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I second this. I really enjoy reading and writing on an Onyx e-ink tab, and I like the full Android functionality, but I can never use it for work or even for p

I second this. I really enjoy reading and writing on an Onyx e-ink tab, and I like the full Android functionality, but I can never use it for work or even for personal email logins, because I don't trust their custom Android build. I would be somewhat more inclined to trust Daylight than Onyx, but any custom OS is too potentially vulnerable to backdoors for my use cases. Something like this that you could load your own Linux flavor onto, or simply this tech as a monitor / drawing pad, I would drop the money in a heartbeat.

tadfisher 2y ago
As long as the bootloader isn't locked, porting mainline Linux shouldn't be as bad as with E-ink devices. Here's a Ubuntu Touch port to another Helios G99 device [1]; I really hope the RLCD doesn't require host driver support. [1]: https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/device/vidofnir/ https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/device/vidofnir/
- rjzzleep 2y ago
  You need USB-C DisplayPort (DP Alt Mode). Unfortunately it's not a software limitation oftentimes, most of the times it's a hardware design limitation. I guess Onyx figured that they can have two different product lines and milk both, as opposed to what they used to have, which was an HDMI port on the higher end models.
  - bluGill 2y ago
    Best would be DP alt mode. However software to send video over regular USB data lines is fairly common and reportedly works okay so long as you have drivers (which generally are not supported to the next Windows release) and are not trying something too heavy - not good enough for games but often good enough for the office type work the OP is asking for.
yosito 2y ago
https://onyxboox.com/boox_mirapro https://onyxboox.com/boox_mirapro
- RossBencina 2y ago
  Good, but definitely not 60fps or ghosting free. Source: using one right now.
  - seltzered_ 2y ago
    Modos is working on a 60fps e-ink monitor, no idea about ghosting improvements: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40423746 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40423746 -> https://www.modos.tech/blog/modos-paper-monitor-pre-launch-on-crowd-supply https://www.modos.tech/blog/modos-paper-monitor-pre-launch-o...
    - braunboffel 2y ago
      > Modos is working on a 60fps e-ink monitor Fundamentally, my opinion is all these things trying to move electrophoretic ink fast are misguided. You end up using so much energy trying to move particles that are inherently designed to be bistable. If you want to play a video, you're better off using material physics that was intended to be fast from the start, not trying to force a material that's intended to be slow to fight itself. Stuff like "We need 50,000 people interested in being a part of creating an open-hardware e-ink ecosystem". This seems like trying to drum up a kickstarter. The modos founder, Alex Soto, what's his track record? Googling seems to show him making ridiculous claims like "To make matters worse, the E Ink Corporation holds the patents for its e-ink technology and only licenses its technology to large manufacturers making availability or mass adoption difficult." I would love to see him explain that in detail with concrete facts.
fsflover 2y ago
> Something like this that you could load your own Linux flavor onto Did you consider PineNote?
- anddam 2y ago
  Note tha its production was put to stop (last year IIRC) with reserve to possibly start it again. AFAICT market reception was lukewarm at best and it was not financially viable. I would have loved one, but I guess leaving the development of a proper OS to the community is not going to land mass adoption. Average Joe needs a device to buy and use, not to buy and tinker with.
  - stonogo 2y ago
    "Market reception" is never going to be very good when you never sell the product. What Pine Notes they made were only sold on a beg-us-for-an-invite basis.
t0bia_s 2y ago
Same here. I use degoogled Onyx Boox for notes, reading books, sheet music, sketching... Barely connect to internet, beacuse I don't trust their OS and apps. Apps are actually quite good (NeoReader).
askura 2y ago
I would love it just as a screen for things like Slack or Discord as I'm on the move a lot :D
andai 2y ago
How much customization is needed for a device like this? Drivers? I'd think most of it would come down to a custom launcher. Though I guess they also modify the UI?
bloopernova 2y ago
Is there such a thing as a tablet that accepts video input? In other words, use it as a tablet, then connect a mini hdmi or whatever and it turns into a monitor. Disconnect, and it's a tablet again.
- flylikeabanana 2y ago
  The recently released Minisforum V3 AMD tablet has this: https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-v3 https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-v3
- dspillett 2y ago
  There are certainly some e-ink devices that are able to do this, the TechnologyConnections fellow did a couple of videos that cover it, amongst other things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfX0vlCa4k#t=15m50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfX0vlCa4k#t=15m50 & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D38dcArwCNc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D38dcArwCNc Though he is using a Boox product and I'm wary of them over the GPL violation thing: as well as the general “they'd piss & moan and send the lawyers round if someone took their stuff and used it unlicensed” hypocrisy, the paranoid cynic in me thinks there is something they want to hide in their customisations (hooks for calling home or some such). Also, those clips are a few years old now so some of the problems he was having may have been ironed out in newer devices & software updates. Another option is running a VMC client on any tablet that isn't walled off so that you can't: there are a number of VNC servers that create a hidden virtual screen and mirror that so the connecting client because the extra screen.
- 0x457 2y ago
  I use a hdmi capture dongle with iPad to turn it into a monitor. Not quite what you want, but as an option.
  - boochiboo12 2y ago
    Which dongle do you use? This is the best option at the moment till we can afford a more expensive chip in the next gen that accepts hdmi in Still on the hunt for a really good video capture / hdmi capture dongle
CrazyStat 2y ago
There are e-ink monitors, e.g. [1]. I’ve never used one so I can’t speak to how well they work. [1] https://shop.dasung.com/products/dasung-25-3-curved-e-ink-monitor-paperlike-253-u https://shop.dasung.com/products/dasung-25-3-curved-e-ink-mo...
boochiboo12 2y ago
If/when we release a bootloader unlock tool, and you can flash a custom ROM onto it, would that work for you.. be good enough?

