this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2024
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[–] janNatan@lemmy.ml 121 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Before you get excited, it's an IndieGoGo project.

[–] fiercekitten@lemm.ee 39 points 8 months ago (3 children)

The one and only time I bought into a project on Indiegogo was for a phone that said it was shipping that month, even though the company had been delaying it for a year already (unbeknownst to me) and they had no idea when they were going to finish. It was straight up fraud, Indiegogo let the company do it without consequence, and 2.5 years later the project is still up on Indiegogo. Now I’m out $800, and the asshole company is still claiming they’ll send all the backers their phones any day now. They’ve been literally saying it for years.

Don’t learn the hard way like I had to. Never back an Indiegogo project.

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

!RemindMe 1 year

[–] EssentialCoffee@midwest.social 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Isn't indiegogo just like Kickstarter? There's never a guarantee you'll ever get the thing you back.

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[–] casmael@lemm.ee 27 points 8 months ago

Aww shucks I was actually a bit interested

[–] n2burns@lemmy.ca 13 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Is there something in particular about Indiegogo that I missed, or are you just pointing out it's crowd funded? (and that means you could lose your money without anything in return)

[–] Kidplayer_666@lemm.ee 34 points 8 months ago

Probably the chances of them never delivering being more than 0

[–] Omega_Haxors@lemmy.ml 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Kickstarter is infamous for being full of marketing tech bros who take your money and deliver nothing.

Indegogo is Kickstarter without any of the consumer protections. It's not a matter of if you'll get scammed, but by how much.

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[–] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 7 points 8 months ago

So it goes well with my Cicret bracelet

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[–] ptz@dubvee.org 39 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

I'm not disinterested, though $350 is a little steep ($450 if you're not an 'early bird'). Ideally it would be bootloader unlockable and rootable as well. I would probably use it like a PDA of old.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-minimal-phone-first-e-ink-qwerty-phone#/

Preliminary Specs:

  • CPU: MTK 6769
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Storage: 128GB
  • OS: Android 13
  • Display: 3.5” E-Ink Touch / 300 PPI / High Refresh Rate
  • Front Camera: 8MP
  • Rear Camera: 16MP
  • WIFI: 802.11 a / b / g / n 2.4GHz / 5GHz WiFi Direct,WiFi,B 4.1
  • ATοΌ†T: YES
  • T-Mobile: YES
  • Verizon: YES
  • Battery: 4000mAh QC 18W Wireless charge less than 20W
  • Features: QWERTY keyboard, NFC, GPS, A-GPS, Fingerprint (side), Face unlock, G sensor, Compass, Gyroscope, Proximity, Light sensor
[–] Kyoyeou 21 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I looked into E-ink displays this summer and the tech is just so high priced

[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Wasn't e ink in the highest tier of patents stifling advancement?

[–] echo64@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, licensing fees are super high. Who knows what kind of battery life and displays we might have on our personal devices today if eink wasn't so encumbered.

[–] chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's fucking crazy cause my city just put e-ink displays on bus stops and I thought it was because they were going cheap, I guess not, though.

[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

Because e ink is basically perfect for bus stops. You don't need to update more than once a minute or two and it uses basically no power for running 24/7.

[–] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 8 months ago

They can't claim carrier compatibility yet before they even source the parts. (They're in Japan right now sourcing Chinese parts, allegedly, and only have renders thus far.) Let alone until they have a working prototype to test against fyi.

Carriers may very well not certify the device due to compatibility issues. Or they won't be able to afford the certification process.

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[–] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 31 points 8 months ago (13 children)

Man, what I really want is a e-ink smart watch....

[–] enix@reddthat.com 48 points 8 months ago (4 children)
[–] histic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I wonder how hard it would be to open source something similar with something like an nrf52 or similar and a 3d printed enclosure I might have to look into this tbh

[–] SeekPie@lemm.ee 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Idk if Bangle.js is open source, but I imagine a e-ink display could be possible?

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[–] vala@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago

The Garmin Instinct watches have an e-ink like display. I get about 25 days of battery on mine.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/775421

[–] Mr_Blott@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

I have a Fossil Hybrid, it's perfect

[–] root@aussie.zone 3 points 8 months ago

I switched from a Pebble Time to a Gaemin Vivoactive 4s. I think it's as close to an eink smart watch as it gets.

