Not too long ago I saw a review of the Boox Palma, which is an ereader that’s about the size of a phone, but it was like $250 and that seemed pricy to me. Now I’ve seen one or two other ones, including one that’s just under $100. At first I thought I didn’t need one because I just read on my phone a lot, but a reviewer of the Inkpalm 5 Mini mentioned that having the form factor of a phone- so it just goes in your pocket- means that instead of pulling out a phone and scrolling mindlessly when waiting, she found herself pulling out the reader and reading instead.
Now yes, I have ereader apps on my phone, I can do that. But I don’t always do that. And it might be nice to have an ereader that I actually do bring with me everywhere because it fits in my pocket.
What do y’all think? Has anyone looked at these? Honestly the Boox looks like it could be a phone replacement if you paired it with google voice and you had wifi access all the time. I don’t think I want an e-ink cell phone but it’s certainly got my cool gadget senses tingling.
I think it’s an interesting concept! I like the idea of replacing mindless scrolling with reading in a more… Enforced manner. It’s hard when reading on your phone to stop following notifications or avoid getting distracted when looking something up.
I was actually looking into eInk readers recently, but more to get away from the phone format, since I think it’s not great for my arms. I was wondering if reading (whether books or articles and social media) on a tablet would be better somehow? And maybe eInk would be better for my eyes. But in the end I can’t justify another expense/device, alas~
My ebook reader is A5 size - a bit bigger than a phone - but still successfully plays that role for me as a phone-replacement, as it has similar tactile qualities. Can confirm it works great for redirecting myself from my phone, and I read/feel differently there. I really recommend this to everyone who’s hoping for that kind of outcome. I just get into the habit of storing my phone & book together, so I pick them both up when leaving the house or putting them in a bag.
@eladnarra - My kobo was £18 second hand, and it works wonderfully
A phone-sized ebook reader is a decent idea, but the downside would be you’d still be squinting at tiny text
I’m pretty sure I could just make the text larger, same as I could on my phone or on a larger e-ink device. I do think e-ink is easier on my eyes than my phone’s screen is, regardless of the screen size.
I have an ereader that’s probably about the size of your kobo, but I find I often don’t bring it along because it doesn’t fit in my jeans pocket, or if I do bring it, it’s in a bag and so less likely to get pulled out compared to my phone unless I’m on a plane or something. I’m the same with notebooks and planners - if it doesn’t fit in my pocket, it effectively doesn’t exist for me as an everyday object.
Hi, what about it making yourself? . Raspberry zero w, esp32, arduino, anything goes as long as it has 32mb flash, pinout for led, oled screen, and you can add an SD slot to put your book in! Also, if it has wifi and low Bluetooth you can program it to download from your shared book folder!