They are Swiss (EPFL)

Yes, if you block ads, then you do not generate revenue for them.

I sympathize with you. I killed my phone’s screen while attempting to replace the battery (poured too much solvent to unglue the battery, which melted or dissolved something under the screen). It’s a shame, because the battery replacement was a success, i could use it by connecting a screen. Since then, repairability is a must for me.

They are e-ink tablets, not e-readers. They’re meant for note taking and annotating PDFs.

Valve is not publicly traded.