13 ms·

Sony’s e-paper tablet is a great example of Weird Sony

184 points by artsandsci 10y ago

dmix 10y ago
> The DPT-RP1 still only works with PDF files, so you won’t be able to use it to replace your Kindle anytime soon Oh that sucks, I've got a large epub/mobi collection, I'd hate to have to convert them all to PDF, but it probably serves a different purpose than a device for reading your standard books. It looks like a textbook device. This looks amazing for me personally. I love the idea of having the PDF on one side and notes on the other. It would be great for the various math / programming books that I read. The price might be a deal breaker though. Edit: it looks to be competing with these types of devices by Onyx, the reviews indicate it's ideal for technical books https://www.amazon.com/Onyx-Max-13-3-Flexible-Handwriting/dp/B01EVACVHY/ https://www.amazon.com/Onyx-Max-13-3-Flexible-Handwriting/dp...
ubersoldat2k7 10y ago
Got an eBook reader from Sony a few months before they totally abandoned their store and now all I've got is an outdated product. OTOH, it works quite well with different formats. Great hardware, so-so software, crappy post-sales service.
mbroncano 10y ago
Does anybody know why Amazon stop selling the DX? I use my paper white every day, but I miss the possibility of using a bigger display, or the easy annotation feature. The prices for second-hand DX are quite steep, so I might not be the only one.
- ianai 10y ago
  I think eink just isn't there yet. It's too costly to make the size people want, and the lag drives mainstream away. Just a guess though.
- duskwuff 10y ago
  > Does anybody know why Amazon stop selling the DX? The Kindle DX was exorbitantly priced (nearly $500 at launch), inconveniently large, and poorly marketed. And it didn't really play into the primary market for the Kindle, which was light reading.
- SamReidHughes 10y ago
  The iPad crushes it for PDF/technical reading.
baron816 10y ago
I'm pretty sure paper will never truly die. The ability to fold it, dispose of it, and manipulate it in a thousand different ways are some pretty killer features.
jlebrech 10y ago
I was wondering if someone could create a monocrome eink screen for a workstation, it would make for a great workstation for enhanced productivity. colour is a distraction unless you need to create something that's color (a programmer mostly doesn't)
- romaniv 10y ago
  I'd buy one in a flash. Color is overrated, while the ability to work in sunlight and display an image when computer is turned off / sleeping would enable me to do things completely impossible before. Also, it would be cool if such monitor also worked as a standalone tablet/reader with long battery life. I'd be more willing to spend $700+ if it was dual-purpose.
- robotresearcher 10y ago
  I'll keep my color syntax highlighting. I like it.
  - azeirah 10y ago
    You can achieve really nice looking syntax highlighting using only bold, _italic_ and several different scales of gray.
    - Larrikin 10y ago
      Differentiating between various grays seems like a waste of time when you could just use color
      - pasquinelli 10y ago
        you could also say using color seems like a waste of time when you could just vary letterforms. e-ink is nicer for your eyes but expensive if you want color. how one goes about highlighting their code depends on a number of constraints; if you want a display that's easier on the eyes you might use methods other than color to highlight your code. it's not easier or harder or any more or less natural or anything. me personally, i've always used color vary sparingly, if at all, because a bunch of highly contrasting colors ends up looking, to my eye, like vomit soup without really clarifying anything.
ungzd 10y ago
Seems that it's first of a kind device: it's definitely not just a dumb book reader but something aimed for content creation. So there are no off-the-shelf software for such devices, and I doubt Sony is able to make decent software for it. Also, e-ink screen might be too slow for handwriting.
- douche 10y ago
  I recently got one of these https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reader https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reade.... It's pretty fantastic so far. The stylus and e-ink screen do work pretty well for handwriting with the built-in notebook software.
  - nkrisc 10y ago
    That looks like just what I'd want. Still a little more than I'm willing to pay at the moment. I don't even mind the slower refresh rate of the screen for handwriting and drawing. I'm not making art, just taking notes and sketching concepts.
aeturnum 10y ago
I've been excitedly watching this product category for a while. I wanted to buy a DPTS1, but it turns it it only reads PDFs, nothing else. That felt a little too limited for $900. I've pre-ordered the reMarkable tablet, though more as a vote for the product category than love for the specific product. This doesn't replace paper at all, but it does bridge a gap that I've wanted to bridge for a long time. I've always liked printing out documents and making notes on them as I read, but it's hard to share those notes with others and it's impractical to haul the documents around. Products like this let me do this much more efficiently.
- rbanffy 10y ago
  What other devices of this size are there?
  - douche 10y ago
    I got one of these https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reader https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reade... It's pretty decent, and exactly what I wanted - an old-school Kindle around the size of a sheet of paper.
    - chamakits 10y ago
      Sorry for the incoming barrage of questions, but I've been looking for a good e-ink device. I've come across this one before, but have read different experiences with it. How is it for taking notes? How smooth is the experience with PDFs? Is it any good for annotating on top of PDFs? What file types does it support? What is it's battery life like?
      - douche 10y ago
        > How is it for taking notes? I've been pretty happy with it so far. The included stylus is pretty responsive. > How smooth is the experience with PDFs? Scrolling a PDF is a little weird on the e-ink screen - the refresh rate is kind of low, so it looks a bit like the old Windows Freecell victory animation while scrolling is happening. Switching between pages is smooth. > Is it any good for annotating on top of PDFs? Haven't tried it yet > What file types does it support? So far I've opened up PDFs, EPUBs and MOBIs. I believe there's more in it's app store, but I haven't needed to explore that yet. > What is it's battery life like? I charged it up when I got it at the beginning of March, and it's still at around 50%, with the Wifi enabled.
rb808 10y ago
I'd love a 10in epaper tablet with modern android. How hard can that be? You'd think with dozens of color tablets on the market it would be easy, but is impossible apparently.
- peatmoss 10y ago
  Yes, and with a cpu that can render complicated PDFs with big vector plots without needing a cup of coffee between page turns. The Kindle DX graphite was almost workable in grad school for journals, until a vector-based montecarlo convergence plot or even a scatterplot with many points would bring the poor thing to its knees.
  - ianai 10y ago
    I just want an external eink display for Mac/windows. I know of only one on a crowdfunding site right now.
    - j_s 10y ago
      Would you mind sharing a link?
      - ianai 10y ago
        Sad it's so unfunded. I think is shows the technology is just too expensive right now. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e-ink-monitor-13-3#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e...
        rb808 10y ago
        From that link it looks like it shipped. Mix of happy users and Mac users where it doesn't look like its working well. http://dasungtech.com/ http://dasungtech.com/
chamakits 10y ago
