Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

271–276 of 276 posts

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

#271

Post by pidg »

bloodorange wrote: post #192
spaetzleesser wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If you are willing to strip the DRM and convert the files to epub or PDF, you can read them on the Remarkable 2. I do this as I prefer to read on the Remarkable 2 (compared to reading on the Kindle). It's just convenient to have all the technical material, notes and the leisure reading in one place.

I do this too. As well as ebooks, I have all my household manuals on it (washing machine, gas boiler, etc.) plus manuals for various devices - so much better than either keeping the paper ones, or keeping PDFs on the computer, as you can annotate them too!

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

#272

Post by Karawebnetwork »

nate_meurer wrote: post #262
Karawebnetwork wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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

Good.

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

#273

Post by WaltPurvis »

robomartin wrote: post #253
robinsoh wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This means that making e-ink displays requires putting-up a specialized factory or retooling an old LCD factory that might no-longer be competitive for making LCD's. Regardless of the approach, this is likely to be a very expensive undertaking. That, coupled with lower volume, is guaranteed to translate into higher prices. I think your observation is much more accurate than the other speculations about patents I ha…

Well, there's probably truth to the intellectual property factor as well. The business equation is a complex multivariate problem with a long list of variables. Each and every one of them contributes in one way or another. For the last 12 months we've been learning about this new "pandemic" variable, whose coefficient went from 0 to 1 in an instant. I see people often simplify businesses along high contrast dividing…

It was Long Beach, not San Diego, and the situation is, as you say, not that simple. Kroger has talked about closing those two "underperforming" stores many times before. Kroger is a huge company that had record sales (over $100B) and record profits last year, so it seems unlikely they couldn't afford to absorb a temporary (the ordinance limited the extra pay to 120 days) rise in labor cost of 20-28% at two stores. More likely, Kroger is taking the opportunity to close two long-struggling stores while -- most importantly -- setting an example, i.e., sending a message to other jurisdictions which might entertain the idea of mandating higher wages that Kroger is perfectly willing to punish workers and customers if it comes to that. (Also, the stores didn't close immediately, they're scheduled to close April 17.)

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

#274

Post by garrison »

toyg wrote: post #72

Beyond patent issues, TBH I would not have a problem paying for a reMarkable this very day, if I could be 10000% sure that there wasn't some shitty SaaS service involved in using it at any stage. These days, whenever a new gadget comes up, my first reaction has become "I wonder how they try to screw you into a SaaS later".

I have had great luck with "reMarkable Connection Utility." It bypasses reMarkable's cloud, which I have never once connected to. http://www.davisr.me/projects/rcu/

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

#275

Post by robomartin »

WaltPurvis wrote: post #273
robomartin wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, there's probably truth to the intellectual property factor as well. The business equation is a complex multivariate problem with a long list of variables. Each and every one of them contributes in one way or another. For the last 12 months we've been learning about this new "pandemic" variable, whose coefficient went from 0 to 1 in an instant. I see people often simplify businesses along high contrast dividing…

It was Long Beach, not San Diego, and the situation is, as you say, not that simple. Kroger has talked about closing those two "underperforming" stores many times before. Kroger is a huge company that had record sales (over $100B) and record profits last year, so it seems unlikely they couldn't afford to absorb a temporary (the ordinance limited the extra pay to 120 days) rise in labor cost of 20-28% at two stores. M…

Yeah, nothing is simple. My guess is that the stores were borderline in terms of viability and the $4/hr hike put them over the edge.

Still, it sucks that people lost their jobs this way. We need a system where politicians suffer real consequences for their actions. Not sure what this would look like, but it sounds good.

What we don't know is if the $4/hr hike caused employers to have to reduce worker hours, shift people to part-time basis, etc. Maybe that information will come out at some point.

Imagine a situation where you have 50 people making $12 per hour and you face an instant increase in labor costs to $16 per hour, or 33%.

That means the store has to INSTANTLY generate at least 33% more in profits (not sales, profits) in order to cover that increase. I don't know any business that can simply will a 33% increase in performance. This is where political thinking quickly becomes delusional. And, no, they are not sitting on fat margins that would allow absorbing such a thing.

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

#276

Post by HardwareLust »

figers wrote: post #245

Just bought a boox note air and love it, writing on it does feel like paper, syncs to OneNote & OneDrive Love reading kindle, feedly, hacker news, instapaper, zinio, etc

Thanks man! I was thinking about replacing my paper notebook, and that just might be exactly what I needed.
Post reply on HN