Is Mobius screen gone forever?

[Gormagon]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

As long as it's made after February 2027, it will have to have a user replaceable battery. That's when new EU law comes into effect.

"[I]t will have to have" is not relevant for the non-EU-ROW (rest of the world). It depends how large a market the EU is for a company for a certain device. Already many gadgets never make it to the EU or only via self-importing them.
The only thing the EU ist good at, is regulations...most of them redundant and useless (just like the EU) with the result that everything gets more expensive.
Large companies can handle the red tape very well, they employ enough people to take care of that. Small companies will have trouble with all the regulations in the EU. In the end that means less choice in the EU.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Gormagon

"[I]t will have to have" is not relevant for the non-EU-ROW (rest of the world). It depends how large a market the EU is for a company for a certain device. Already many gadgets never make it to the EU or only via self-importing them.
The only thing the EU ist good at, is regulations...most of them redundant and useless (just like the EU) with the result that everything gets more expensive.
Large companies can handle the red tape very well, they employ enough people to take care of that. Small companies will have trouble with all the regulations in the EU. In the end that means less choice in the EU.

You're biased.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Gormagon

"[I]t will have to have" is not relevant for the non-EU-ROW (rest of the world). It depends how large a market the EU is for a company for a certain device. Already many gadgets never make it to the EU or only via self-importing them.
The only thing the EU ist good at, is regulations...most of them redundant and useless (just like the EU) with the result that everything gets more expensive.
Large companies can handle the red tape very well, they employ enough people to take care of that. Small companies will have trouble with all the regulations in the EU. In the end that means less choice in the EU.

Kobo, Amazon, Apple, Pocketbook, Book, and many others sell in the EU. So why would have to follow the EU law when it comes into being. Sure some of these companies can make EU versions and no-EU version, but that's going to be more expensive and I think customers not in the EU would be pissed that they cannot easily replace the battery.

This law is not redundant and useless. One thing the EU did that helped was they got Apple to drop the lightning port in favor of USB-C. That was a good thing. This battery law will also be a good thing.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Kobo, Amazon, Apple, Pocketbook, Book, and many others sell in the EU. So why would have to follow the EU law when it comes into being. Sure some of these companies can make EU versions and no-EU version, but that's going to be more expensive and I think customers not in the EU would be pissed that they cannot easily replace the battery.

And Kobo is already compliant with the upcoming battery regulations as from reports elsewhere are several others. Do I need to post Section 11 again?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

And Kobo is already compliant with the upcoming battery regulations as from reports elsewhere are several others. Do I need to post Section 11 again?

For a lot of people, the battery is not easily replaceable so I don't think that meets the requirements of the law.

[Apollyon202]

Originally Posted by Gormagon

"[I]t will have to have" is not relevant for the non-EU-ROW (rest of the world). It depends how large a market the EU is for a company for a certain device. Already many gadgets never make it to the EU or only via self-importing them.
The only thing the EU ist good at, is regulations...most of them redundant and useless (just like the EU) with the result that everything gets more expensive.
Large companies can handle the red tape very well, they employ enough people to take care of that. Small companies will have trouble with all the regulations in the EU. In the end that means less choice in the EU.

You’re completely wrong. Though the EU is far from perfect, they’ve made some good regulations, including the USB-C requirement. Dunno how old you are, but back in the day before smartphones we had loads of different chargers, even within the same brand, it was a horror. Now everyone, including the snobby Apple, has to put USB-C in their devices, haha.

And by the way, whatever you say, EU is a good thing, period.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

For a lot of people, the battery is not easily replaceable so I don't think that meets the requirements of the law.

Jon, I have posted that section of the EU regulations several times. I have posted the relevant section once again. Please read those paragraphs paying particular attention to the words on the page especially the section I have bolded. Since current Kobo ereaders can have the battery removed and replaced without needing specialized tools, proprietary tools, thermal energy or solvents, they qualify under this regulation. And no, a spudger, guitar pick, soldering iron and/or toothpick do not qualify as specialized or proprietary.

Article 11
Removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries

1. Any natural or legal person that places on the market products incorporating portable batteries shall ensure that those batteries are readily removable and replaceable by the end-user at any time during the lifetime of the product. That obligation shall only apply to entire batteries and not to individual cells or other parts included in such batteries.

• A portable battery shall be considered readily removable by the end-user where it can be removed from a product with the use of commercially available tools, without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless provided free of charge with the product, proprietary tools, thermal energy, or solvents to disassemble the product.
  
• Any natural or legal person that places on the market products incorporating portable batteries shall ensure that those products are accompanied with instructions and safety information on the use, removal and replacement of the batteries. Those instructions and that safety information shall be made available permanently online, on a publicly available website, in an easily understandable way for end-users.
  
• This paragraph shall be without prejudice to any specific provisions ensuring a higher level of protection of the environment and human health relating to the removability and replaceability of portable batteries by end-users laid down in any Union law on electrical and electronic equipment as defined in Article 3(1), point (a), of Directive 2012/19/EU.

[toady42]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Jon, I have posted that section of the EU regulations several times. I have posted the relevant section once again. Please read those paragraphs paying particular attention to the words on the page especially the section I have bolded. Since current Kobo ereaders can have the battery removed and replaced with needing specialized tools, proprietary tools, thermal energy or solvents, they qualify under this regulation. And no, a spudger, guitar pick, soldering iron and/or toothpick do not qualify as specialized or proprietary.

I believe you meant to write "without" above.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by toady42

I believe you meant to write "without" above.