It's precursor (the DPTS1, which is also mentioned in the article) is just as weird. Specifically, it's a product that I obsessed over some time, but is actually incredible niche and not widely available. The resellers specifically target lawyers and other specific professions. It's also nearly impossible to find a physical place where you could test it without making an appointment. There are few things I want more than a product like this to succeed. I have had a couple of Microsoft Surface products, and they are amazing. Game changing even. But nothing beats e-ink as far as being pleasant on the eyes for extended periods of times. I've been trying to move from books to e-books, just because I don't have a lot of space to keep books anymore. For non-technical books, a Kindle suffices. But for anything even slightly technical everything falls short. Nothing comes close to the experience of physical books. The surface is the closest for me, but even that the software available for making annotations on it is lackluster, and just staring at a screen too long is not pleasant. This sort of large e-ink tablets I hope are the solution, but their popularity being so lackluster, makes me think that those that have spent the money aren't quite happy with it. I wish more products like this keep coming out until one sticks.
- dmix 10y ago
  I just looked around online and it's still impossible to find a DPT-S1 in Canada. There's no mention of when the US version of the DPT-RP1 will be available. Which is a shame because I'd love to purchase this for reading technical books.
- sulam 10y ago
  The Kindle DX was nice for this. They stopped selling it, though. I loaned mine to a nephew and he managed to get it stolen inside of 30'. Now I use an iPad Pro, but it's clearly not equivalent. I really miss the DX!
- noam87 10y ago
  Same here. Tablet screens hurt my brain, and I would love a product like this for annotating papers / articles / textbooks. There's reMarkable coming out later this year, targeted for a more general audience (https://getremarkable.com/ https://getremarkable.com/) -- hopefully it lives up to the promise, or at least gets more people excited about such a product. But I'm honestly kind of amazed that something like this isn't already widely available at a reasonable price... I don't feel like my needs are that atypical and it's just the dream product to me.
skizm 10y ago
Can this create new PDFs at least? Like can I just open a blank page, doodle a bit, and save it as a PDF?
- 0xxon 10y ago
  Even their old device (DPTS1) can do that - so I would assume yes.
thinkloop 10y ago
What's weird is the article not discussing what's weird
- waynecochran 10y ago
  Yes... I was looking for weirdness and found it quite normal. Also, they make $700 sound like a high price... that sounds cheap for a coveted and new emerging product to me...
- ctdonath 10y ago
  Yes, the article fails to expand on the title's point which I've observed for a long time. I used to be a hardcore Sony fanboy (still have the original AIBO). Great innovative stuff, pushing limits with abandon, bringing the sci-fi future to life. Except...they always got it a little wrong, in the "uncanny valley" way. Everything was built to specs - barely. Key ports were implemented cheaply. Compatibility was often trumped by proprietary - the latter being better, but in the "Beta vs VHS" losing way. Device driver software was...lacking. Once the device was sold, there was a sense of abandonment - great product, but you're on your own now. Crapware was common (software was delivered with the device just to get the hardware sold). UI/UX was more focused on "cool" than "useable". Overall, the focus was on bringing futuristic to life, failing to make it really usable; as a result, "cool" slides sideways into "weird" - it's neat, but ultimately infeasible. Examples of Sony weird? MagicGate memory sticks everywhere, whether a device needed it or not (like a pen), incompatible with dominating standards (SD, MicroSD, etc). Innovative remote controls of a type used by nobody else for a reason. Pocketbook-sized notebooks with "retina" displays (before Apple got to "retina" and "Air") so small as unreadable. HDTVs with gorgeous styling suitable only for hyper-minimalism homes. Disc players loaded with demo software that made a Wii look good (trailers for "Salt" at 320x200 resolution, on a 1920x1080p display? really?). UI that looked great yet required steps that would make Jonny Ive choke. Elegant e-readers that were incompatible with pretty much any book formats. This new tablet looks great, sure - it's big, flat, minimalistic, and has great specs. From experience, I'd hesitate to buy one because I expect it will run slow in odd conditions, have questionable real-world battery life, use proprietary chargers, suffer odd document compatibility issues, have a general sense of post-sale customer abandonment, and some specs will be met only in the most strict & strained sense. Out of the box I'd love it, then slowly develop a sense of irritation by something proving subtly but pervasively unusable. It looks cool on its own, but will predictably look out-of-place amid other serious competition, leading the way in a direction that the industry ultimately won't go. I'm not saying this particular device is defective in such ways, but having been disappointed by numerous products (despite valiant attempts to live & defend them), I expect I'd start using it with a sense of "this is awesome" soon morphing into a nagging sense of "...but something's wrong here" and ultimately buying something comparable that hits the market not long after.
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mato 10y ago
This is awesome. Hopefully a step towards my dream laptop with an e-paper screen for coding outside.
ksk 10y ago
The article doesn't explain why the author considers the tablet weird, or why anyone else should.
- GuiA 10y ago
  "Weird Sony" is a (maybe niche) expression in tech that refers to weird products Sony has released over the years, hinting that there are some crazy innovative designers working there that upper management sometimes listens to. http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/29/4783132/the-amazing-products-of-weird-sony http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/29/4783132/the-amazing-produc...
  - 112233 10y ago
    really nice list. sony still continues to make very well engineered weird gadgets. want wireless headphones with active NC? sony has ones that it lists as 8gb mp3 player (which it also is). Then there was PCM D1, and the current DSC RX1 is bordering on weird, too.
    - ksk 10y ago
      Yeah.. they bundled active NC IEMs with Sony VAIO Z21 laptops 6 years ago which worked through the 3.5mm headphone jack.
  - ksk 10y ago
    None of those things seem that outrageous to me, personally, but I also understand why calling something weird is good click-bait. It just looks like a company trying out a bunch of products. Is that really weird? I guess its subjective, so no point arguing about it. Its slightly annoying that tech journalism seems to engender a bunch of tech-splainers who seem to always know exactly why a product worked and why a product failed.
- goodside 10y ago
  It's an expensive e-ink display big enough to read PDF. Kindle abandoned that market in 2010 and never looked back. Right now the only options are this tablet's predecessor and one competitor, both of which are expensive and discontinued.
anon1253 10y ago
This seems really interesting. But what I've been more interested in is a LCD/e-Ink hybrid display for my workstation. LCDs are basically transparent, so I think you could overlay them in front of a back-illuminated e-Ink display. Say 23"? For things like programming this would be ideal for me. You can put the high-refresh rate things on the overlayed LCD, and the slow documentation, typing, stuff on the e-Ink display. I don't even need a pen, those never work for me (too much input latency). Another idea would be to pair a large e-ink display with a Macbook Pro style "magic bar" (or whatever they call it). So you can do the typing on the e-ink, with a Submlime text-like minimap for scrolling and context. Anyway, I don't have the chops to pull it off…but it would be great I think!
