied to the wrong comment(?)

Regarding the Nextcloud's sync functionality on iOS, though: Does it support two-way sync? And do note-taking apps like Notability support it, too? Last time I checked, my impression had been that none of them does – which is a deal breaker for me, given that I'm a heavy user of Syncthing and have really gotten used to its instant two-way syncing functionality to keep all my devices up-to-date.

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#262

Post by nate_meurer »

Karawebnetwork wrote: post #252
nate_meurer wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the description "lacks intelligence and awareness" is not at all what the poster wanted to convey. Not even close. As I said elsewhere, "extreme, inexplicable, self-destructive foolishness" might be an adequate substitute, but I think simply "retarded" is also effective and concise, uttered not in a spirit of wanton bullying, but rather for the purpose of vivid illustration of behaviour that is, in fact, profound…

You are clearly missing the essence of this conversation as "foolishness", "stupid" and "dumb" are all words that are considered ableist. What you are saying is that the use of the word "retarded" is viable because it means "foolishness". However, the word "foolishness" shares the same baggage as "retarded". You use another synonym to mean that the company does not have the intelligence and awareness required to mone…

You know what, I actually agree, and I should note that I myself would never use such words outside of theoretical discussions.

However, by using the phrase "lacks intelligence", you have shown that you also have issues with ableism. Are you aware of how offensive that phrase could be to someone who has struggled with a learning disability, or to someone whose child is mentally disabled?

I know you mean well, but by saying that a person or group of people are unintelligent or that they "lack intelligence" (as you did in your previous comment), you are using hurt language that is perhaps only marginally less offensive and hurtful than "stupid" or the r-word. For example, take the bipolar CEO from your comment above... imagine how hurt they might be if you described their actions as "lacking intelligence".

I suggest you take some time to understand and address your latent ableism. Ask yourself this question: "how can I use only positive language in every situation, so as to completely eliminate the possibility of ever offending anyone?"

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#263

Post by criddell »

pabs3 wrote: post #247
criddell wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These guys sell something like that: https://www.boox.com/ I've heard they are great except for the GPL violations...

If you are aware of a particular GPL violation, please report it to the project being violated. For the Linux kernel, that would be Software Freedom Conservancy, who recently announced a new strategy for achieving GPL compliance. https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/ https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/enforcement-st... https://sfconservancy.org/copyleft-compliance/firmware-liber... https://sfconse…

It's been reported. HN has discussed it:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#264

Post by extreme_orang »

pidg wrote: post #10

I own a reMarkable 2. There is certainly enough to justify the cost, if you are a prolific note-taker. Conversely, I find it hard to justify the cost of an iPad, becuase I already have a phone and several laptops. I can't see a situation where a tablet would be more useful to me, so I've never bought one. Turns out different people have different needs, and the e-ink note-taking market caters to that. Most people wou…

I can recommend the Boox Note Air. Basically an android tablet with an e-ink display.

Excellent for PDF annotation and taking notes. Quirky as it runs Android apps.

Excellent display for reading

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#265

Post by m-ee »

dTal wrote: post #229
m-ee wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can also make things tough on competitors by filing a new patent that’s different enough from the original to get approved, but close enough to the original that it would be difficult to use the older patent without infringing on the new one.

Question - if that's possible, why couldn't a competitor do the same?

In theory nothing, in reality a head start counts for a lot. I’m sure companies like Apple and Sony would love to stop paying Immersion exorbitant license fees for the privilege of making things vibrate, but they’re still doing it.

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#266

Post by NoOneNew »

throwaway4485we wrote: post #14

Throaway to not get sued. E-ink, the company, holds the patents of the pigment core tech that makes "paper-like" displays possible and strongarms the display manufacturers and the users of their displays to absolute silence. Any research project or startup that comes up with a better alternative technology gets bought out or buried by their lawyers ASAP. E-ink don't make the display themselves, they make the e-ink fi…

Can you or someone else with more business tech knowledge explain this to me... historically, we have seen companies with patented or controlled environments open up their tech to various levels and see overwhelming success. Fuck-you-money levels of success. While I do understand wanting to keep a tech patent a little close to the chest, a tech patent seems to generate Scrouge Mcduck money when they hug as many devs as possible. Why do we still see this ass backwards patent holding? 30% of millions/billions of small berry pies is far better than 99% of one medium sized cow pie. Any good reason why Eink is that way? Just plain stupid or is there a good reason?

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#267

Post by hexedpackets »

mjcohen wrote: post #185
spaetzleesser wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would take one if i also could use it as replacement for my kindle.

If it runs android, you can use the kindle app.

You might be thinking of the Boox Note line of devices. The Remarkable runs a custom Linux distro, not Android.

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#268

Post by neekburm »

codethief wrote: post #130
neekburm wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have one, thus far their cloud service is free and hopefully will continue to be so. Every ReMarkable comes with an 8gb cloud account, which is the same amount of storage on the device. Hopefully this doesn't change, because it's really a pain to put things on the tablet without using their app.

> Hopefully this doesn't change, because it's really a pain to put things on the tablet without using their app. Have you tried Syncthing[0, 1]? I'm actually considering buying a ReMarkable 2 right now and the fact that Syncthing seems to be working on it is playing a major role in my decision process. [0]: https://syncthing.net [1]: https://github.com/evidlo/remarkable_syncthing

I haven't tried it. The existing app works pretty well for my purposes, but I'll keep this in mind if that changes. I also have a Kindle, and the ReMarkable app is a much easier way to get content onto the device than the process you have to use to get non-Amazon content onto a Kindle. Just drag an drop, then it syncs.

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#269

Post by PurpleFoxy »

codethief wrote: post #261
PurpleFoxy wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The iPad is much better at it. You just install Nextcloud on it and now all apps have support for saving to your own server

Looks like you replied to the wrong comment(?) Regarding the Nextcloud's sync functionality on iOS, though: Does it support two-way sync? And do note-taking apps like Notability support it, too? Last time I checked, my impression had been that none of them does – which is a deal breaker for me, given that I'm a heavy user of Syncthing and have really gotten used to its instant two-way syncing functionality to keep al…

Ah yes I did reply to the wrong comment. And support is kind of universal but not deeply integrated in apps. Nextcloud adds itself as a location to the iOS Files app so anything that has the ability to save to Files can save to Nextcloud.

The problem is this is more of an import/export workflow rather than seamless syncing. I use it a lot while drawing, the files are all stored internally to the app but when I’m done I save the result to Nextcloud.

It would be nice to have apps automatically save everything there but I think Apple wants to avoid having these remote storage setups as primary storage so your device is still usable with no network connection.

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#270

Post by pidg »

rtkaratekid wrote: post #210
pidg wrote: post #10

I own a reMarkable 2. There is certainly enough to justify the cost, if you are a prolific note-taker. Conversely, I find it hard to justify the cost of an iPad, becuase I already have a phone and several laptops. I can't see a situation where a tablet would be more useful to me, so I've never bought one. Turns out different people have different needs, and the e-ink note-taking market caters to that. Most people wou…

I’ve had the same thoughts about the iPad. Do you know if you can use reMarkable as a display screen to draw on for video conferencing? If it could I’d probably just buy one now.

There is a beta feature for using the reMarkable as a 'whiteboard' but it's very very buggy right now.
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