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This is a niche subject that won't appeal to many but I'm posting it as a public memo both for my and potentially others' use.
I'm in the market for an e-ink screen. My visual snow symptoms are increasing and though f.lux is very useful, it doesn't cut it. Getting off the computer screen altogether does help, but is a quite abrupt thing to do. So I figure that an e-ink screen would both relieve my vision and allow me to keep using my computer for long hours.
Standalone e-ink screens
In 2015, Dasung released its Paperlike USB screen last year. It was useful but not exempt from downsides. Reviews :
https://catchingwords.com/2016/09/15/da ... or-review/
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2015/0 ... o-reviews/
Now they're releasing the Paperlike Pro :
https://the-digital-reader.com/2017/06/ ... ink-scren/
https://the-digital-reader.com/2017/08/ ... o-youtube/
It still doesn't work flawlessly (e.g. intempestive warning messages if drivers aren't installed on the computer) and Dasung's customer service has had mixed reviews in the past. But there's nothing better out there at the time of this writing.The Paperlike Pro is basically the be-all and end-all for E-ink monitors. It's the only model on the market with an HDMI port and it has the best software drivers.
It's a pretty good monitor, but it does have its limitations. For example, in spite of optimistic claims by Dasung, the Pro can't really display video or 3d games.
This US company is an official reseller and sells it for 1400 USD : https://www.solcomputer.com/product/das ... o-monitor/
Ouch !
It's grossly overpriced, a hard pill to swallow.But buying directly from the manufacturer sets you back 900 USD and on the manufacturer's Chinese website it's sold for roughly 645€ with the better Carta screen, which is much more palatable for those who can grab it at this price.
Still painful considering this money can buy a big, slick, colour Dell monitor... as opposed to a small, slow, monochrome display... but at least the product does exist for those who need it, eh.
E-ink laptops
Sony could be releasing an e-ink laptop soon. Either with a single e-ink screen, or with a less ambitious complementary e-ink screen (with LCD/OLED as the main screen).
In case e-ink will be the primary screen, that's great news. Although I'm not sure I'd readily invest in a product with such a narrow window of use cases, and although it's probable keyboard will be as bad as the current TPs, it'll still be good to see such a product hit the market because it helps democratise e-ink products (outside of e-book readers).
The price, features, size and specs of the screen are comparable remain to be seen, and will have to be weighted against the other options currently available.
Whatever non-e-ink innards it would ship with aren't too important, since we're mostly in for the screen, and the e-ink techno will barely let you watch a video anyway.
The Sony wouldn't be the first laptop featuring an e-ink display. For example, the Pixel Qi was on sale years ago, but never convinced the market. I think they were too expensive for what the hardware was capable of. Current, bigger e-ink devices are still expensive but at least the hardware is getting conclusive.
An indication of that is the Onyx Boox Typewriter, currently a prototype, sporting a 9,7" screen, a detachable keyboard and running under Android. Potential release in 2018.
To me the main drawback with this netbook is Android, but maybe a regular Linux distrib could be installed instead.
As a side note, there are "hacks" whereby an e-ink reader is connected to a bluetooth keyboard to serve as a makeshift computer, but I prefer better integrated solutions hardware and software wise.
E-ink phones
Yota will release the third generation of its dual screen Yota Phone, the Yota Phone 3.
One regular AMOLED screen on the front, one e-ink screen on the back :
AFAIK its e-ink back screen isn't meant for constant interactions, though. So ergonomically speaking it's not very good and plays second fiddles to the main AMOLED screen.The YotaPhone 3 features a 5.5-inch AMOLED screen doesn’t go above Full HD resolutions. It uses a 5.2-inch E Ink Carta panel on its back, but the exact resolution has not been disclosed. Underneath the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM and 64 or 128GB of storage. There is a 3,300 mAh battery, a USB-C port. The cameras are not exactly sensational but neither are they negligible, with a 12 megapixel sensor on one side and 13 megapixels on the other side. There’s even a fingerprint scanner under the home button on the front.
Other dual screen phones currently shipping include the Siam 7X, the Huateng Flag D1 and the Oukitel U6.
Unreleased dual screens include the HiSense A2 and Siswoo R9 Darkmoon.
There's was also a single e-ink screen phone, the Onyx Midia.
But this phone ran into issues :
The problem was they manufactured phones with bogus IMEI numbers, so in many cases the phones were unusable on cellular networks.
When this became apparent all distributors quickly pulled the phones and so only a very limited number got manufacturer.
E-ink technology
Clearink promises to be faster, better and cheaper than current e-ink screens : https://goodereader.com/blog/e-paper/ho ... the-better
A prototype has been demonstrated, but no commercial products have been announced.
