• nossaquesapao@lemmy.eco.br
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    2 days ago

    I would really love something like that, or like the phones made by hisense. I love e-inks and they fit very well my phone usage pattern. Too bad I was born in the poor side of the world and will never have the cool stuff

  • lka1988@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    But it has a slow screen refresh rate, which makes it less than ideal for watching videos, playing games, or other actions.

    I love how this is one of the first criticisms, as if that wasn’t the entire point of this device.

    MediaTek

    Ah yes, I forgot THAT’S why I didn’t go for this thing.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      I just watched the video in the article, and the slow refresh rate also makes the touch controls frustratingly unresponsive. I love the concept, and might be interested in the next generation of this device, but the poor responsiveness is a deal breaker.

      • AndrewZabar@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        And you have to hold down the shift or Fn while hitting the desired key. Like a freaking desktop keyboard. No sticky. Wtf is up with that?

            • bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net
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              4 days ago

              Pretty sure you can enable sticky keys on any keyboard in the settings. It’s Android 14 and sticky keys is in the settings.

              • AndrewZabar@lemmy.world
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                4 days ago

                Yeah but it’s a hardware keyboard, not a screen-keyboard. I am not saying that means it won’t work - I definitely don’t know - but it’s conspicuous they focused on it briefly. SHRUG lol I’m sure there will be a hack for it if it doesn’t already behave how people want.

                • bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net
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                  4 days ago

                  The setting works on Bluetooth or plug in keyboards where you use a dongle.

                  Edit yeah I think the dude that made the video doesn’t know that setting exists

      • smeg@feddit.uk
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        4 days ago

        Is that just the best an e-ink device can do? I didn’t even know you could get e-ink touchscreens at all!

        • AbidanYre@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          Pretty much all kindles have touch screens these days.

          And the current generation of Supernote, Remarkable, etc e-ink tablets have reasonable response times.

  • buzz86us@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    I always like these concepts, but they are always so expensive. Why is it so hard to just do a $50 eink phone. It doesn’t even need the latest and greatest hardware just decently usable.

    • PresidentCamacho@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      It’s unfortunate but I think the niche aspect of the phone makes it more expensive. I’d wager a guess that at 50$ a phone they won’t recoup development and manufacturing fees without big sales.

      • theneverfox@pawb.social
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        2 days ago

        Don’t forget order sizes. If you produce 500 a batch, your costs are going to be way higher than if you produce 10k a batch

  • hersh@literature.cafe
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    4 days ago

    TCL is releasing a new phone later this year with a toggle-able e-ink mode. So you can use it with in full color when you want, and switch to e-ink when you want. It’s in a more conventional aspect ratio so apps will look more “normal”. I can say from experience with my Boox e-reader that a lot of apps do not work well in 4:3.

    https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/6/24335983/tcl-60-xe-nxtpaper-e-ink-specs-ces

    Might be my next phone if the CPU and software is not awful (big if).

    • fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      4 days ago

      E ink like mode. It’s not actually e ink it just makes the screen black and white. In the video they talk about how it’s just more of a low power/distraction free mode.

      • hash@slrpnk.net
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        4 days ago

        I despise the marketing of these eink-like screens. None of the biggest benefits of eink with all of the biggest drawbacks? The fuck?

  • smeg@feddit.uk
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    4 days ago

    Huh, actually a properly different way of doing a phone. I guess the key question is what we can expect in terms of support and openness, i.e. how do we know the company won’t go bust in six months and leave us with something we can’t put a custom ROM on?

  • IllNess@infosec.pub
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    4 days ago

    If you are considering this device I suggest if your current phone has a grayscale mode, turn that on for a week to see if you can get used to it.

    • nossaquesapao@lemmy.eco.br
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      2 days ago

      I don’t think it’s a fair comparison. The greatest aspect of e-ink screens is not giving strain to the eyes. Looking at a greyscale phone will just have the downsides of both worlds.

      • IllNess@infosec.pub
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        2 days ago

        Your point is valid. My advice isn’t for an emulation for e-ink, but it’s to see if someone can get over not seeing color on their phone. Color adds so much to the user experience.