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

1–10 of 276 posts

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

#1

Post by behnamoh »

Looking at decent e-ink devices to write notes on, I cannot understand why they're so expensive. For the price of a remarkable 2, for instance, you could buy an iPad which supports note-taking, and much more.

I know there are some advantages to e-ink displays, but I don't think that's enough to justify the high price tag on these readers/note-taking devices.

There's also hidden costs involved, such as buying new tips for the e-ink pencils.

Has the e-ink industry reached a dead-end where patents are impeding progress, or are there other reasons involved?

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

#3

Post by RicoElectrico »

The company holding patents for e-ink is literally retarded, as if they don't want it to succeed. I'm not making this up. [1]

Sure e-ink has its flaws, but wouldn't it be better to have a smaller slice of a much larger cake?

OLED is patent encumbered too, there's also a patent holding company, despite that you can buy smallest modules for less than $2 on AliExpress.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22829798

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

#4

Post by corytheboyd »

I remember buying my first LCD display in the CRT era. It was tiny, thick, ugly, and of course expensive. Now they’re cheap and everywhere. The same will happen with e-ink in time.

Honestly I would rather have the iPad for note taking. Response times are important for rapid idea translation, and e-ink systems are very lacking here, whereas the iPad is not. Probably an unpopular opinion, but it’s my own experience.

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

#6

Post by cameron_b »

Not E-ink, but alternative tablet - Repaper:

https://www.iskn.co/repaper/shop/repaper

I got my wife ( a non-techie painter ) one for Christmas and just set it up last night on our iMac.

Adoption -> volume -> buying power -> lower component prices, better feature implementation

I think most of the alternatives suffer from adoption challenges, but I personally love Unix-model physical devices [ which do one job well and work well with others ]

So vote with your dollars, and feature requests

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

#7

Post by arsome »

RicoElectrico wrote: post #3

The company holding patents for e-ink is literally retarded, as if they don't want it to succeed. I'm not making this up. [1] Sure e-ink has its flaws, but wouldn't it be better to have a smaller slice of a much larger cake? OLED is patent encumbered too, there's also a patent holding company, despite that you can buy smallest modules for less than $2 on AliExpress. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22829798

Are those $2 Chinese modules really paying to license the patent?

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

#9

Post by Someone »

sneak wrote: post #2

My guess, from ignorance: the volumes are way lower vs traditional tablets, thinning margins and driving retail price up. Niche devices almost always cost more.

I don’t think they still be niche if they were competitive with LCDs in other aspects, most importantly color gamut and ability to show video (I think longevity and power usage already are competitive, if not more than so).

So, why? Are they inherently more difficult or expensive to manufacture, do they use materials that are too rare?

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

#10

Post by pidg »

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 would find an iPad more useful, so they're lower cost.

Post reply on HN