- cptskippy 10y ago
  What is your perceived benefit from this theoretical display? It seems like the LCD panel would make the eInk panel less legible there by negating any advantage there. Being a fixed device with constant power, the other advantage of eInk is removed.
  - dpark 10y ago
    Plus if the e-Ink is backlit, it's no longer as easy on the eyes, eliminating it's biggest feature.
  - anon1253 10y ago
    Depends on how much the overlayed LCD screen would impact legibility. I'm not sure. Transparent OLED might work [1]. The backlit would basically be for evenings, where the ambient light might not be enough. I just love the readability and aesthetics of eInk. Practically, it's probably worse at everything...so I can understand the limited uptake. [1] http://www.mmt.io/transparent-oled-touch-screen-display/ http://www.mmt.io/transparent-oled-touch-screen-display/
- ianai 10y ago
  And here I want an LCD without backlight or an eink external display. Overlaying one on top of the other might make some interesting things possible though.
leecarraher 10y ago
man it's expensive, but totally want this device. I read and regrettably print out a ton of research documents for note-taking and reference, that 6" readers just can't seem to match.
- EvgeniyZh 10y ago
  Those were exactly my thoughts.
nabla9 10y ago
I read lots of research papers and books. I used to think that once I get big and high contrast e-paper tablet with ability to annotate I don't need paper anymore. Then I noticed that e-paper is window to knowledge that allows me to look in but never allows my mind to enter. There is cognitive wall between myself and the things I read. Reading physical papers and books and storing them is concrete memory palace technique. Writing notes on them, underlying, leaving coffee stains and folding corners, adding sticky notes etc. is concrete physical creation of of a memory palace. It helps to arrange, retain and absorb knowledge with spatial associations. When I store paper I have just read into a stack of papers, or put it into a folder in a bookshelf, it's stored in a spatial space that helps with remembering and recollection just like memory palace memorization technique. If I look at the paper years later, just quick glance brings in the associations. E-paper tablet is just the same tablet every time. I still use tablets and computer to read fiction and skim abstracts. If I have to fully learn and think what I read, I print it out. --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci
- romaniv 10y ago
  Trying to replace paper with eInk isn't wise. However, those devices could have other, entirely new usages. For example, digital blackboard that consumes little power and can be remotely updated would be extremely useful. This isn't something that is possible with normal monitors because of power consumption and the annoying glow. That's just one possibility.
  - jedimastert 10y ago
    > digital blackboard that consumes little power and can be remotely updated would be extremely useful. This is what I've been looking at them for. I would consider them an electronic notebook.
- icantdrive55 10y ago
  Yea--I noticed the same thing. I'm wondering if it would be different if I had a device I could write on, but not buying anymore readers, at least for awhile. I can bring up parts of a book page in my mind, but I don't think I can do it with electronic readers. I'm not sure, because I haven't been in school for awhile, or needed to bring up something for a test. When I was in school, I had a hard time memorizing. I started taking notes differently, my recall increased dramatically. I would doodle on every page. Every page of notes was only written once, and I never re-copied. I tried to make every page a picture. My text books were filled with doodles, and pictures in the margins. It really helped me. Now--my books are just taking up too much room. I hate to get rid of them, but might have too. There was a time where I could get any book on the Internet. Those days are gone. I'm not a big reader either. My books are just reference, but have value to me. I know it's crazy.
walterbell 10y ago
The 12" iPad Pro is a bit more expensive, but has much broader software support, including ePub, drawing & file synchronization services. Optional keyboard & stylus. Will hopefully be getting smaller with new version that reduces bezel size. As a bonus, good speakers and retina screen. E-ink has the advantage of being easier on the eyes, but iOS has improved in this area with night mode (blue light reduction). You can also invert the screen for white text on black background. EDIT: As a user of the Sony DPTS1, one good thing is that it supports WebDAV for private synchronization of files, along with a removable microSD card. But if you're already carrying around an iPad Pro of the same screen size, it's hard to justify also carrying the DPTS1. With SanDisk's iXPand USB drive, iOS apps can now support removable storage. Sony should consider adding an app that makes their e-ink screen a second display for iOS, Android, Windows & MacOS. That way you can use the broad software portfolio of iOS & Android with the low-power large display of the Sony Device. You could connect the Sony to your phone via bluetooth and the e-reader device would only need power when doing a screen refresh / page turn. Duet Display does this today for iPad, https://www.duetdisplay.com/ https://www.duetdisplay.com/
spott 10y ago
Is the refresh rate on e-paper screens good enough for drawing on yet? I was under the distinct impression that they still have a long enough refresh rate to make the delay... distracting.
dluan 10y ago
I feel like Sony took over the mantle from Apple several years ago for putting out high quality and innovative products. Stuff like this is really cool to see. Sony's cameras are the perfect example of modern prosumer tools, incredible quality, and thinking outside of the box. It would awesome if this translated into an iphone killer.
- _ph_ 10y ago
  You are too young :). There was a time, when Sony was what Apple today is - the technology giant who puts out amazing new devices all the time. Their advertising slogan "Its not a trick, its a Sony" was justified back then (up to the late 80ies, perhaps early 90ies). But I am very happy to see, that some of that old Sony is coming back.
  - mathewsanders 10y ago
    And the industrial design was fantastic. I remember a kid coming to high school with this walkman (http://www.walkman-archive.com/gadgets/walkman_sony_05_701c_v3.htm http://www.walkman-archive.com/gadgets/walkman_sony_05_701c_...) after his Dad had visited Japan, I was amazed that it was only fractionally larger than the tape it held. 30 years later and IMO it still looks modern.
tapia 10y ago
Am I the only one who is still waiting for tablets/e-readers to use Mirasol technology [0]? --- [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interferometric_modulator_display https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interferometric_modulator_disp...
tjoff 10y ago
The only weird thing about this product is that it is so expensive. There has been numerous examples of products identical to this one, almost a decade ago I was drooling for one so bad. I'm blaming apple. The iPad killed eink just as it was about to take off. Who would want a slow black-and-white display when you can have a fancy glossy color display? Nevermind that you can't read properly on an glossy screen and that the battery life is measured in hours rather than days/weeks. We lost out on so much potential for the gimmick that is the tablet.
