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I'd pay real money for something like this that had an open API so you could build your own widgets or hack it to do other things. Double bonus if it had say 3

I'd pay real money for something like this that had an open API so you could build your own widgets or hack it to do other things. Double bonus if it had say 3 buttons on it (or d-pad and two buttons for generic navigation).

Sgt_Apone 10y ago
Agreed. This has so many possible applications for me and it could only get more interesting when color e-ink finally arrives.
- luka-birsa 10y ago
  You can already get color e-Ink screens and not only that - they are super large (32"). Currently they are still priced a bit steep but the prices will drop. We provide development kits [1] if you want to try and build any of the applications you have in mind. [1] https://www.visionect.com/blog/32-inch-eink-development-kit-by-visionect https://www.visionect.com/blog/32-inch-eink-development-kit-...
Natanael_L 10y ago
If this could act as a mix between a Chromecast with screen (remote controlled browser) and a bigger smartwatch, it could be fairly useful. Pretty much an energy efficient "thin client" with some degree of autonomy.
jimmcslim 10y ago
Displio might be what you want: http://displ.io http://displ.io
- kingosticks 10y ago
  If they could swap out that humongous bezel for a larger screen they'd have a winner. Great link. Edit: actually, having just read the backer comments on kickstarter you almost certainly don't want one of these. Shame.
  - NietTim 10y ago
    Hmm why's that? I have one
    - kingosticks 10y ago
      If you look on the recent user comments they are mostly negative: * high import taxes due to the wrong paperwork * slow / unresponsive compared to promo video * buggy software * lack of customer support * one complaint of bad battery life But they did at least ship something so that alone makes it an above average kickstarter project.
waynesonfire 10y ago
http://www.ebay.com/itm/iRex-iLiad-Book-Edition-eReader-8-1-eink-/201602259882 http://www.ebay.com/itm/iRex-iLiad-Book-Edition-eReader-8-1-...?
dmritard96 10y ago
https://flair.co/products/puck https://flair.co/products/puck - we are thinking about launching a kickstarter for an SDK and potentially an HDK (hardware developer kit)
luka-birsa 10y ago
You can. As mentioned in other comments we provide a development platform for E Ink displays that comes with open API and the ability to quickly hack together stuff using HTML. We support WiFi, 3G and Ethernet and you can get sizes from 6" - 32". Check out our online docs [1]. [1] http://docs.visionect.com http://docs.visionect.com
- joshvm 10y ago
  How easy (and expensive) is it to buy OEM displays? The products you sell look cool, but seem to cater for the commercial market with economy of scale. If I want to got to EINK and buy a 6" Spectra panel, is that even possible as a hobbyist? Plastic Logic look the same. If you look on Digikey, the best you can do is about 3-4 inches it seems. So for very simple stuff e.g. I want to add a basic non-volatile display to some sensor I've hooked up to a microcontroller, there aren't many easy options.
  - luka-birsa 10y ago
    Access to panels is possible, you just need to find the right distributor. But getting the display is just a small part of the story. You need to build your driving electronics and figure out how to drive the display. 3-4 inches are also usually much simpler to drive, you can use a TCON and there's no waveform management, etc... The fact that this is much harder than it seems (hardware is non-mainstream, access to documentation is limited, support is very hard to get, displays need special driving chips) actually prompted us to provide a development platform for E Ink. It took us years to figure everything out and for somebody wanting to prototype something this is a show stopper. As far as pricing goes, the 6" panels are priced approachable, while the large displays still need to hit the mass production price points. Obviously if you buy from us in bulk we can provide you much better pricing than a price for a development kit, but E Ink is not cheap.
    - linuxkerneldev 10y ago
      I like how with words like "non-mainstream hardware", "acess to documentation is limited" you make it sound like using E Ink tech is incredibly complex and that mere mortals would not be able to do it on their own. Then at the end you casually mention that your company, Visionect can help. I googled and found that you are selling $6000 devel kits. I'm curious what is the price you're getting the displays for?

Sgt_Apone 10y ago

Agreed. This has so many possible applications for me and it could only get more interesting when color e-ink finally arrives.

luka-birsa 10y ago
You can already get color e-Ink screens and not only that - they are super large (32"). Currently they are still priced a bit steep but the prices will drop. We provide development kits [1] if you want to try and build any of the applications you have in mind. [1] https://www.visionect.com/blog/32-inch-eink-development-kit-by-visionect https://www.visionect.com/blog/32-inch-eink-development-kit-...

Natanael_L 10y ago

If this could act as a mix between a Chromecast with screen (remote controlled browser) and a bigger smartwatch, it could be fairly useful. Pretty much an energy efficient "thin client" with some degree of autonomy.

jimmcslim 10y ago

Displio might be what you want: http://displ.io http://displ.io

kingosticks 10y ago
If they could swap out that humongous bezel for a larger screen they'd have a winner. Great link. Edit: actually, having just read the backer comments on kickstarter you almost certainly don't want one of these. Shame.
- NietTim 10y ago
  Hmm why's that? I have one
  - kingosticks 10y ago
    If you look on the recent user comments they are mostly negative: * high import taxes due to the wrong paperwork * slow / unresponsive compared to promo video * buggy software * lack of customer support * one complaint of bad battery life But they did at least ship something so that alone makes it an above average kickstarter project.

waynesonfire 10y ago

http://www.ebay.com/itm/iRex-iLiad-Book-Edition-eReader-8-1-eink-/201602259882 http://www.ebay.com/itm/iRex-iLiad-Book-Edition-eReader-8-1-...?

dmritard96 10y ago

https://flair.co/products/puck https://flair.co/products/puck - we are thinking about launching a kickstarter for an SDK and potentially an HDK (hardware developer kit)

luka-birsa 10y ago

You can. As mentioned in other comments we provide a development platform for E Ink displays that comes with open API and the ability to quickly hack together stuff using HTML. We support WiFi, 3G and Ethernet and you can get sizes from 6" - 32". Check out our online docs [1]. [1] http://docs.visionect.com http://docs.visionect.com

joshvm 10y ago
How easy (and expensive) is it to buy OEM displays? The products you sell look cool, but seem to cater for the commercial market with economy of scale. If I want to got to EINK and buy a 6" Spectra panel, is that even possible as a hobbyist? Plastic Logic look the same. If you look on Digikey, the best you can do is about 3-4 inches it seems. So for very simple stuff e.g. I want to add a basic non-volatile display to some sensor I've hooked up to a microcontroller, there aren't many easy options.
- luka-birsa 10y ago
  Access to panels is possible, you just need to find the right distributor. But getting the display is just a small part of the story. You need to build your driving electronics and figure out how to drive the display. 3-4 inches are also usually much simpler to drive, you can use a TCON and there's no waveform management, etc... The fact that this is much harder than it seems (hardware is non-mainstream, access to documentation is limited, support is very hard to get, displays need special driving chips) actually prompted us to provide a development platform for E Ink. It took us years to figure everything out and for somebody wanting to prototype something this is a show stopper. As far as pricing goes, the 6" panels are priced approachable, while the large displays still need to hit the mass production price points. Obviously if you buy from us in bulk we can provide you much better pricing than a price for a development kit, but E Ink is not cheap.
  - linuxkerneldev 10y ago
    I like how with words like "non-mainstream hardware", "acess to documentation is limited" you make it sound like using E Ink tech is incredibly complex and that mere mortals would not be able to do it on their own. Then at the end you casually mention that your company, Visionect can help. I googled and found that you are selling $6000 devel kits. I'm curious what is the price you're getting the displays for?