tadfisher 2y ago

As long as the bootloader isn't locked, porting mainline Linux shouldn't be as bad as with E-ink devices. Here's a Ubuntu Touch port to another Helios G99 device [1]; I really hope the RLCD doesn't require host driver support. [1]: https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/device/vidofnir/ https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/device/vidofnir/

rjzzleep 2y ago
You need USB-C DisplayPort (DP Alt Mode). Unfortunately it's not a software limitation oftentimes, most of the times it's a hardware design limitation. I guess Onyx figured that they can have two different product lines and milk both, as opposed to what they used to have, which was an HDMI port on the higher end models.
- bluGill 2y ago
  Best would be DP alt mode. However software to send video over regular USB data lines is fairly common and reportedly works okay so long as you have drivers (which generally are not supported to the next Windows release) and are not trying something too heavy - not good enough for games but often good enough for the office type work the OP is asking for.

yosito 2y ago

https://onyxboox.com/boox_mirapro https://onyxboox.com/boox_mirapro

RossBencina 2y ago
Good, but definitely not 60fps or ghosting free. Source: using one right now.
- seltzered_ 2y ago
  Modos is working on a 60fps e-ink monitor, no idea about ghosting improvements: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40423746 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40423746 -> https://www.modos.tech/blog/modos-paper-monitor-pre-launch-on-crowd-supply https://www.modos.tech/blog/modos-paper-monitor-pre-launch-o...
  - braunboffel 2y ago
    > Modos is working on a 60fps e-ink monitor Fundamentally, my opinion is all these things trying to move electrophoretic ink fast are misguided. You end up using so much energy trying to move particles that are inherently designed to be bistable. If you want to play a video, you're better off using material physics that was intended to be fast from the start, not trying to force a material that's intended to be slow to fight itself. Stuff like "We need 50,000 people interested in being a part of creating an open-hardware e-ink ecosystem". This seems like trying to drum up a kickstarter. The modos founder, Alex Soto, what's his track record? Googling seems to show him making ridiculous claims like "To make matters worse, the E Ink Corporation holds the patents for its e-ink technology and only licenses its technology to large manufacturers making availability or mass adoption difficult." I would love to see him explain that in detail with concrete facts.

fsflover 2y ago

> Something like this that you could load your own Linux flavor onto Did you consider PineNote?

anddam 2y ago
Note tha its production was put to stop (last year IIRC) with reserve to possibly start it again. AFAICT market reception was lukewarm at best and it was not financially viable. I would have loved one, but I guess leaving the development of a proper OS to the community is not going to land mass adoption. Average Joe needs a device to buy and use, not to buy and tinker with.
- stonogo 2y ago
  "Market reception" is never going to be very good when you never sell the product. What Pine Notes they made were only sold on a beg-us-for-an-invite basis.

t0bia_s 2y ago

Same here. I use degoogled Onyx Boox for notes, reading books, sheet music, sketching... Barely connect to internet, beacuse I don't trust their OS and apps. Apps are actually quite good (NeoReader).

askura 2y ago

I would love it just as a screen for things like Slack or Discord as I'm on the move a lot :D

andai 2y ago

How much customization is needed for a device like this? Drivers? I'd think most of it would come down to a custom launcher. Though I guess they also modify the UI?

bloopernova 2y ago

Is there such a thing as a tablet that accepts video input? In other words, use it as a tablet, then connect a mini hdmi or whatever and it turns into a monitor. Disconnect, and it's a tablet again.

flylikeabanana 2y ago
The recently released Minisforum V3 AMD tablet has this: https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-v3 https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-v3
dspillett 2y ago
There are certainly some e-ink devices that are able to do this, the TechnologyConnections fellow did a couple of videos that cover it, amongst other things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfX0vlCa4k#t=15m50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfX0vlCa4k#t=15m50 & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D38dcArwCNc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D38dcArwCNc Though he is using a Boox product and I'm wary of them over the GPL violation thing: as well as the general “they'd piss & moan and send the lawyers round if someone took their stuff and used it unlicensed” hypocrisy, the paranoid cynic in me thinks there is something they want to hide in their customisations (hooks for calling home or some such). Also, those clips are a few years old now so some of the problems he was having may have been ironed out in newer devices & software updates. Another option is running a VMC client on any tablet that isn't walled off so that you can't: there are a number of VNC servers that create a hidden virtual screen and mirror that so the connecting client because the extra screen.
0x457 2y ago
I use a hdmi capture dongle with iPad to turn it into a monitor. Not quite what you want, but as an option.
- boochiboo12 2y ago
  Which dongle do you use? This is the best option at the moment till we can afford a more expensive chip in the next gen that accepts hdmi in Still on the hunt for a really good video capture / hdmi capture dongle

CrazyStat 2y ago

There are e-ink monitors, e.g. [1]. I’ve never used one so I can’t speak to how well they work. [1] https://shop.dasung.com/products/dasung-25-3-curved-e-ink-monitor-paperlike-253-u https://shop.dasung.com/products/dasung-25-3-curved-e-ink-mo...

boochiboo12 2y ago

If/when we release a bootloader unlock tool, and you can flash a custom ROM onto it, would that work for you.. be good enough?