So, Ive recently gotten back into writing and been thinking about how much more fun it would be to write Outside. Problem is, the sun hates screens. I have an Alphawrite Neo, of course, but I’ve always been insecure about lugging a weird educational device around with me in public. So I started looking into Eink tablets that could be used with a keyboard and

Jesus H. Christ, that price tag!

I just want something to type on something. Apparently thats strange, so maybe there will be something cheaper as just a word processor. It seems that the only reasonable offering here is the Freewrite Traveler, though, so I look it up and

WHY‽ It’s the same price!

Okay, maybe I could just get a Raspberry Pi 400 and attach an eInk monitor to it. Apparently, this is not the usual use-case for E-ink, but there are in fact e-ink monitors out there! Most were around a thousand dollars for some reason, but here is the cheapest one I could find:

That’s around the price point of a Boox Go, for reference, which has a really slow screen refresh rate.

Why is there no affordable e-paper products that arent a pain to use? I am aware of cheaper ones, but the ones ive seen reviews if aren’t able to keep up with typing in a way that seems responsive. And I’m aware that you can find eink displays (as in the component) for as low as $30, so they should be able to be cheaper than this!

  • paequ2@lemmy.todayEnglish
    17·
    3 days ago

    The Ratta Supernote A6X2 Nomad is 329USD, cheaper than the devices you found. The A5X2 (bigger) is 505USD though.

    Devices I’ve owned:

    • reMarkable 1 (boo subscription!)
    • reMarkable 2 (boo subscription!)
    • Supernote A5X (happy with this one)

    I currently own the Supernote A6X2 and I’m super happy with it. I use it almost every day to diagram stuff for programming. I also read technical books on it. The Supernote A5X (the previous version) was also very good. I just ended up liking the smaller size better.

    My favorite feature is that Supernote does NOT require a subscription! The device also has plenty of other features. You can read PDFs and ebooks, of course. You can even install the Kindle app on it, though you can’t install any Play Store app. The palm blocking is good. There are gestures to help you write faster. There’s a shape tool. Different pencil sizes, highlighters. Paper backgrounds. Hand writing recognition. And you don’t need to buy replacement pen tips!

    Supernote cons vs reMarkable:

    • The Supernote isn’t as polished as the reMarkable. The Supernote definitely isn’t bad, especially the newer A6X2, but it does feel a notch below reMarkable in terms of the build feel.
    • If you really, really, REEEEAAALLY want to pretend you’re writing with a pencil and paper, then the reMarkable will be closer to that. Writing on the Supernote is just different. It’s more like writing on a notebook with a pen.
    • EvilBit@lemmy.world
      5·
      3 days ago

      I love my A5X. Use it just about every day for work. It’s one of those things that’s expensive, but if mine died, I would order a new one same day.