The original foldable. Image Anthony Nelzin-Santos. — Chantilly (FR), 2025.08.

I don’t get two-handed foldables

I’m sure the iPhone Duo will be a perfectly fine device, but having reviewed my fair share of two-handed foldable phones, i just don’t get the hype. You might believe iOS will make all the difference, and i have to admit that the incredibly smooth opening animation might push people to actually unfold their device, something that Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Honor Magic V6 owners might not do every single day. But i believe books, both paper- and silicon-based, have something to teach us about what the hand wants.

The oldest electronic reading device i own, the Franklin Electronic Publishers KJ-21 electronic Bible from 1989, could claim to have been the first e-reader. Like the Sony Data Discman DD-1, which followed a year later and is slowly turning back to petroleum in my junk closet, it featured a keyboard for easy information retrieval. The first e-readers you’d recognize as such arrived in 1998 — the NuvoMedia Rocket eBook, which introduced the now-familiar asymmetrical design with page turning buttons, and the SoftBook Reader, which already had a built-in storefront thanks to its integrated modem. Both ran on power-hungry LCD screens, but E Ink arrived in 2004, with the launch of the Sony LIBRIe EBR-1000EP in Japan.

Back in 1949, Ángela Ruiz Robles’s mechanical encyclopedia looked a lot like a book, but fifty years later, these so-called electronic books looked nothing like their paper counterparts. The codex might be the most powerful device ever invented, but its main drawback is that it requires two hands¹. The continuous success of e-readers stems in large part from their one-handedness. You can use them in the metro while holding on to the overhead handles, in the street while gulping your cup of industrial coffee, in the office while munching on your stale sandwich… well, you get the idea.

The sudden popularity of tiny readers might have been a Reddit-driven psyop², but they’re clearly beloved because they fit so well in the hand. You don’t see a lot of people clamouring for foldable e-readers — Readmoo’s Mooink V is vapourware at this point. Even note-taking devices have shrunk to a palm-sized format — except for the InkLeaf, which might be the daftest device i’ve ever seen, and i’ve held a Humane AI Pin. You might say that phones are infinitely more versatile devices and that you want to be able to use two apps side by side. But are you going to? Really? The e-reader didn’t succeed because two-handed reading was impossible. It succeeded because, given the choice, people stopped choosing it. What choice will iPhone Duo owners make in the long run?

The iPhone Duo reminds me of another device that shared the same moniker, the ill-fated PowerBook Duo. Hardcore technologists have always dreamed of a single device that could transform and adapt to different use cases. Be it the IBM PC Convertible, the Compaq SLT/286, the Nokia 9000 Communicator or the Motorola Atrix, not to mention the cancelled Palm Foleo and Ubuntu Edge, the result has always been lower than the sum of its parts. Will it be different with the iPhone Duo? It’ll sell, because it’s Apple, but it might stay mostly closed, because it’s a phone (and one that can’t fit comfortably in one hand even when closed). In the meantime, when i need a screen bigger than my smartphone’s, i’ll reach for the second most powerful device ever invented, the bag. I’m sure i’ll find something in there.

About the Z1NZ0L1N dispatch system

Z1NZ0L1N is a dispatch system operated by Anthony Nelzin-Santos, transmitting from the field since January 2025. This document describes the operator, the protocol’s naming convention, its transmission history, its field office, and how it’s funded.

Operator

Anthony Nelzin-Santos is a writer at heart, teacher by instinct, flâneur by habit. He’s known to wander in search of old shopfronts, to spend an inordinate amount of time curating his music library, to craft pocket notebooks with vintage roadmaps, to keep a collection of half-repaired typewriters and half-empty fountain pens, to wear jeans and hiking shoes all year round, to watch his plants grow, to roam around with the heaviest long-tail bike on the planet, and to acquire more books than can be read. He’s married to the only person willing to put up with all of it.

Naming convention

“Zinzolin” is a shade of purple between lavender-field blue and crushed-blackberry red. The medieval Italians traced it to jujube fruits (giuggiolino). The Mozarabs, were they still around to argue the point, would insist on sesame seeds (djoudjolân) instead. The operator chose it because it’s his favourite colour — partly because it sounds like his name.

Transmission history

The operator was born before the world wide web was invented, but grew up surrounded by computers. He launched his first website in 2000, started his first blog in 2004, recorded his first podcast in 2005, and uploaded his first video in 2006. He went pro in 2008. In 2025, after years spent transmitting in French, the frequency switched to English.

Funding

Z1NZ0L1N is proudly ad-free. The operator covers hosting and the domain name — roughly €120 a year — out of pocket. The best way to support his efforts is to subscribe to the RSS feed and share your favourite dispatches with your friends. That being said, if you ever feel like sending one, a cup of coffee is always welcome.

Tools

Notebooks: handmade. Ink: purple, one of many. Pen: a fountain pen, often a Lamy Safari, also one of many. Backup: a Leuchtturm1917 Drehgriffel Nr. 1 ballpoint, a Uniball Zento Signature rollerball, or a Caran d’Ache 849 mechanical pencil. Notes when the notebook’s out of reach: Bloom. Computer: MacBook Air. Mechanical keyboard: more than one. Writing: Lettera, formerly Ulysses. Coding: BBEdit. Proofing: Antidote. Publication: Hugo.