In this blog post dated August 30, 2025, Dave Pagurek shares his experience using the Minimal Phone, an Android smartphone with an e-paper display, as his primary device. Having been an avid reader in his youth and reacquainted with reading through his Kobo e-reader since 2016, Dave found traditional ereaders sometimes inconvenient, especially for syncing articles or borrowing library books, with services like Pocket being discontinued. Intrigued by the idea of a phone that combines cellular connectivity with a paper-like reading experience, he purchased the Minimal Phone as an experiment. The device is similar in size to his Pixel 8 but wider, featuring a physical keyboard occupying the bottom third and an e-paper, black-and-white display on the top two thirds. The phone runs Android with multiple launcher options tailored for the display. It includes a side button for clearing screen ghosting and quick access to display settings, where users can control backlighting and refresh rates. The display has three refresh modes: slow (high-quality grayscale), fast (less flashing but only black-and-white), and a hybrid mode balancing quality and speed, which Dave predominantly uses. Dave appreciates the phone for its excellent reading experience—crisp, sun-readable, and comfortable for extended use without causing eye strain common with typical screens. He has successfully used it for reading library books on the go, accessing articles via RSS feeds, and generally reducing social media consumption in favor of longer-form content. The battery life is solid, often lasting two days per charge. The physical keyboard lets him disable autocorrect, which he finds beneficial when typing programming terms. He acknowledges the camera is acceptable once configured via alternative apps to reduce aggressive noise reduction, though the selfie camera placement is awkward. Photos look decent and are suitable for casual sharing. The phone's fingerprint reader works well but sometimes forgets registered fingerprints after random restarts, requiring PIN entry. Some minor issues include double-tap-to-wake that cannot be disabled, occasional missed keypresses on slower refresh rates, and challenges with Google Maps visibility due to display contrast and refresh quirks. Dave adjusts for some of these by turning off aggressive app background management ("Duraspeed") for key apps, customizing light settings, and using browser extensions to block animated ads that cause distracting screen flashes. He notes ongoing development on a software update to address fingerprint retention, double-tap-to-wake options, improved refresh rates, and per-app refresh settings. Feature requests include adjustable vibration intensity, emoji search on the keyboard, and improved hybrid refresh mode compatibility with camera apps. In conclusion, after over a month of use, Dave finds the Minimal Phone a very satisfying device for reading and basic phone functions, though it is not without quirks and