- jonnathanson 10y ago
  You could make the counterargument that tablets floundered in obscurity for years until Apple released the iPad. The iPad made tablet ownership nearly ubiquitous among the types of people who might someday want to use a tablet for business purposes. The iPad isn't a business device, but it's breached the doors to the business market. It hasn't just tapped latent demand; it's created demand. In doing so, it's shown the way forward -- into a much bigger market than would have existed without it.
  - tjoff 10y ago
    Eink devices are not (or rather, should not be) competing with the tablet that is the iPad. The public didn't realize this because of the ipad hype. I'm not arguing that the ipad isn't a success, I just wish the ipad would never have been created.
    - jonnathanson 10y ago
      "Eink devices are not (or rather, should not be) competing with the tablet that is the iPad." I'm not arguing that they should compete. Rather, I'm arguing that the iPad can be seen as having opened the door to mainstream usage and acceptance of tablets -- both as devices and as form factors. Many of the consumers who are now comfortable using tablets are more likely to use an e-ink based business tablet than they would have been if they'd never used a tablet before. And it's likely they'd never have used a tablet before if the iPad hadn't made tablets mainstream. And precisely because said tablets wouldn't compete with the iPad, those consumers might buy both. Or have one provided/subsidized by their employers.
bmuon 10y ago
I wonder if they've made any significant advancements in input latency. Something like this was my dream device when I was in college.
downrightmike 10y ago
The end factor against large adoption is that: paper is cheap
Animats 10y ago
If Apple introduced this, it would be called "disruptive" and "revolutionary". From Sony, it's "weird". eInk still costs far too much per unit area. You can buy wall sign sized eInk displays, but they'll cost much more than an LCD TV panel of the same size. 32" diagonal display, $3,599.[1] Compare 32 inch color LCD TVs for $200 at WalMart. Despite talk of cheap "electronic paper" displays, the eInk people never delivered on cost. [1] https://www.visionect.com/product/visionect-development-kit-32-grayscale/ https://www.visionect.com/product/visionect-development-kit-...
- metaphor 10y ago
  >> eInk still costs far too much per unit area. Any idea what those ballpark figures look like today? The E ink product you linked is a dev kit targeting a niche market, not a general CE product manufactured in the millions and benefiting from economies of scale...I'm simply not seeing the relevance of the comparison.
  - Animats 10y ago
    eInk doesn't publicly release prices. It's a "contact sales" kind of business. Visionect's 9.7" e-ink sign, which is their version of a digital picture frame, costs $400.[1] That's a product, not a development kit. A comparable LCD digital picture frame from WalMart costs $70. Color, too. [1] https://www.visionect.com/product/visionect-sign-9-7/ https://www.visionect.com/product/visionect-sign-9-7/
    - Ursa83 10y ago
      Hi there, Ursa from Visionect here. Just a slight clarification: the 9.7 Sign is not a consumer product in the sense of a digital picture frame. Rather it is a sort-of development kit, a blank canvas device on which companies can develop their own products. So geared towards professional use. Plus, the battery lasts four months;)
- Analemma_ 10y ago
  I think your reaction is a little knee-jerk. "Weird Sony" has been an in-joke for some time, here's Penny Arcade making fun of it in 2004: https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/12/13/the-sony-syndrome-part-one https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/12/13/the-sony-syndr... (when they didn't even like Apple yet). Sony has a noted history of these strange, slightly off-beat products that always sound more useful on paper than they turn out to be in practice.
seanwilson 10y ago
I wish they could make one either without a bezel or a bezel that was indistinguishable from the screen so it would look as close to a piece of paper as possible.
Nomentatus 10y ago
I want one. Now. There is another technology with a high refresh rate, transflective. http://t17.net/transflectiveTFT/ http://t17.net/transflectiveTFT/ And I've seen a presale or kickstarter for a fast epaper tablet not from Sony.
kasperset 10y ago
What happened to Pixel QI? There is a wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_Qi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_Qi why did it never took off?
buzzybee 10y ago
I thought I wanted one of these e-ink based devices for sketching or notes, but it turned out that I actually wanted a Boogie Board. [0] The eInk-based notepaper has been a long time in coming and you don't even get good latency, while reflex LCD, which the Boogie Board uses, is instant. [0] https://www.myboogieboard.com/ewriters https://www.myboogieboard.com/ewriters
- setr 10y ago
  Woah damn that is some ugly product design who are they targetting, toddlers?
  - pasquinelli 10y ago
    if you look at the clear one it's shown with a set of flash cards for tracing letters, so maybe not toddlers but young.
- linuxkerneldev 10y ago
  > while reflex LCD, which the Boogie Board uses, is instant. You're comparing two different things. Boogie board is not a display panel with a matrix that can be controlled electronically by software. There's no "pixels", which is why you can't use software to write to it or change the state of individual pixels. The cholesteric LCD being drawn on in boogie board is similar to the surface material in an etch-a-sketch.
beezle 10y ago
Any feel on how the Sony's IAP140 ARM53 processor stacks up against the A9 in the reMarkable? Little I could find seems to indicate edge still with the A9. The Sony also has 16GB vs 8B storage, 11GB usuable, not sure how much of that 8 will be free on reMarkable. I really hate Sony - many bad experiences but have to say, the near 8.5x11 format is very attractive and my one disappointment on my reMarkable preorder. Bummer that it only does pdf but not hard to go epub -> pdf Will be interested to read the full reviews of the Sony though tend to think I'd wait at least a year before contemplating a purchase even if the reviews turn out to be good. To save you the math: Sony: 8.8x11.9" 8x10.6 display 207 dpi 349gm reMarkable: 6.9x10.1 6.1x8.2 226 dpi 350gm
zem 10y ago
I will wait for someone other than sony to make a product like this; for better or worse I have a knee jerk aversion to buying anything from sony or apple because my expectation is that the device will be able to do a lot of neat things that they will spend tons of time and money trying to lock me out of.
WalterBright 10y ago
I want one. I have a Kindle DX, which is pretty good. I sure wish, though, that the screensaver was the last page read. That way I could open up a quick reference pdf, prop it up next to my screen, and not have it continually switch off.
laughfactory 10y ago
This looks almost good enough. I love the form factor, and the interface looks good. The remaining issue which needs to be solved for something like this to take off is the responsiveness issue. Just because I'm using e-ink doesn't mean I'm going to tolerate slow transitions, or delay in writing on it. I want it to be what it is, but much faster, and with way better (Surface-like) pen responsiveness. I watched the video and noted that page transitions were better than my Paperwhite, but still jarring, and their was obvious delay from when the pen strokes occurred and when the writing showed up on the screen. I know these issues are hard ones to solve with e-ink, and in a svelte form factor, but I suspect eventually someone will nail it. And that's when I'll buy one. I do vastly prefer reading on a high resolution e-ink screen. It's just soothing on the eyes.

