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Comment by jrrrr | Hacker News Reader

This is great!

For years when discussing displays and computing ergonomics, I've claimed that I look forward to the day when my screen doesn't need to emit light, and maybe using it can feel more like paper.

Reading this makes it seem less sci-fi future, and possible today if we can get enough interest/momentum.

I'm trying to think of practical places to start for a sellable product. I love the Paperterm idea, but recognize that it's super niche. Maybe something focused on distraction-free writing?

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I'd love to see some cross between a Kindle and iPad..something focused on reading, but not necessarily books. At night I tend to browse various sites ranging from WaPo, Defector, The Athletic, and New Yorker, and others on my RSS feed and if I could do so on a simple eink tablet I'd probably reach for that more often than my phone or laptop.

Honestly if Feedly or a similar RSS reader came out with a dedicated eink reader it'd probably be a day one purchase for me, but maybe I'm in the minority.

Is the reMarkable 2 tablet not a fit for that? Haven’t tried it myself so not sure what its limitations are.

Yes. I got a reMarkable 2 recently and use it all the time. Mostly for note taking and thinking, but recently to read PDFs as well. ePubs are next. And I'm exploring ways to read RSS feeds/blogs on there too.

Highly recommend it. I consider it a breakthrough tool for thought.

Check out Onyx Max Lumi. It runs Android so you can install apps on it. I have the Feedly app installed and it works pretty good.

Oh man this seems great...very interested. Might give it a shot, thanks for the heads up!

That describes Onyx Boox products to a tee. Full android devices with e-ink screens.

Hi jrrr! I am co-developer of PaperTerm- I agree it is very niche right now. The Pomera DM30 is a distraction free typewriter- it is relatively new (there is also much older options like the AlphaSmart Neo2)- I hope to develop something similar to that with a laptop and some more office apps. I also research solar power managers, as the low power is definitely feasible with e-ink.

> Pomera DM30

Wow, thanks for the heads-up that they actually released this! I backed their Kickstarter a few years ago (which didn't raise enough money), but you'd think they'd send an update after releasing the actual device.

There is also https://getfreewrite.com.

That's a good point, what is the first adressable market for such a product to gain first momentum before it can become mainstream. Those seem to be low hanging fruits:

-Writers -Coders/Terminal Users like sysadmins -DIY/Hardware Hackers/Raspberry PI/ESP32/Cyberdeck folks -Productivity Hackers -Health Tech folks -Gadget Lovers -Limited Functionality Devices for Education -Folks with medical pre-conditions who need to use eink (e.g. https://dasung-tech.myshopify.com/blogs/news/how-dasungs-e-i...)

I think there is a market, I am just surprised that we take usual monitor like eye-strain as well as the blue light for granted and haven't done anything against it for years. Even though we are having more display usage than ever.

Yes, PaperTerm is niche, but the more you look around, the more you see people suggesting a portable terminal-only device, so I don't think the niche is all too tiny. The e-ink screen and battery life are the killer features.

Plenty of us around here basically live in the terminal and if such a device existed at a reasonable price, I think uptake would be pretty good. It presents itself as a tool, not a do-everything panacea. It could be extended in small ways to fit the distraction-free-writing crowd and the like without compromising on its killer features. Basically a tool for a few niches--sysadmins/devops, developers, embedded device communications, distraction-free writing. Put a good terminal-based browser on a server (e.g., further develop brow.sh) and it opens up a huge number of other niches.

Actually, PaperTerm + offline eBook and PDF reader would be a great compromise. It can be useful when you're connected and when you're not.

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