Whatever happened to cheap eReaders?
shkspr.mobi
Way back in 2012, The Guardian reviewed an eInk reader which cost a mere £8. The txtr beagle was designed to be a stripped-down and simplified eReader. As far as I can tell, it never shipped. There were a few review units sent out but I can't find any evidence of consumers getting their hands on one. Also, that £8 price was the subsidised price when purchased with a mobile contract. Their w…
  • mctoasterson@reddthat.comEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    Side note -

    I literally have the reader pictured in the thumbnail. It is a Kindle keyboard from 10+ years ago at this point. It still works fine. At one point the original battery went to shit, and it cost very little to get an aftermarket replacement and install it myself.

    I keep it offline and read 100% sideloaded .epub books from various sources. The lockscreen ads don’t even try to display anymore.

    Sure it isn’t backlit or waterproof but it still functions flawlessly as a generic reader. Old tech like this is awesome. Why not get a decade of use (or more) out of something that still works?

  • Pxtl@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    I wonder if Android Wear wouldn’t work as an OS basis for this - lower power requirements, probably allows black-and-white screens. The problem there is that Android Wear is absolute hot garbage that can’t decide if it’s stand-alone or companion to your phone.

    Why is not just targeting raw AOSP instead of Google Android not considered? It seems like you could use modern hardware with that… is it the lack of Play Store that’s the dealbreaker?

    • Yingwu@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      I don’t really know how they do it, but some do run newer Android versions like Android 14 (Meebook M8, Bigme B7). Anyway, the lack of Play store isn’t really a consideration in China, it’s only for foreign markets they have to include the Play store. This also means that China has many more Android e-ink brands than are available to us (which mostly are Boox, Meebook, Bigme or Hisense).