I really don’t understand the hype of that product.
It’s like an entrepreneur with social media marketing skills came across a container full of really cheap small eink displays, then designed a product and marketing around it.
The reason it's trending right now is because it's a convenient price, simple to use and making people read more because of its size. If it helps people cut down on phone use then it's a good product.
The build quality could be better, but there doesn't exist a similar product with better build quality.
Can you build a DIY version that's significantly cheaper?
Well, this was my thinking for getting one, we shall see when it arrives :P
Edit: Also you can choose to install a nice open source community firmware
It’s like an entrepreneur with social media marketing skills came across a container full of really cheap small eink displays, then designed a product and marketing around it.