184 points by artsandsci 10y ago

dmix 10y ago

> The DPT-RP1 still only works with PDF files, so you won’t be able to use it to replace your Kindle anytime soon Oh that sucks, I've got a large epub/mobi collection, I'd hate to have to convert them all to PDF, but it probably serves a different purpose than a device for reading your standard books. It looks like a textbook device. This looks amazing for me personally. I love the idea of having the PDF on one side and notes on the other. It would be great for the various math / programming books that I read. The price might be a deal breaker though. Edit: it looks to be competing with these types of devices by Onyx, the reviews indicate it's ideal for technical books https://www.amazon.com/Onyx-Max-13-3-Flexible-Handwriting/dp/B01EVACVHY/ https://www.amazon.com/Onyx-Max-13-3-Flexible-Handwriting/dp...

ubersoldat2k7 10y ago

Got an eBook reader from Sony a few months before they totally abandoned their store and now all I've got is an outdated product. OTOH, it works quite well with different formats. Great hardware, so-so software, crappy post-sales service.

mbroncano 10y ago

Does anybody know why Amazon stop selling the DX? I use my paper white every day, but I miss the possibility of using a bigger display, or the easy annotation feature. The prices for second-hand DX are quite steep, so I might not be the only one.

ianai 10y ago
I think eink just isn't there yet. It's too costly to make the size people want, and the lag drives mainstream away. Just a guess though.
duskwuff 10y ago
> Does anybody know why Amazon stop selling the DX? The Kindle DX was exorbitantly priced (nearly $500 at launch), inconveniently large, and poorly marketed. And it didn't really play into the primary market for the Kindle, which was light reading.
SamReidHughes 10y ago
The iPad crushes it for PDF/technical reading.

baron816 10y ago

I'm pretty sure paper will never truly die. The ability to fold it, dispose of it, and manipulate it in a thousand different ways are some pretty killer features.

jlebrech 10y ago

I was wondering if someone could create a monocrome eink screen for a workstation, it would make for a great workstation for enhanced productivity. colour is a distraction unless you need to create something that's color (a programmer mostly doesn't)

romaniv 10y ago
I'd buy one in a flash. Color is overrated, while the ability to work in sunlight and display an image when computer is turned off / sleeping would enable me to do things completely impossible before. Also, it would be cool if such monitor also worked as a standalone tablet/reader with long battery life. I'd be more willing to spend $700+ if it was dual-purpose.
robotresearcher 10y ago
I'll keep my color syntax highlighting. I like it.
- azeirah 10y ago
  You can achieve really nice looking syntax highlighting using only bold, _italic_ and several different scales of gray.
  - Larrikin 10y ago
    Differentiating between various grays seems like a waste of time when you could just use color
    - pasquinelli 10y ago
      you could also say using color seems like a waste of time when you could just vary letterforms. e-ink is nicer for your eyes but expensive if you want color. how one goes about highlighting their code depends on a number of constraints; if you want a display that's easier on the eyes you might use methods other than color to highlight your code. it's not easier or harder or any more or less natural or anything. me personally, i've always used color vary sparingly, if at all, because a bunch of highly contrasting colors ends up looking, to my eye, like vomit soup without really clarifying anything.

ungzd 10y ago

Seems that it's first of a kind device: it's definitely not just a dumb book reader but something aimed for content creation. So there are no off-the-shelf software for such devices, and I doubt Sony is able to make decent software for it. Also, e-ink screen might be too slow for handwriting.

douche 10y ago
I recently got one of these https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reader https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reade.... It's pretty fantastic so far. The stylus and e-ink screen do work pretty well for handwriting with the built-in notebook software.
- nkrisc 10y ago
  That looks like just what I'd want. Still a little more than I'm willing to pay at the moment. I don't even mind the slower refresh rate of the screen for handwriting and drawing. I'm not making art, just taking notes and sketching concepts.

aeturnum 10y ago

I've been excitedly watching this product category for a while. I wanted to buy a DPTS1, but it turns it it only reads PDFs, nothing else. That felt a little too limited for $900. I've pre-ordered the reMarkable tablet, though more as a vote for the product category than love for the specific product. This doesn't replace paper at all, but it does bridge a gap that I've wanted to bridge for a long time. I've always liked printing out documents and making notes on them as I read, but it's hard to share those notes with others and it's impractical to haul the documents around. Products like this let me do this much more efficiently.

rbanffy 10y ago
What other devices of this size are there?
- douche 10y ago
  I got one of these https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reader https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reade... It's pretty decent, and exactly what I wanted - an old-school Kindle around the size of a sheet of paper.
  - chamakits 10y ago
    Sorry for the incoming barrage of questions, but I've been looking for a good e-ink device. I've come across this one before, but have read different experiences with it. How is it for taking notes? How smooth is the experience with PDFs? Is it any good for annotating on top of PDFs? What file types does it support? What is it's battery life like?
    - douche 10y ago
      > How is it for taking notes? I've been pretty happy with it so far. The included stylus is pretty responsive. > How smooth is the experience with PDFs? Scrolling a PDF is a little weird on the e-ink screen - the refresh rate is kind of low, so it looks a bit like the old Windows Freecell victory animation while scrolling is happening. Switching between pages is smooth. > Is it any good for annotating on top of PDFs? Haven't tried it yet > What file types does it support? So far I've opened up PDFs, EPUBs and MOBIs. I believe there's more in it's app store, but I haven't needed to explore that yet. > What is it's battery life like? I charged it up when I got it at the beginning of March, and it's still at around 50%, with the Wifi enabled.

rb808 10y ago

I'd love a 10in epaper tablet with modern android. How hard can that be? You'd think with dozens of color tablets on the market it would be easy, but is impossible apparently.