[–] CaptainHowdy@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Not sure if they are still available, but after pebble shut down, I got this Chinese watch called amazfit bip. It has a color e-ink display and lasts roughly a week on a full charge.

I was able to sync to my phone using FOSS called gadgetbridge so I didn't have to install sketchy Chinese software on my phone.

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[–] machinaeZER0@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago

Depending on what features you want/need, you can get a used Pebble on eBay and run Rebble on it. More hoops to jump through if you use an iPhone, but android support is pretty straightforward!

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[–] Yerbouti@lemmy.ml 12 points 8 months ago (2 children)

325$, how is that low-priced? I've never paid more then 200$ for a phone, I have an s20+ now.

[–] devilish666@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

For that price i can get second hand phone with higher specs & colorful screen

[–] XTornado@lemmy.ml 3 points 8 months ago

Yeah... It is low priced if you look at Apple or Samsung higher end or recent models.... otherwise yes it is expensive.

[–] buzz86us@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Why do these phones always miss the mark?

[–] Snapz@lemmy.world 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] buzz86us@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I'm just annoyed that they sell uncomplicated phones, but they are always hundreds of dollars. Just put an eink screen on a cheap SOC price around $40.

[–] limerod@reddthat.com 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

$40 is way too low. Economics of scale do not apply for such a niche product. $140-180 should be doable.

[–] CaptainHowdy@lemm.ee 6 points 8 months ago

The problem is that e-ink is a patented technology and the patent owner charges insanely high royalties for using it in your product.

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[–] jelloeater85@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

Man, I hope that takes off. Would be great to charge your phone every week or two.

[–] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago

If it came with a good terminal app I would be very tempted. I loved my blackberry and the old slide androids.

[–] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago (3 children)

$350

Low price

I could go get a new Motorola from Walmart for $69 right now.

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago (4 children)

The 69 dollar phone is a subsidized pre paid device. They plan on taking a loss on the sale and making it up with cell plans.

Also this is a niche device for a VERY niche audience. It will never be cheap cheap, just cheap for what it is.

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[–] maniacalmanicmania@aussie.zone 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Is anyone using one of the Hisense e-ink phones? How are they?

[–] Ilandar@aussie.zone 12 points 8 months ago

My partner has an Onyx Boox Palma, which is similar in some ways. It's fast and would be usable as a basic smartphone if it could take a SIM card. Despite the display being one of the best it is ultimately still e-ink and has many downsides if you are trying to use it like you would a normal smartphone. The ideal target market for this kind of device is really people that have already cut down their screen time and can comfortably live without most things, but still want the option to install any application if necessary.

If you want a more conventional smartphone experience, the TCL NXTPAPER devices may be a better alternative, though they obviously have their own downsides as they do not have true e-ink displays.

[–] dutchkimble@lemy.lol 7 points 8 months ago

I'd get this if it has other messaging apps like Signal, and banking apps...seems like it has android so should be ok. Unfortunately I don't see it hitting the market realistically...

[–] fidodo@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

How long does the battery last? I think a week minimum and preferably a month it's what would be needed to make it worth it.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 4 points 8 months ago (4 children)

"several days"

So the same as most other modern phones under light use.

[–] limerod@reddthat.com 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Not the same. E-ink displays only require power when you turn on the backlight or things change on the screen. The screen on time should be higher compared to regular LCD/OLED panels.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 3 points 8 months ago

e-ink makes sense for like a book reader. But how often do you do that on a phone vs everything else.

Plus it's slow to update. This will not be a great experience for running Android.

It's a bizarre experiment, and the other specs are not very minimal at all, despite the name.

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I have an e-ink notebook. The low refresh rate is intolerable for doing anything like menus or text input.

I like the idea of a minimal phone but I think e-ink is a deal breaker for me, and I suspect most others.

[–] SuperSpruce@lemmy.zip 5 points 8 months ago

I wish I could get a tablet that is like the ReMarkable tablet with more storage (at least 64GB, storage is dirt cheap these days) or a MicroSD slot. I'm not paying $400 for a tablet with 8GB of storage in 2024. For comparison, you could buy 8TB of SSD storage for that price.

This is interesting but not quite what I want.

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