Got my Manta! - observations from an e-ink first timer

After a loooong time waiting for the A5X2 to be released, I finally got my Manta a couple of days ago.

I was surprised in some areas and confused in others, so I thought I would share my observations and questions, to clear up my confusion. Hopefully some of you can shed some light and share your take.

And please don't just interpret this list as me hating on the device, I still like it overall (love the distraction free approach and system design, battery is good so far without WiFi or text recognition on), I just want to clear up my device and e-ink expectations and questions. :)

Screen

  • I've got a dead "pixel" (if e-ink uses the same terminology), being black all the time. Is that common and within specs?
  • there is a visible "scratch" along the pen stroke that vanishes slowly. Is that the "self-healing" of the FeelWrite layer?
  • the screen sometimes feels rather sticky - is that because of the "break-in" period and it goes away or something permanent?
  • the drawing position (relative to the pen tip) seems to vary - near the top of the screen the stroke is slightly shifted downwards from the tip position
  • the screen is darker than I thought it would be, compared to paper notebooks - not an issue, but my desk is white and so is my keyboard, so I am constantly reminded of that
  • the pen tip to screen distance is larger than anticipated (thought it would be closer, given there is no light layer)
  • ghosting is a lot more prevalent than I anticipated, as an e-ink newbie. refresh is there to help, but ghosting after wake from the screensaver and the "craziness" after moving a selection is a little odd
  • to my surprise, there is noticeable glare on the screen, depending on the light source
  • my monitor lamp really pairs nicely with such a device, would recommend if your room lighting is poor like mine :D

Gestures

  • the delete gesture sometimes turns into a pen stroke (first the line looks like a delete selection and then it turns into a black stroke midway and turns into "ink")
  • the "app drawer" (sidebar) gesture sometimes opens an app directly. looks like it doesn't wait for me to lift my finger and opens the menu AND then detects my finger on an app item in one go
  • undo via sidebar is too slow for me - is there an option to have it via double tap or so?

Apps

  • Calendar: how do I choose a specific Google Calendar from my account or show multiple?
  • Mail: cannot log into my account because the app insists I enter a mail address, but the server wants a non-mail username instead
  • Mail: does it support different protocols (SSL/TLS vs STARTTLS) for incoming and outgoing servers or do they have to be the same?
  • Todo: is there a sync option to any of the major other todo services (e.g. Apple Reminders, Google Tasks etc)?

Folio

  • since the Half-Folio is not fixed on the outer "hooks", there is a noticeable gap (especially on the top, depending on movement though) - definitely not reflecting the price

Pen

  • the HOM2 feels nice, especially the "click"
  • there is a subtle rattling sound whenever the tip touches the screen
  • easily scratched - it only sits on my office desk or deskmat and is already scratched :(