I want to take it as a tool for reading/writing/studying and super basic browsing. My phone just broke, chat control just got approved and I’m sick of proprietary shit: I decided I’m not gonna buy anything which doesn’t hold free software anymore.

I love e-ink and I love Linux, but how usable is the pinenote with Linux? How hard is the install process? Can an average Linux user/self hoster use it daily? How’s battery? Couldn’t find many reviews online…

  • Axolotl@feddit.it
    16·
    11 days ago

    I notice that on the website they wrote

    The first batch of the PineNote will be great to write software for, but not great to write notes on. Wait for a later batch with better preinstalled software if you just want to use the device as an e-reader, e-note, or your everyday computing device.

    So i’d wait

  • actionjbone@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    10 days ago

    I went with a Supernote.

    It’s supposed to get Linux support at some point, and it has replaceable batteries. Plus, it works great as a e-ink notebook right now.

    • dontblink@feddit.itOPEnglish
      6·
      11 days ago

      I also looked into supernote, it’s expansive, but it’s totally worth the money if they can offer a full Linux support with an e ink device, and it’s better than the pinenote because of the repairable hardware and the pen which doesn’t need tips replacements.

      But they have kinda pulled back on the Linux development, it looks like it was more marketing than other, they have been promising it for a while but they’ve stated it’s harder than they thought.

      I won’t buy an Android device so I’ll wait until a real Linux support is added.

      • actionjbone@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        11 days ago

        Fair.

        It does what I need, I’m satisfied with it, and I’m fine because it’s still an open source notepad and e-reader.

        But if that’s a deal breaker for you, it’s totally valid.

  • utopiah@lemmy.ml
    1·
    10 days ago

    Had one from the start and also had a reMarkable 1, 2, Pro and e-readers with e-ink. I did discuss all that before so feel free to check my comment history. You can also check related prorotypes at https://fabien.benetou.fr/Tools/Eink including for the PineNote.

    Now on your questions :

    how usable is the pinenote with Linux?

    Last time I check it didn’t run well enough (basically CLI only) so I’m still on their stock Android OS. Worked great. According to other comments it seems fine now and I’m familiar with KOReader and a bit Xournal++ so I’ll try again.

    How hard is the install process?

    Easy, I didn’t do anything ;)

    Can an average Linux user/self hoster use it daily?

    Well in my case yes but again Android, so if you are familiar with it, e.g. adb then it’s easy.

    How’s battery?

    Fine but power management kind of sucks so it will not go to sleep properly and thus waste battery. It’s also heavy so honestly I wouldn’t travel with it.

    Couldn’t find many reviews online…

    Again, I did share on Lemmy quite a bit. I do warmly recommend it if you are a tinkerer who doesn’t travel too often. If you are a minimalist who wants to get things done then IMHO reMarkable is better.

  • hobata@lemmy.ml
    1·
    10 days ago

    Oi, that the same people who made Pinecil soldering iron? Well I guess PineNote is a great thing too.

  • CrackedLinuxISO@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    1·
    10 days ago

    I lile my pinenote a lot. I mostly use it for reading.

    As long as I’m reading or doing any touch-screen-y things (taking notes, viewing images, etc) it’s great! For anything that involves writing/copying/pasting text, it’s not very usable with just the on-screen keyboard, you really need an external bluetooth interface. I find web browsing very tedious if I have to type anything in the url bar without a physical keyboard.

    Also, it’s still very much a WIP. The version of Debian it shipped with had a bug where I couldn’t install any software updates without deleting some random lib64 directory. Once I did that, everything was fine. The device has no security by default, so I created a new user with an encrypted HOME.

    With import tariffs to the US, I ended up paying $500 for it, which really got me down. As a $400 open hardware machine, it would have been easier to look past the rougher edges. And I wish it had more RAM.

    But overall it’s worth it to me because I’ve wanted a more libre e-reader for a long time. It’s gotten me back into reading books, which has been a lot of fun. Plus, because it’s an actual computer, I set it up as a tablet-like interface to my home automations.