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I think you've hit the nail on the head here. An e-ink tablet needs the same SoC, battery, metal case, and software engineering that an LCD tablet needs. So i

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. An e-ink tablet needs the same SoC, battery, metal case, and software engineering that an LCD tablet needs. So if an e-ink display cost the same as an LCD, the tablet would cost the same. But because of the limitations of the display technology, the device would do less than the equivalent tablet. You can't play games on it. You can't watch Netflix on it. Browsing the web would be a chore that nobody would do except in an emergency. For that reason, the devices don't exist.

ghaff 7y ago
Something like a Kindle Paperwhite works, especially for people who read a lot of fiction. It's small, light, easy to read outside, and fairly cheap.But upsize it and now you have a very limited function tablet. OK, it works for reading PDFs of things like scientific papers (which I understand is something people like the Remarkable tablet for). And it's easier to read outside. (Might be a bit cheaper too because you don't need as powerful a processor.) But you're mostly trading off a pretty general purpose device--which is getting even more so--for something that has a really narrow set of use cases. And isn't really as good as the smaller models for just reading text.
webmaven 7y ago
Not quite the same; battery needs are a fraction even with front lighting, CPU can be slower due to lower display refresh rate, displays are less fragile so you can have a less robust case, etc. Unfortunately, this doesn't overcome the higher display cost. Perhaps an e-ink feature phone would have a high enough volume to do so.
- thazework 7y ago
  The Hisense A5 e-ink phone is available now for around $200and runs on Android 9. https://goodereader.com/blog/reviews/hisense-a5-e-ink-smartphone-review https://goodereader.com/blog/reviews/hisense-a5-e-ink-smartp...
  - lostlogin 7y ago
    I may have missed it but I can't see any mention of the battery life - surely that's one huge aspect.

ghaff 7y ago

Something like a Kindle Paperwhite works, especially for people who read a lot of fiction. It's small, light, easy to read outside, and fairly cheap.But upsize it and now you have a very limited function tablet. OK, it works for reading PDFs of things like scientific papers (which I understand is something people like the Remarkable tablet for). And it's easier to read outside. (Might be a bit cheaper too because you don't need as powerful a processor.) But you're mostly trading off a pretty general purpose device--which is getting even more so--for something that has a really narrow set of use cases. And isn't really as good as the smaller models for just reading text.

webmaven 7y ago

Not quite the same; battery needs are a fraction even with front lighting, CPU can be slower due to lower display refresh rate, displays are less fragile so you can have a less robust case, etc. Unfortunately, this doesn't overcome the higher display cost. Perhaps an e-ink feature phone would have a high enough volume to do so.

thazework 7y ago
The Hisense A5 e-ink phone is available now for around $200and runs on Android 9. https://goodereader.com/blog/reviews/hisense-a5-e-ink-smartphone-review https://goodereader.com/blog/reviews/hisense-a5-e-ink-smartp...
- lostlogin 7y ago
  I may have missed it but I can't see any mention of the battery life - surely that's one huge aspect.