The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet • Hacker News Board

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#151

Post by thaumaturgy » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:24 PM UTC

cptskippy wrote: post #139

lima wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They tried, but exposing a "simple USB mass storage" isn't easy at all from a running operating system. USB mass storage requires exposing a block device with a filesystem, which is error-prone and complex. This is why file-based protocols like MTP exist. But, since you can SSH into the device, rsync works just fine on the Remarkable. :)

So because it's not easy, it shouldn't be done? Personally I would be ok with my device disabling it's UI while it emulated a mass storage device when plugged into a host.

They had a variety of pretty big engineering challenges to solve: getting the form factor right, making sure your hand didn't interfere with the screen while using it, getting the pen-and-paper feel right, and getting the e-ink refresh rate down to where you could draw and write on it and have it feel natural.

I'm fine with them choosing to solve those challenges instead of supporting USB mass storage.

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#152

Post by thaumaturgy » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:29 PM UTC

moon4u wrote: post #37

igorkraw wrote: post #30

I have this device, and for hackers, this review misses some stuff: * the company behind it is based in norway, so you can be pretty sure the techies got treated well * they abide by the GPL very well * by connecting via USB and flicking a switch in the options menu, you get SSH access, as well as a REST endpoint where you can upload your files via curl. So if you don't like their cloud offering, you can turn of wifi…

Is the response time really that fast? On my e-reader, it takes solid 1 second in the best case (and sometimes more than 3s worst) to switch a page. This device looks really fast. But maybe it's just updating small region and that's why it's so fast?

Echoing other responses here: writing on it is practically lag-free (there's a tiny amount of lag, but I don't even notice it anymore); using the eraser tool to erase sections takes a little more lag, using the move tool to move sections around lags a bit more, and a full page refresh can take a couple of seconds.

In practice, it's been perfectly usable (for me). The only nit I've found responsiveness-wise so far is the startup time. It's not convenient when I suddenly remember something and want to write it down and have to hold down the power button for three seconds and then wait another five or more for it to get to the main screen and then wait another two or so to get to my scratch pad.

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#153

Post by blairbeckwith » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:30 PM UTC

summadat wrote: post #149

This is nice, but..the iPad Pro starts at $636, pencil is $99 extra, not much more than this $600 device.

This is a completely different type of device. Do you question people spending $20k on a car when they can buy a pickup truck for the same price?

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#154

Post by anarcat » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:30 PM UTC

reacweb wrote: post #100

lima wrote: post #98

Some cool facts about the device from a hacker point of view: - Main developer/CTO is a KDE dev and very open source-friendly. - You get root access to the device out of the box. - The device is running a mainline kernel with minimal patches, which have a good chance at being upstreamed[1]. - The toolchain is open[2]. They use vanilla QT/QML and people have already built simple example apps. - There's an unofficial L…

IMHO, these are important features. It seems it does not have Bluetooth (for a keyboard and/or headset to listen to mp3 while reading) and the battery can not be easily replaced.

There was the same comment when the Kobo came out (no audio) and that always struck me as odd as well. Why can't you use your phone or radio or whatever you normally use for your music instead?

I certainly don't expect my books to play music (except those silly little kids book, and those drive me nuts anyways).

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#155

Post by knaik94 » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:36 PM UTC

anarcat wrote: post #154

reacweb wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMHO, these are important features. It seems it does not have Bluetooth (for a keyboard and/or headset to listen to mp3 while reading) and the battery can not be easily replaced.

There was the same comment when the Kobo came out (no audio) and that always struck me as odd as well. Why can't you use your phone or radio or whatever you normally use for your music instead? I certainly don't expect my books to play music (except those silly little kids book, and those drive me nuts anyways).

Because it also means there's no text to speech capability.

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#156

Post by trey-jones » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:36 PM UTC

dalbasal wrote: post #16

Nice. I'd like to see e-ink continue to develop. What I want is an e-ink laptop with simple but good word processing, coding, text-mostly browsing, emails and such. I like my reader. It doesn't feel like "device" and I'm much more relaxed using it. Im on my third one and all three were on airplane mode since the day I bought them. Reading on tablet/phone triggers my hyperactive "device mode". Checking emails, hn, tin…

I also prefer an e-ink reader for reading. Still using the same Kindle Touch that I bought used probably 5 years ago. Probably charge it once a month, and don't have to worry about blue light before bed.

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#157

Post by thaumaturgy » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:36 PM UTC

zachruss92 wrote: post #133

I purchased the remarkable and was really disappointed. I ended up returning it. Ultimately, if i'm spending $700 for a writing tablet (after accessories), it has to work as described. Some of the deal breaking issues: - Battery lasts for hours, not days. - Mobile apps are buggy, viewing notes caused them to crash - Randomly stops responding to pen - Randomly freezes up - Customer support takes weeks to respond - Ere…

The only one of those I could corroborate is the pen style settings issue, which occasionally irritates me too.

Price: I won't argue it's expensive and if it isn't scratching an itch you've had for a long time then it might not be worth it. Mine has provided that much value to me since I bought it, and I figure I'm paying a little extra for early access anyway (and hopefully supporting a technology that will stick around for a while).

Battery: I can see it lasting for only hours under heavy, constant use, but I've found that I only need to charge mine about once a week and I use it daily. I'm just not drawing or doodling on it constantly, so mostly it sits idle next to me and is interrupted every once in a while for a quick note.

Apps: I haven't used any of the mobile apps for it because that defeats its purpose (for me).

Pen response: has been perfect for me so far. This makes me wonder if you had a glitchy or buggy device.

Freezing up: I've seen this happen twice, I think, since November, and in my case the device locked up for several seconds and then rebooted itself, which I thought was pretty cool (a hell of a lot better job than KDE on Debian 9). I didn't lose any work, even though both times I was using it when it happened.

Customer support: haven't had to deal with them, but I'm not surprised at the lack of response. That seems to be a trend over the last several years. Nobody does customer support anymore.

Ereader: Ashamed to admit I haven't tried using this feature on it yet, just haven't got around to it.

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#158

Post by ImSkeptical » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:38 PM UTC

igorkraw wrote: post #59

ggg9990 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the relevance of the “techies got treated well”?

Some people like to reward ethical companies. Most hackers I know are among them

Yeah, but I don't think the people writing the software are usually getting too badly treated. Are the electronics assembled in an East Asian sweatshop?

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#159

Post by thaumaturgy » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:45 PM UTC

mattmanser wrote: post #94

klunger wrote: post #2

My friend has one and I got to try it a couple weeks ago. The writing experience is as fantastic as the article describes. But, the rendering of screens is slow and you have to look at bizarro artifacts for a second or two before a new screen is shown. This is... not great. But, I am guessing this can be improved on in future versions. I am waiting for a better/cheaper model to come out, but fully intend to get one w…

I can see that disappearing quickly as it did between 1st and 2nd gen kindle. On my paperwhite it's now completely un-noticeable most of the time, there's only a few operations that have some lag. I'm tempted to buy one, but know how frustrated I get with bad UIs, so might hold off until the next gen.

FWIW I'm a fellow UI-grouch, but haven't hated anything about it enough to outweigh everything else I love about it. The funky screen redraw is just a brief thing and doesn't really get in my way.

The only UI thing that makes me scowl so far is that sometimes my pen settings inexplicably get reset.

Re: The ReMarkable E Ink Tablet

#160

Post by spiderfarmer » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 4:45 PM UTC

I would love a large e-Ink screen that I can use with a raspberry to create a low power unobtrusive dashboard somewhere in my living room. But all I can find are < 5 inch screens.