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My phone is an ereader now

(www.davepagurek.com)
327 points wonger_ | 4 comments | 31 Aug 25 02:58 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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jbstack ◴[31 Aug 25 08:51 UTC] No.45081590[source]▶
The keyboard is a huge negative for me. Why would I want a significant chunk of my screen space taken up by a keyboard on a device that I'm aiming to use primarily for reading?
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1. mft_ ◴[31 Aug 25 10:10 UTC] No.45081983[source]▶
I wonder if there’s a technical reason making an on-screen keyboard difficult? For sure, typing on my Kindle is pretty slow and imprecise, and wouldn’t come close to acceptable on a phone.

Also, there are phone-shaped e-readers if that’s your bent; check out the Boox Palma.

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2. suthakamal ◴[31 Aug 25 14:11 UTC] No.45083274[source]▶
my guess - e ink refresh rates / ghosting suck and it would be hellish hard to get an on screen keyboard with an e ink display to get anywhere the typing speed a modern touchscreen can deliver.
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3. floundy ◴[31 Aug 25 22:10 UTC] No.45087572[source]▶
Typing on the Palma's screen sucks due to the input delay. At least if you have fat fingers like me and prone to making typos on touchscreen devices.

Typing on the Palma with a BT keyboard, however, is an absolute joy.

4. cornichon622 ◴[01 Sep 25 22:15 UTC] No.45097078[source]▶
The article actually mentions that:

"I really appreciate them including the keyboard here, as the display looks great but is definitely not all that responsive, so typing would be a lot more frustrating without this."

I don't know how much the fast refresh rate mode helps in that regard.