peatmoss 10y ago
Yes, and with a cpu that can render complicated PDFs with big vector plots without needing a cup of coffee between page turns. The Kindle DX graphite was almost workable in grad school for journals, until a vector-based montecarlo convergence plot or even a scatterplot with many points would bring the poor thing to its knees.
- ianai 10y ago
  I just want an external eink display for Mac/windows. I know of only one on a crowdfunding site right now.
  - j_s 10y ago
    Would you mind sharing a link?
    - ianai 10y ago
      Sad it's so unfunded. I think is shows the technology is just too expensive right now. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e-ink-monitor-13-3#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e...
      - rb808 10y ago
        From that link it looks like it shipped. Mix of happy users and Mac users where it doesn't look like its working well. http://dasungtech.com/ http://dasungtech.com/

chamakits 10y ago

It's precursor (the DPTS1, which is also mentioned in the article) is just as weird. Specifically, it's a product that I obsessed over some time, but is actually incredible niche and not widely available. The resellers specifically target lawyers and other specific professions. It's also nearly impossible to find a physical place where you could test it without making an appointment. There are few things I want more than a product like this to succeed. I have had a couple of Microsoft Surface products, and they are amazing. Game changing even. But nothing beats e-ink as far as being pleasant on the eyes for extended periods of times. I've been trying to move from books to e-books, just because I don't have a lot of space to keep books anymore. For non-technical books, a Kindle suffices. But for anything even slightly technical everything falls short. Nothing comes close to the experience of physical books. The surface is the closest for me, but even that the software available for making annotations on it is lackluster, and just staring at a screen too long is not pleasant. This sort of large e-ink tablets I hope are the solution, but their popularity being so lackluster, makes me think that those that have spent the money aren't quite happy with it. I wish more products like this keep coming out until one sticks.

dmix 10y ago
I just looked around online and it's still impossible to find a DPT-S1 in Canada. There's no mention of when the US version of the DPT-RP1 will be available. Which is a shame because I'd love to purchase this for reading technical books.
sulam 10y ago
The Kindle DX was nice for this. They stopped selling it, though. I loaned mine to a nephew and he managed to get it stolen inside of 30'. Now I use an iPad Pro, but it's clearly not equivalent. I really miss the DX!
noam87 10y ago
Same here. Tablet screens hurt my brain, and I would love a product like this for annotating papers / articles / textbooks. There's reMarkable coming out later this year, targeted for a more general audience (https://getremarkable.com/ https://getremarkable.com/) -- hopefully it lives up to the promise, or at least gets more people excited about such a product. But I'm honestly kind of amazed that something like this isn't already widely available at a reasonable price... I don't feel like my needs are that atypical and it's just the dream product to me.

skizm 10y ago

Can this create new PDFs at least? Like can I just open a blank page, doodle a bit, and save it as a PDF?

0xxon 10y ago
Even their old device (DPTS1) can do that - so I would assume yes.

thinkloop 10y ago

What's weird is the article not discussing what's weird

waynecochran 10y ago
Yes... I was looking for weirdness and found it quite normal. Also, they make $700 sound like a high price... that sounds cheap for a coveted and new emerging product to me...
ctdonath 10y ago
Yes, the article fails to expand on the title's point which I've observed for a long time. I used to be a hardcore Sony fanboy (still have the original AIBO). Great innovative stuff, pushing limits with abandon, bringing the sci-fi future to life. Except...they always got it a little wrong, in the "uncanny valley" way. Everything was built to specs - barely. Key ports were implemented cheaply. Compatibility was often trumped by proprietary - the latter being better, but in the "Beta vs VHS" losing way. Device driver software was...lacking. Once the device was sold, there was a sense of abandonment - great product, but you're on your own now. Crapware was common (software was delivered with the device just to get the hardware sold). UI/UX was more focused on "cool" than "useable". Overall, the focus was on bringing futuristic to life, failing to make it really usable; as a result, "cool" slides sideways into "weird" - it's neat, but ultimately infeasible. Examples of Sony weird? MagicGate memory sticks everywhere, whether a device needed it or not (like a pen), incompatible with dominating standards (SD, MicroSD, etc). Innovative remote controls of a type used by nobody else for a reason. Pocketbook-sized notebooks with "retina" displays (before Apple got to "retina" and "Air") so small as unreadable. HDTVs with gorgeous styling suitable only for hyper-minimalism homes. Disc players loaded with demo software that made a Wii look good (trailers for "Salt" at 320x200 resolution, on a 1920x1080p display? really?). UI that looked great yet required steps that would make Jonny Ive choke. Elegant e-readers that were incompatible with pretty much any book formats. This new tablet looks great, sure - it's big, flat, minimalistic, and has great specs. From experience, I'd hesitate to buy one because I expect it will run slow in odd conditions, have questionable real-world battery life, use proprietary chargers, suffer odd document compatibility issues, have a general sense of post-sale customer abandonment, and some specs will be met only in the most strict & strained sense. Out of the box I'd love it, then slowly develop a sense of irritation by something proving subtly but pervasively unusable. It looks cool on its own, but will predictably look out-of-place amid other serious competition, leading the way in a direction that the industry ultimately won't go. I'm not saying this particular device is defective in such ways, but having been disappointed by numerous products (despite valiant attempts to live & defend them), I expect I'd start using it with a sense of "this is awesome" soon morphing into a nagging sense of "...but something's wrong here" and ultimately buying something comparable that hits the market not long after.

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mato 10y ago

This is awesome. Hopefully a step towards my dream laptop with an e-paper screen for coding outside.

ksk 10y ago

The article doesn't explain why the author considers the tablet weird, or why anyone else should.

GuiA 10y ago
"Weird Sony" is a (maybe niche) expression in tech that refers to weird products Sony has released over the years, hinting that there are some crazy innovative designers working there that upper management sometimes listens to. http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/29/4783132/the-amazing-products-of-weird-sony http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/29/4783132/the-amazing-produc...
- 112233 10y ago
  really nice list. sony still continues to make very well engineered weird gadgets. want wireless headphones with active NC? sony has ones that it lists as 8gb mp3 player (which it also is). Then there was PCM D1, and the current DSC RX1 is bordering on weird, too.
  - ksk 10y ago
    Yeah.. they bundled active NC IEMs with Sony VAIO Z21 laptops 6 years ago which worked through the 3.5mm headphone jack.
- ksk 10y ago
  None of those things seem that outrageous to me, personally, but I also understand why calling something weird is good click-bait. It just looks like a company trying out a bunch of products. Is that really weird? I guess its subjective, so no point arguing about it. Its slightly annoying that tech journalism seems to engender a bunch of tech-splainers who seem to always know exactly why a product worked and why a product failed.
goodside 10y ago
It's an expensive e-ink display big enough to read PDF. Kindle abandoned that market in 2010 and never looked back. Right now the only options are this tablet's predecessor and one competitor, both of which are expensive and discontinued.

anon1253 10y ago

This seems really interesting. But what I've been more interested in is a LCD/e-Ink hybrid display for my workstation. LCDs are basically transparent, so I think you could overlay them in front of a back-illuminated e-Ink display. Say 23"? For things like programming this would be ideal for me. You can put the high-refresh rate things on the overlayed LCD, and the slow documentation, typing, stuff on the e-Ink display. I don't even need a pen, those never work for me (too much input latency). Another idea would be to pair a large e-ink display with a Macbook Pro style "magic bar" (or whatever they call it). So you can do the typing on the e-ink, with a Submlime text-like minimap for scrolling and context. Anyway, I don't have the chops to pull it off…but it would be great I think!

