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I have an e ink smartphone, specifically a Hisense A9. It has the same screen as a Kindle. It is wonderful for productive stuff like reading, messaging is passa

I have an e ink smartphone, specifically a Hisense A9. It has the same screen as a Kindle. It is wonderful for productive stuff like reading, messaging is passable, and videos are pretty much unusable. It's wonderful, I've read so many books now.

crossroadsguy 3y ago
It has Android 11 as of today; with no information of upgradability. I would not ever recommend anyone to use such an outdated OS in today's world even on their secondary phone. It's just unsafe. If it is to be used as a "reader" device then, well, whatever. But in that case why not just use a "reader device" then.
- girvo 3y ago
  > But in that case why not just use a "reader device" then. Which there are much cheaper options in the same form factor! The InkPalm 5 is 1/3rd the cost. Neat little gadget too.
- geokon 3y ago
  What attack vector are you envisioning?
  - rrr_oh_man 3y ago
    Stealing all them ebookz
  - batch12 3y ago
    Sms, email, web browsing, messaging apps, wireless networks with other infected devices, or physical access to the device, for starters.
    - geokon 3y ago
      Are you trolling? Please show me an SMS I can send to someone with an Android 11 phone that will give me access to it
      - batch12 3y ago
        I can't tell the future, but you can find examples from the past. Are you trolling?
- mayankkaizen 3y ago
  This sort of overemphasized paranoia about security is something which makes me, I dunno, irritated. If you decide to go to extreme, everything is unsafe but you don't want an old device even as a secondary device? I'd rather work on my paranoia than on getting a fully secured device. By the way, I am writing this on a mobile with 2 GB RAM and running Android 9 as my other mobile got broken.
pj_mukh 3y ago
What’s maps/yelp like?
0x38B 3y ago
I considered the Hisense but talked myself out of it because of Android and lack of updates. Part of me thinks I should just go for it, because I read a lot on my smartphone and miss Android’s Moon+ Reader - with Goldendict for Startdict/Lingvo dictionaries, it made a killer combo for reading foreign language texts with many new words. Videos being unusable would be a fantastic QoL feature.
- Syonyk 3y ago
  Get a dedicated e-ink reader device. I've tried reading on phones, reading on tablets, etc, and the problem is that there's always so much else to do - or, at least, things that interrupt you (SMS messages and such on a phone). I moved... oh, 10+ years ago, I think, to a Kobo (e-ink reader, not Kindle, far more hackable and open, swallows everything except some DRM which I strip on a desktop). I now have several, as they're just such good devices for reading text. I've also moved a lot of my "web reading" to them via Pocket, in which I send a link to Pocket and get the article, on my device, as long form text without any of the nonsense that's in most web articles (most images work, but not all). It's far better than trying to have a combo device. And my 10+ year old Kobo Auras still work just fine for reading.
  - skydhash 3y ago
    Same. I have a Kobo Libra (I bough a Kindle Basic before this and it's so locked down I switched). I put Koreader on it (easy process) and I used it more than my phone. The current book is at most a button press away. It's lighter and more ergonomic than the phone too. I also have a dedicated audio player (Shanling M0). Great for listening to an album before sleeping or for focus sessions. I prefer having dedicated devices. The phone is only for communication, taking photos, and quick browsing. And some of the desktop apps I use have their mobile counterparts so I can do a quick tasks without getting the laptop. And I think that suits its main purpose for me, a PDA.
- freetanga 3y ago
  Onyx Palma plus my iPhone SE dual carrying is the ticket. I use the phone as a 4G hotspot, Apple Music, plus apps such as Uber, Waze, wallet, etc. No social networks (LinkedIn and Reddit only on desktop browser), no messaging. Apple Watch replaced with Casio GShock (solar powered and automatically adjusted via radio, expect it to last 20 years) Palma has WhatsApp and telegram, outlook (closed most of the time) and reading apps.Podcasts too. Most sites are consumed via RSS. PDF to Readwise for read later, notes on desktop Obsidian. I can use Organic Maps in the Palma, and most tickets via QR. I try to force myself not to use the iPhone at all on the street except one of those cases (recharge public transport ticket, camera, payment, etc)
mzs 3y ago
Thanks, I'm intrigued. How do you read books on it? I don't want to watch video reviews. Do you just copy PDFs to it over USB?
- seam_carver 3y ago
  I load EPUBs via the Kindle app or KOREADER. Typically download them from browser.