Thanks for pointing out the error!

[Anghirrim]

Originally Posted by Gormagon

"[I]t will have to have" is not relevant for the non-EU-ROW (rest of the world). It depends how large a market the EU is for a company for a certain device. Already many gadgets never make it to the EU or only via self-importing them.
The only thing the EU ist good at, is regulations...most of them redundant and useless (just like the EU) with the result that everything gets more expensive.
Large companies can handle the red tape very well, they employ enough people to take care of that. Small companies will have trouble with all the regulations in the EU. In the end that means less choice in the EU.

Can't we just stay away from political thoughts and opinions?

Talking about regulations and their pros/cons is one thing. Talking about how useless/good is a country or a group of country is not something I personally am looking for when joining forums like MobileRead.

I'm pretty sure you could find some places dedicated for such talking on the web.

[Gormagon]

Off topic:

Originally Posted by Apollyon202

You’re completely wrong. Though the EU is far from perfect, they’ve made some good regulations, including the USB-C requirement. Dunno how old you are, but back in the day before smartphones we had loads of different chargers, even within the same brand, it was a horror.

One is either right or wrong, there's no completely or slightly wrong. And I'm not wrong. I am also old enough to know that the EU regulated the market when already every company (maybe except for the one with yesterday's technology for tomorrow's prices [i.e. Apple]) used USB-C for their devices. I even have an electric toothbrush and razor with USB-C connections for charging.
If there's a better solution than USB-C we won't get it (or very late) in the EU, because no one in their right mind will include two different charging ports on a phone or tablet.
The EU also gives shit about the environment, which was an argument for the regulation. That's the EU that moves their puppet parliament twelve times a year from Brussels to Strasbourg.
The sooner this farce of a totally corrupted pseudo democracy will end, the better.

----------------------------------------

But back on topic...I recently bought the Viwoods AI Paper Reader and the screen is very good. Clear, crisp text and with the Best Display mode I don't see any ghosting, there is some ghosting in other modes, in the BD mode there's ghosting when scrolling, but this disappears when one stops scrolling. This is the best e-ink display I know of compared to my Boox TUC and Meebook.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Gormagon

But back on topic...I recently bought the Viwoods AI Paper Reader and the screen is very good. Clear, crisp text and with the Best Display mode I don't see any ghosting, there is some ghosting in other modes, in the BD mode there's ghosting when scrolling, but this disappears when one stops scrolling. This is the best e-ink display I know of compared to my Boox TUC and Meebook.

The one with the 6.13" diagonal Carta 1300 screen that looks like a phone? If it works the same as the original AI Paper which finally got ghost removal in a firmware update, the ghosting removal was definitely an afterthought. BTW, best display is the 4 bit 16 level, fast is 2 bit 4 level and ultra fast is B/W.

The person I talk to who purchased one after owning and liking the Viwoods 10.7" device, had it become a very expensive purchase when he sideloaded an APK that included for no extra charge, the Sturnus banking trojan. He was fortunate in that he noticed it after the first transfer from his account and his bank froze the account before too much damage was done. Evidently a rather popular trojan in Switzerland and other parts of central Europe.

[Gormagon]

"when he sideloaded an APK that included for no extra charge"

If it was an apk file from some shady website he should have used virustotal for scanning. That might offer some kind of security if no virus scanner finds something.
Since I don't do any serious business on my Android devices I haven't had a bad experience yet with lots of sideloaded apps from various sources over the years (especially before I heard of Aurora Store) and I always disable the Google stuff like Play Protect, Play Store etc.

Anyway...the device he installed the apk on isn't to blame for this.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Gormagon

"when he sideloaded an APK that included for no extra charge"

If it was an apk file from some shady website he should have used virustotal for scanning. That might offer some kind of security if no virus scanner finds something.

The APK file for the utility was not from what appeared to be a shady website. It was from a website that had been hacked and several of the APKs they were serving were infected. He had been using the utility on his phone for several years without issue.

He did run the file though a couple of test sites though I am not sure which he used. I tend to the suspicion that they were just not up to date enough to detect the malware payload.

I've known several people who managed to pick up infested APKs. Heck even using Google's Play Store is no guarantee considering that in the last 3 months (Sept. to Nov. 2025), Google removed over 540 apps due to malware payloads.
Though this in nothing compared to early 2024 when Google purged ~47% of the apps from the Play Store according to reports in multiple news outlets.

[Apollyon202]

Originally Posted by Gormagon

Off topic:
One is either right or wrong, there's no completely or slightly wrong. And I'm not wrong. I am also old enough to know that the EU regulated the market when already every company (maybe except for the one with yesterday's technology for tomorrow's prices [i.e. Apple]) used USB-C for their devices. I even have an electric toothbrush and razor with USB-C connections for charging.
If there's a better solution than USB-C we won't get it (or very late) in the EU, because no one in their right mind will include two different charging ports on a phone or tablet.
The EU also gives shit about the environment, which was an argument for the regulation. That's the EU that moves their puppet parliament twelve times a year from Brussels to Strasbourg.
The sooner this farce of a totally corrupted pseudo democracy will end, the better.

I’m grateful we at least have USB-C. No need to deal with dozens of different charging cables, or waste money on expensive and inferior Apple accessories. It could be a lot worse.
Nobody actually cares about the environment. If they did, we’d have had battery doors on all Kobo models a decade ago - at least.
And if you don’t like the EU, then leave. With the mentality you’ve got, Russia or China would welcome you with open arms.