cptskippy 10y ago
What is your perceived benefit from this theoretical display? It seems like the LCD panel would make the eInk panel less legible there by negating any advantage there. Being a fixed device with constant power, the other advantage of eInk is removed.
- dpark 10y ago
  Plus if the e-Ink is backlit, it's no longer as easy on the eyes, eliminating it's biggest feature.
- anon1253 10y ago
  Depends on how much the overlayed LCD screen would impact legibility. I'm not sure. Transparent OLED might work [1]. The backlit would basically be for evenings, where the ambient light might not be enough. I just love the readability and aesthetics of eInk. Practically, it's probably worse at everything...so I can understand the limited uptake. [1] http://www.mmt.io/transparent-oled-touch-screen-display/ http://www.mmt.io/transparent-oled-touch-screen-display/
ianai 10y ago
And here I want an LCD without backlight or an eink external display. Overlaying one on top of the other might make some interesting things possible though.

leecarraher 10y ago

man it's expensive, but totally want this device. I read and regrettably print out a ton of research documents for note-taking and reference, that 6" readers just can't seem to match.

EvgeniyZh 10y ago
Those were exactly my thoughts.

nabla9 10y ago

I read lots of research papers and books. I used to think that once I get big and high contrast e-paper tablet with ability to annotate I don't need paper anymore. Then I noticed that e-paper is window to knowledge that allows me to look in but never allows my mind to enter. There is cognitive wall between myself and the things I read. Reading physical papers and books and storing them is concrete memory palace technique. Writing notes on them, underlying, leaving coffee stains and folding corners, adding sticky notes etc. is concrete physical creation of of a memory palace. It helps to arrange, retain and absorb knowledge with spatial associations. When I store paper I have just read into a stack of papers, or put it into a folder in a bookshelf, it's stored in a spatial space that helps with remembering and recollection just like memory palace memorization technique. If I look at the paper years later, just quick glance brings in the associations. E-paper tablet is just the same tablet every time. I still use tablets and computer to read fiction and skim abstracts. If I have to fully learn and think what I read, I print it out. --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci

romaniv 10y ago
Trying to replace paper with eInk isn't wise. However, those devices could have other, entirely new usages. For example, digital blackboard that consumes little power and can be remotely updated would be extremely useful. This isn't something that is possible with normal monitors because of power consumption and the annoying glow. That's just one possibility.
- jedimastert 10y ago
  > digital blackboard that consumes little power and can be remotely updated would be extremely useful. This is what I've been looking at them for. I would consider them an electronic notebook.
icantdrive55 10y ago
Yea--I noticed the same thing. I'm wondering if it would be different if I had a device I could write on, but not buying anymore readers, at least for awhile. I can bring up parts of a book page in my mind, but I don't think I can do it with electronic readers. I'm not sure, because I haven't been in school for awhile, or needed to bring up something for a test. When I was in school, I had a hard time memorizing. I started taking notes differently, my recall increased dramatically. I would doodle on every page. Every page of notes was only written once, and I never re-copied. I tried to make every page a picture. My text books were filled with doodles, and pictures in the margins. It really helped me. Now--my books are just taking up too much room. I hate to get rid of them, but might have too. There was a time where I could get any book on the Internet. Those days are gone. I'm not a big reader either. My books are just reference, but have value to me. I know it's crazy.

walterbell 10y ago

The 12" iPad Pro is a bit more expensive, but has much broader software support, including ePub, drawing & file synchronization services. Optional keyboard & stylus. Will hopefully be getting smaller with new version that reduces bezel size. As a bonus, good speakers and retina screen. E-ink has the advantage of being easier on the eyes, but iOS has improved in this area with night mode (blue light reduction). You can also invert the screen for white text on black background. EDIT: As a user of the Sony DPTS1, one good thing is that it supports WebDAV for private synchronization of files, along with a removable microSD card. But if you're already carrying around an iPad Pro of the same screen size, it's hard to justify also carrying the DPTS1. With SanDisk's iXPand USB drive, iOS apps can now support removable storage. Sony should consider adding an app that makes their e-ink screen a second display for iOS, Android, Windows & MacOS. That way you can use the broad software portfolio of iOS & Android with the low-power large display of the Sony Device. You could connect the Sony to your phone via bluetooth and the e-reader device would only need power when doing a screen refresh / page turn. Duet Display does this today for iPad, https://www.duetdisplay.com/ https://www.duetdisplay.com/

spott 10y ago

Is the refresh rate on e-paper screens good enough for drawing on yet? I was under the distinct impression that they still have a long enough refresh rate to make the delay... distracting.

dluan 10y ago

I feel like Sony took over the mantle from Apple several years ago for putting out high quality and innovative products. Stuff like this is really cool to see. Sony's cameras are the perfect example of modern prosumer tools, incredible quality, and thinking outside of the box. It would awesome if this translated into an iphone killer.

_ph_ 10y ago
You are too young :). There was a time, when Sony was what Apple today is - the technology giant who puts out amazing new devices all the time. Their advertising slogan "Its not a trick, its a Sony" was justified back then (up to the late 80ies, perhaps early 90ies). But I am very happy to see, that some of that old Sony is coming back.
- mathewsanders 10y ago
  And the industrial design was fantastic. I remember a kid coming to high school with this walkman (http://www.walkman-archive.com/gadgets/walkman_sony_05_701c_v3.htm http://www.walkman-archive.com/gadgets/walkman_sony_05_701c_...) after his Dad had visited Japan, I was amazed that it was only fractionally larger than the tape it held. 30 years later and IMO it still looks modern.

tapia 10y ago

Am I the only one who is still waiting for tablets/e-readers to use Mirasol technology [0]? --- [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interferometric_modulator_display https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interferometric_modulator_disp...

tjoff 10y ago

The only weird thing about this product is that it is so expensive. There has been numerous examples of products identical to this one, almost a decade ago I was drooling for one so bad. I'm blaming apple. The iPad killed eink just as it was about to take off. Who would want a slow black-and-white display when you can have a fancy glossy color display? Nevermind that you can't read properly on an glossy screen and that the battery life is measured in hours rather than days/weeks. We lost out on so much potential for the gimmick that is the tablet.