crossroadsguy 3y ago

It has Android 11 as of today; with no information of upgradability. I would not ever recommend anyone to use such an outdated OS in today's world even on their secondary phone. It's just unsafe. If it is to be used as a "reader" device then, well, whatever. But in that case why not just use a "reader device" then.

girvo 3y ago
> But in that case why not just use a "reader device" then. Which there are much cheaper options in the same form factor! The InkPalm 5 is 1/3rd the cost. Neat little gadget too.
geokon 3y ago
What attack vector are you envisioning?
- rrr_oh_man 3y ago
  Stealing all them ebookz
- batch12 3y ago
  Sms, email, web browsing, messaging apps, wireless networks with other infected devices, or physical access to the device, for starters.
  - geokon 3y ago
    Are you trolling? Please show me an SMS I can send to someone with an Android 11 phone that will give me access to it
    - batch12 3y ago
      I can't tell the future, but you can find examples from the past. Are you trolling?
mayankkaizen 3y ago
This sort of overemphasized paranoia about security is something which makes me, I dunno, irritated. If you decide to go to extreme, everything is unsafe but you don't want an old device even as a secondary device? I'd rather work on my paranoia than on getting a fully secured device. By the way, I am writing this on a mobile with 2 GB RAM and running Android 9 as my other mobile got broken.

pj_mukh 3y ago

What’s maps/yelp like?

0x38B 3y ago

I considered the Hisense but talked myself out of it because of Android and lack of updates. Part of me thinks I should just go for it, because I read a lot on my smartphone and miss Android’s Moon+ Reader - with Goldendict for Startdict/Lingvo dictionaries, it made a killer combo for reading foreign language texts with many new words. Videos being unusable would be a fantastic QoL feature.

Syonyk 3y ago
Get a dedicated e-ink reader device. I've tried reading on phones, reading on tablets, etc, and the problem is that there's always so much else to do - or, at least, things that interrupt you (SMS messages and such on a phone). I moved... oh, 10+ years ago, I think, to a Kobo (e-ink reader, not Kindle, far more hackable and open, swallows everything except some DRM which I strip on a desktop). I now have several, as they're just such good devices for reading text. I've also moved a lot of my "web reading" to them via Pocket, in which I send a link to Pocket and get the article, on my device, as long form text without any of the nonsense that's in most web articles (most images work, but not all). It's far better than trying to have a combo device. And my 10+ year old Kobo Auras still work just fine for reading.
- skydhash 3y ago
  Same. I have a Kobo Libra (I bough a Kindle Basic before this and it's so locked down I switched). I put Koreader on it (easy process) and I used it more than my phone. The current book is at most a button press away. It's lighter and more ergonomic than the phone too. I also have a dedicated audio player (Shanling M0). Great for listening to an album before sleeping or for focus sessions. I prefer having dedicated devices. The phone is only for communication, taking photos, and quick browsing. And some of the desktop apps I use have their mobile counterparts so I can do a quick tasks without getting the laptop. And I think that suits its main purpose for me, a PDA.
freetanga 3y ago
Onyx Palma plus my iPhone SE dual carrying is the ticket. I use the phone as a 4G hotspot, Apple Music, plus apps such as Uber, Waze, wallet, etc. No social networks (LinkedIn and Reddit only on desktop browser), no messaging. Apple Watch replaced with Casio GShock (solar powered and automatically adjusted via radio, expect it to last 20 years) Palma has WhatsApp and telegram, outlook (closed most of the time) and reading apps.Podcasts too. Most sites are consumed via RSS. PDF to Readwise for read later, notes on desktop Obsidian. I can use Organic Maps in the Palma, and most tickets via QR. I try to force myself not to use the iPhone at all on the street except one of those cases (recharge public transport ticket, camera, payment, etc)

mzs 3y ago

Thanks, I'm intrigued. How do you read books on it? I don't want to watch video reviews. Do you just copy PDFs to it over USB?

seam_carver 3y ago
I load EPUBs via the Kindle app or KOREADER. Typically download them from browser.