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Yotaphone 2 e ink display as second screen

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 2:58 pm
by Steak_Typhoon
I will be buying a Yotaphone 2 soon and I was just wondering if Drastic could put one screen on the LED display and the other screen on the e ink display.

Re: Yotaphone 2 e ink display as second screen

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 10:35 am
by ericbazinga
Steak_Typhoon wrote:I will be buying a Yotaphone 2 soon and I was just wondering if Drastic could put one screen on the LED display and the other screen on the e ink display.
Sorry for such a late reply, but I only just recently learned how E-ink displays work.

E-Ink displays (such as those on Amazon Kindle devices) aren't designed for constantly changing graphics. They're designed to only use power when changing what's on the screen, such as when you turn the page. That's why Kindles last weeks on one charge. Trying to use a Kindle display for the constantly moving graphics of DS games would be like trying to use your TI-83 to check your Twitter feed. You'd think it might work, but it just won't. And even if it did work, E-ink displays are black and white, which will NOT look good. And don't expect the battery to last even a week, either. Also, and most importantly, the E-ink display is on the back. Do you really want to have to constantly flip the phone over? Doesn't sound like fun to me.

Re: Yotaphone 2 e ink display as second screen

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 3:33 pm
by Steak_Typhoon
I didn't say it would be useful, fun, look good, have long battery, or anything. I just love doing weird experimental stuff with technology.

Also I'm sure not all games would be awful on the e-ink panel. There must be some games that don't have lots of screen updates. I know there were a few visual novels made on the DS (see Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney).

I don't mean you to take me seriously, I was mostly interested in how much work would be involved in making it happen. I can actually play Drastic on my e-ink panel right now if I wanted. There is an app that sends the stock android experience to the e-ink panel.

Re: Yotaphone 2 e ink display as second screen

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:01 pm
by ericbazinga
Steak_Typhoon wrote:I didn't say it would be useful, fun, look good, have long battery, or anything. I just love doing weird experimental stuff with technology.

Also I'm sure not all games would be awful on the e-ink panel. There must be some games that don't have lots of screen updates. I know there were a few visual novels made on the DS (see Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney).

I don't mean you to take me seriously, I was mostly interested in how much work would be involved in making it happen. I can actually play Drastic on my e-ink panel right now if I wanted. There is an app that sends the stock android experience to the e-ink panel.
Well, I doubt Exophase (The creator of DraStic) would put in the effort of adding Yotaphone display support just for the purpose of a crazy experiment.

Re: Yotaphone 2 e ink display as second screen

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:12 am
by Steak_Typhoon
What about using the second screen as an input? Particularly for L&R. I hate mapping L&R to the same flat surface my thumbs are on, I need to cradle my device in my hand, it's just not comfortable or practical mapping L&R to the top of the screen.

If L&R could be mapped to sections of the EPD, that would make touch controls way more comfortable.

Re: Yotaphone 2 e ink display as second screen

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 6:16 pm
by ericbazinga
Steak_Typhoon wrote:What about using the second screen as an input? Particularly for L&R. I hate mapping L&R to the same flat surface my thumbs are on, I need to cradle my device in my hand, it's just not comfortable or practical mapping L&R to the top of the screen.

If L&R could be mapped to sections of the EPD, that would make touch controls way more comfortable.
That's actually a great idea. What do you think, Exo?