jonnathanson 10y ago
You could make the counterargument that tablets floundered in obscurity for years until Apple released the iPad. The iPad made tablet ownership nearly ubiquitous among the types of people who might someday want to use a tablet for business purposes. The iPad isn't a business device, but it's breached the doors to the business market. It hasn't just tapped latent demand; it's created demand. In doing so, it's shown the way forward -- into a much bigger market than would have existed without it.
- tjoff 10y ago
  Eink devices are not (or rather, should not be) competing with the tablet that is the iPad. The public didn't realize this because of the ipad hype. I'm not arguing that the ipad isn't a success, I just wish the ipad would never have been created.
  - jonnathanson 10y ago
    "Eink devices are not (or rather, should not be) competing with the tablet that is the iPad." I'm not arguing that they should compete. Rather, I'm arguing that the iPad can be seen as having opened the door to mainstream usage and acceptance of tablets -- both as devices and as form factors. Many of the consumers who are now comfortable using tablets are more likely to use an e-ink based business tablet than they would have been if they'd never used a tablet before. And it's likely they'd never have used a tablet before if the iPad hadn't made tablets mainstream. And precisely because said tablets wouldn't compete with the iPad, those consumers might buy both. Or have one provided/subsidized by their employers.

bmuon 10y ago

I wonder if they've made any significant advancements in input latency. Something like this was my dream device when I was in college.

downrightmike 10y ago

The end factor against large adoption is that: paper is cheap

Animats 10y ago

If Apple introduced this, it would be called "disruptive" and "revolutionary". From Sony, it's "weird". eInk still costs far too much per unit area. You can buy wall sign sized eInk displays, but they'll cost much more than an LCD TV panel of the same size. 32" diagonal display, $3,599.[1] Compare 32 inch color LCD TVs for $200 at WalMart. Despite talk of cheap "electronic paper" displays, the eInk people never delivered on cost. [1] https://www.visionect.com/product/visionect-development-kit-32-grayscale/ https://www.visionect.com/product/visionect-development-kit-...

metaphor 10y ago
>> eInk still costs far too much per unit area. Any idea what those ballpark figures look like today? The E ink product you linked is a dev kit targeting a niche market, not a general CE product manufactured in the millions and benefiting from economies of scale...I'm simply not seeing the relevance of the comparison.
- Animats 10y ago
  eInk doesn't publicly release prices. It's a "contact sales" kind of business. Visionect's 9.7" e-ink sign, which is their version of a digital picture frame, costs $400.[1] That's a product, not a development kit. A comparable LCD digital picture frame from WalMart costs $70. Color, too. [1] https://www.visionect.com/product/visionect-sign-9-7/ https://www.visionect.com/product/visionect-sign-9-7/
  - Ursa83 10y ago
    Hi there, Ursa from Visionect here. Just a slight clarification: the 9.7 Sign is not a consumer product in the sense of a digital picture frame. Rather it is a sort-of development kit, a blank canvas device on which companies can develop their own products. So geared towards professional use. Plus, the battery lasts four months;)
Analemma_ 10y ago
I think your reaction is a little knee-jerk. "Weird Sony" has been an in-joke for some time, here's Penny Arcade making fun of it in 2004: https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/12/13/the-sony-syndrome-part-one https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/12/13/the-sony-syndr... (when they didn't even like Apple yet). Sony has a noted history of these strange, slightly off-beat products that always sound more useful on paper than they turn out to be in practice.

seanwilson 10y ago

I wish they could make one either without a bezel or a bezel that was indistinguishable from the screen so it would look as close to a piece of paper as possible.

Nomentatus 10y ago

I want one. Now. There is another technology with a high refresh rate, transflective. http://t17.net/transflectiveTFT/ http://t17.net/transflectiveTFT/ And I've seen a presale or kickstarter for a fast epaper tablet not from Sony.

kasperset 10y ago

What happened to Pixel QI? There is a wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_Qi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_Qi why did it never took off?

buzzybee 10y ago

I thought I wanted one of these e-ink based devices for sketching or notes, but it turned out that I actually wanted a Boogie Board. [0] The eInk-based notepaper has been a long time in coming and you don't even get good latency, while reflex LCD, which the Boogie Board uses, is instant. [0] https://www.myboogieboard.com/ewriters https://www.myboogieboard.com/ewriters

setr 10y ago
Woah damn that is some ugly product design who are they targetting, toddlers?
- pasquinelli 10y ago
  if you look at the clear one it's shown with a set of flash cards for tracing letters, so maybe not toddlers but young.
linuxkerneldev 10y ago
> while reflex LCD, which the Boogie Board uses, is instant. You're comparing two different things. Boogie board is not a display panel with a matrix that can be controlled electronically by software. There's no "pixels", which is why you can't use software to write to it or change the state of individual pixels. The cholesteric LCD being drawn on in boogie board is similar to the surface material in an etch-a-sketch.

beezle 10y ago

Any feel on how the Sony's IAP140 ARM53 processor stacks up against the A9 in the reMarkable? Little I could find seems to indicate edge still with the A9. The Sony also has 16GB vs 8B storage, 11GB usuable, not sure how much of that 8 will be free on reMarkable. I really hate Sony - many bad experiences but have to say, the near 8.5x11 format is very attractive and my one disappointment on my reMarkable preorder. Bummer that it only does pdf but not hard to go epub -> pdf Will be interested to read the full reviews of the Sony though tend to think I'd wait at least a year before contemplating a purchase even if the reviews turn out to be good. To save you the math: Sony: 8.8x11.9" 8x10.6 display 207 dpi 349gm reMarkable: 6.9x10.1 6.1x8.2 226 dpi 350gm

zem 10y ago

I will wait for someone other than sony to make a product like this; for better or worse I have a knee jerk aversion to buying anything from sony or apple because my expectation is that the device will be able to do a lot of neat things that they will spend tons of time and money trying to lock me out of.

WalterBright 10y ago

I want one. I have a Kindle DX, which is pretty good. I sure wish, though, that the screensaver was the last page read. That way I could open up a quick reference pdf, prop it up next to my screen, and not have it continually switch off.

laughfactory 10y ago

This looks almost good enough. I love the form factor, and the interface looks good. The remaining issue which needs to be solved for something like this to take off is the responsiveness issue. Just because I'm using e-ink doesn't mean I'm going to tolerate slow transitions, or delay in writing on it. I want it to be what it is, but much faster, and with way better (Surface-like) pen responsiveness. I watched the video and noted that page transitions were better than my Paperwhite, but still jarring, and their was obvious delay from when the pen strokes occurred and when the writing showed up on the screen. I know these issues are hard ones to solve with e-ink, and in a svelte form factor, but I suspect eventually someone will nail it. And that's when I'll buy one. I do vastly prefer reading on a high resolution e-ink screen. It's just soothing on the eyes.