this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2023
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[–] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I've hated tablets since they first came out and never really changed on that. It's just a miserable way for me to do anything when I have a phone and computer already. I would be into a Kindle for reading on eink, but outside of that I can't stand tablets.

[–] Pxtl@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

e-ink isn't (edit: good) color.

Tablets are the ideal form factor for things that would traditionally require a large, full-color book. That is: passing around a photo album, reading magazines, textbooks, comics, playing turn-based games like board-games and strategy games. If you use a stylus they're excellent for things that require free-form pen-and-paper like math homework and creating art.

Now, when they were a $600 luxury item that didn't really make sense as a product. But now that they're like $150 for a solidly good tablet they're absolutely a worthwhile purchase for those use-cases.

[–] jcarax@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Pxtl@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ahh, yes, well I suppose if you're mostly reading comics that were made in the '70s and you really want to capture that faded 32-colors-Ben-Day-dot-printed-on-newsprint feel, that'll be just perfect.

[–] jcarax@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's limited for sure, but there are most definitely color e-ink displays now.

But the bigger limitation is still refresh rate, and lifespan of the display in devices that try to force more frequent refreshes.

[–] Pxtl@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Fair point. Will correct my above post. But either way: unless you find screens particularly eye-straining or have extreme battery-life desires, I don't really see e-ink tech as worth the downsides at this point, at least for non-text content. For a watch where I want an always-on screen and endless battery and I'll never watch video on it? Yes, I want more e-ink and low-power LED tech and the like. But for tablets? I'm good with the vibrant colors of a glowing LED screen.

[–] jcarax@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Watches sound great on e-ink, but last I looked into it, the displays couldn't support the frequency of refreshes over a reasonable life time.

I'm with you, by the way. I do like having a compact e-ink reader, but I really don't want to do anything but that with it.

[–] Pxtl@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Huh, that's disappointing. It's funny how everybody keeps experimenting but nobody seems to have topped the Pebble for watch form-factor: low-power gameboy-ish LED screen and more of an old-school micro-controller chip instead of a phone-like chip and just use the "shake to wake" functionality to brighten the backlight.

Pebble might not have been the smartest smartwatch, but it was definitely the watchyest smartwatch. Always-on screen and week-long battery.

[–] jcarax@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

I feel like Garmin is building their spiritual successor. They don't try to do too much, but they do quite a lot. And there are so many models, they address most folks use cases in one way or another.

Btw, the dude from Pebble (also Beeper, Eric Migicovsky) is trying to build a small Android phone.

[–] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

I specifically said for reading???

[–] TurtleTourParty@midwest.social 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If small phones were still a thing I could see myself getting a 7 or 8" tablet again (RIP Nexus 7) but with 6+" screens being the norm there's no point.

I do love my kobo libre 2 for reading but also wish it was smaller.

[–] jcarax@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

I both agree and disagree. I definitely want a small phone, and the small size would limit the use case of the phone itself. But some of us artificially limit the capability of their phones in order to minimize distractions, and some use dumb or feature phones to accomplish similar goals.

Then there is further segregation of use case between devices. Just because you can do something on a phone, doesn't mean you choose to. I want work nowhere near my phone, but I'll put it in a work profile on my tablet.

One might choose to consume various media on their tablet instead of phone. Sure, you can watch movies on your phone, but it's a lot better on a 10-12" tablet. Sure you can read ebooks on your phone, but it would be a lot better on a smaller tablet that unfortunately hardly exists in the Android world these days.

Btw, you might want to check out Onyx for some smaller readers. Particularly the Palma and Nova Air 2. There are definitely some privacy questions with them, though.

tablets are best for drawing

Back in 2014, I had a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, a 4-inch phone, and a 15.6" Dell laptop. That size of phone was difficult to do anything important on especially with no slide-out keyboard. There just wasn't a lot of real estate for texting and emailing but it could do it. And laptops...you need to set up a station to use a laptop. Find a table or chair or something and spend a minute settling in. My tablet had a larger screen, louder speakers, it was easier to hold because it actually had some bezel, and the battery was excellent.

Now that I have a 5+ inch phone, whatever a Galaxy S10e is, a tablet is less useful.