E-Ink devices for displaying dashboards

Since I don’t want to buy another PocketBook just for displaying openHAB due to its price, I’m curious what kind of device you guys out there are using. In other words, I’m looking for the cheapest possible option to render an openHAB page and fulfilling my needs.

Let’s add these points to your requirements list.

1. Has an e-ink display
2. Consume as little energy as possible
3. Battery-powered
4. No user interaction necessary to display/update the openHAB Page (automatic reload, screen always on)
5. Can render an openHAB page
6. Cheapest possible option and less expensive than a Pocketbook Touch HD 3

1-5 are covered by a Pocketbook Touch HD 3. You might find an e-reader that’s $20-50 cheaper, but you can’t be sure it will render an openHAB UI until you try it-whereas you already know the Pocketbook works.

In contrast, 3-6 are covered by an Android phone/tablet. So, how flexible are you on “Has an e-ink display” and “consume as little energy as possible”?

I have an old Amazon Fire HD 10 running the HabPanelViewer app to display an openHAB UI (which doesn’t have to be a HabPanel). It’s in airplane mode (so that WiFi is the only radio in use), and I use rules to determine when the screen is on/off. When no one is at home or awake, the screen is off.

I also experimented with having the screen turn on only when someone walks in front of it, but I didn’t find a reliable solution and didn’t come back to it.

Don’t get me wrong-I really like e-ink displays. I’m just not confident that you’ll find a device that meets all of your requirements, in which case you’ll need to broaden your parameters. For an off-the-shelf solution, I think your best options are:

1. Use your existing Pocketbook Touch HD 3 for openHAB and get a new (and better?) e-reader.
   • Might as well use this as an excuse to upgrade.
2. Find a lightly used Android device to repurpose. If you don’t already have one, someone you know probably does.
   • I’d be hesitant to buy a used Android device (you can’t trust the battery health), but I’d take one for free.

Good luck!