If you are going to use these on a computer at all you need some sort of high refresh mode. Things like scrolling and typing are just way too annoying without it.
I hate scrolling and hardly ever scroll really - I just use multiple vertical displays to fit every page fully, only switching pages. Surely this whole discussion thread can't be fit in a screen but I'm perfectly comfortable "scrolling" it with PgDn.
I'm used to slow-response typing (waiting for seconds before a word I typed appears when using modern software on old PCs). In fact I don't even look at the screen when I type until I finish a sentence - despite typing fairly fast I have a habit of looking at the keyboard. I don't mean this is a right way to type yet it proves seeing characters displayed immediately is not essential.
Messenger apps even have separate panes for displaying message threads and for editing the message you are going to submit - I could put these on separate displays (if the apps would allow moving panels around the way classic desktop apps did).
In fact there already are some projects of eInk-orientd OSes (e.g. MuditaOS). I don't know how good they really are though.
Slow monochrome eInk panels have been around for 2 decades. Mostly built into pocket book readers, phones (like Motorola F3) and niche devices like supermarket price tags rather than computer monitors attachable with common connectors.
Okay, perhaps it's not the speed which makes them expensive, yet manufacturers and researchers mostly brag about making them faster (and more colorful) rather than making them more cheap (what I would prefer them to).
it seems like the company with e-ink patents might be like luxottica controlling the eyeglass market.
Also I would suspect the high refresh rate isn't the main cost driver here. You can simply refresh eink displays with different methods that offer different trade offs
I can imagine that a somewhat responsive display would also be important for vim users.
I wish you get what you want soon. Nevertheless I would prefer there to be a cheaper option for those who only need to read static documents or watch dashboards of information which doesn't change fast.
> You can simply refresh eink displays with different methods that offer different trade offs
Needless to say eInk displays aren't meant to refresh the same way classic displays do. Only the regions which actually change are supposed to redraw. 1 Hz doesn't mean the whole panel is fully reset 60 times every minute, only that it takes a second to display a change. Is this what you mean?
High efficiency computing where we dont update the screen until absolutely necessary. Efficiency isn't just good for mobile/battery devices, it's good for everything.