Earl: a 6" E-ink Android Tablet with Solar Panels and Radio

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Can you provide a link to describe this further?

Here you go...

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=226456

Shari

[HarryT]

Does anyone who's backed this campaign actually still think the Earl will ever appear?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Does anyone who's backed this campaign actually still think the Earl will ever appear?

Looking at their forum even the most ardent backers seem to have given up any hope.

[MGlitch]

Can you blame them? The last update was over a year ago, and it was an update basically back pedaling the change to a smaller size (which caused many backers to demand refunds). The updates before that are basically bad news, bad news, bad news.

I can't imagine anyone would be foolish enough to contribute at this point, and I'd have to think current backers who have yet to demand a refund are at least thinking of it. Save for those who entered into with the mindset of 'I'm giving this money away, after this it's gone'.

[rem736]

i am an original backer from way back when. i finally gave up on it about 3 months ago and have requested a refund. nothing yet. i've gone so far as to file a formal complaint about the situation to the state of WA. i'm not hoping to get my money back at this point and have written it off as a loss.

[Rbneader]

Just got an update from the Earl team!

To our supporters,

Backpacking taught me many things about the bare essentials and traveling light. Tearing out relevant sections of guidebooks was common, but it was crushing my phone's display hiking that had me question the needs of technology in tough environments.

Earl started life as a keyboard that changed characters dynamically with Eink. Over time, sensors and radios were added, and my focus switched to developing a device tailored for the outdoors. We envisioned a two-way radio as easy to use as your smartphone, but we didn’t anticipate the complexities of integrating components largely absent from today’s electronics. I made it my objective to make sure every feature functioned as promised, but it wasn’t until the momentum slowed that it became clear we had wasted resources and overshot our runway. If we do not simplify, Earl will fail, so we are pivoting our efforts to focus on the features that actually worked. Aside from wifi and bluetooth, all other radios have been removed from our design.

We assume combining multiple functions into a single product makes it more efficient, but should leading functions fail, reliant functions do as well. Nice-to-have features better work as expected if they’re ever needed. Design should improve functionality, but also have a clear purpose. Earl’s purpose is about improving guidebooks and navigation.

Their simplicity makes printed books and maps ideal for the outdoors, but digital content allows users the flexibility to carry entire collections anywhere they go. By adding dynamic elements, Earl can bring tremendous value to print. We had already been working on a platform for publishers to adapt their content to Earl, so this is not an entirely new direction. Guidebooks and maps should be one and the same. Imagine being able to search for trails, plants, animals or even survival methods relevant to your location based on the books in your library. Guidebooks can pull real-time data regarding trail conditions or closures, and when offline can accurately assist in navigation or alert users to an approaching storm. And as more users interact, content progressively improves.

While it’s becoming more common to download guides to a phone before heading outdoors, there are still drawbacks. Traditional devices are difficult to view in direct sunlight and can require a significant amount of energy to operate, especially when triangulating your position outside of your network. Eink displays are bi-stable; micro-beads of black and white pigments physically change orientation when charged by the circuit beneath, thus reflecting light similar to print. This provides users with a more comfortable reading experience compared to lcds. Additionally, constant power is not required to display static images, so an Eink system can sleep to conserve it’s battery. Combined with low-power, but highly accurate GPS, motion and environmental sensors, Earl becomes a valuable tool for a wide array of outdoor activities.

Earl’s remaining hardware, applications and interface are being adapted. Additional tools will be built as we grow, but what we release needs to work as expected, so we must focus on one feature at a time. This idea is still great and it is something we can actually build. Simplifying will lower production costs and allow for a single device to be offered in multiple markets, minimizing risk. But additional capital and market validation will be necessary to proceed, so we must refine our plan to encourage investors to look past the mud and fund our next approach.

We have an obligation to keep backers informed and deliver on what we promised. This may not be the device you signed up for, so we need to figure out an acceptable compensation. It will take time, but we will push forward until every backer is satisfied with the outcome. In the meantime, please take a moment to give us your feedback by filling out the survey at the link below.

I kind of admire the Earl team for continuing to try and make things right with their backers.

On one hand, they're clearly crazy. On the other hand, they really believe and didn't just slink away with their tail between their legs.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Rbneader

I kind of admire the Earl team for continuing to try and make things right with their backers.

On one hand, they're clearly crazy. On the other hand, they really believe and didn't just slink away with their tail between their legs.

In the meanwhile there is YotaPhone with AMOLED on one side and e-ink on the other and, unlike Earl, it even has GPS and cell phone functionality.
Available for 110Euro at many Chinese on-line shops.
YotaPhone isn't rugged or waterproof, but there are Android devices on the market today that you can actually purchase for a reasonable amount of money that are waterproof and/or rugged. Not with e-ink. Yet.

But the situation is much better than it was at the time the Earl team started the project.

[DaleDe]

Earl was always intended to have GPS with buit-in maps. It was intended to be of use out of range of a cell phone environment (no towers). There are lots of reasons it seems to have failed and technology has seemed to moved beyond the vision of its authors. The biggest problem for them was finding a manufacturer that could build what they envisioned.

Dale