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The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

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21–30 of 193 posts

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#21

Hijacking … i have some random e-ink displays (from a bought product)… there seem to be 6 lines to the mcu (or 7, havent measured). Any 2026 tips on approaches to reverse engineer this to run on an arbitrary hobby mcu like esp32? Oh the mcu seems to be a WinnerMicro W100 Series MCU (arm m3)

there are 4 or 5 command sets, you can safely try them all. for that few wires, it'll be spi

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#22

CrossPoint 1.4.0 came out 2 hours ago: https://github.com/crosspoint-reader/crosspoint-reader/relea...

I skimmed over the project a bit. It seems quite ambitious to aim to reimplement epub, considering that means supporting HTML, CSS, SVG and JavaScript. Is there a ebook format that isn't just build arround the concept of a webbrowser?

epub is overkill for a vast majority of books.

A format that only supported

- headings

- paragraphs

- emphasis (bold/italics)

- bullets

- inline images

is good enough. A simple container with a TOC pointing to text blocks/files within it that can be processed very cheaply.

Unfortunately, with something like epub, you lose all the simplicity because you want to support every single feature even if rarely used.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#23
I've been using it for about 6 months. Very, very good - especially paired with anna's archive.

IT IS VERY FRAGILE! The eink screen on my first broke while in my backpack. The company is generous, I bought a new one and they gave 35% off and included all accessories (reading light, case, extra protectors). Highly recommend.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#25
post #8

Got the X4. Put CrossPoint on it. Works like a charm. The http server accessible over wifi makes transferring books extremely simple. (Shame on the Kindle for locking everything down.) This is proof-of-concept that a microcontroller is more than enough for something like an e-reader. I have a Kindle and a Kobo. They are sturdy devices. But the X4 is the one that is a genuine e-reader. Would not get it as my one and o…

I'm with you on every bit. I love my Kobo Libra 2 and it lives on my nightstand table. It's an excellent reader. The X4 with CrossPoint is an alright reader, but I've been chewing through books on my morning commute because it fits in my jacket pocket and I can have it out on the train without bumping into other people.

It's not the best reader I own, but it's the best reader I have on me at any given moment when I'm not laying in bed.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#26
post #8

Got the X4. Put CrossPoint on it. Works like a charm. The http server accessible over wifi makes transferring books extremely simple. (Shame on the Kindle for locking everything down.) This is proof-of-concept that a microcontroller is more than enough for something like an e-reader. I have a Kindle and a Kobo. They are sturdy devices. But the X4 is the one that is a genuine e-reader. Would not get it as my one and o…

All of this. It's a solid device. I like it. It won't replace my Kobo, but it has it's place in my tech lineup.

Will buy the next one if it has a light.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#27
post #24

been using on the back of my phone for a few months, my most satisfying hardware purchase in a long time

what phone does it fit on? I have the X3 coming today for this very reason. The x4 is just too big and the magnets misplaced to fit on any phone I own

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#28
post #3

I've had the X3 for a month and I love it. It's so small I forget it's in my pocket and have almost washed it a couple times. I'm working on custom firmware for it, so I ordered an X4 when they had the 20% off sale to test on there too.

link the custom firmware!

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#30

I got one, it's pretty cool that it's small enough to just magnet to the back of your phone. If your someone who needs to use a large font on their ereader to read its certainly not for you, but the screen size is good enough for regular sized text. It's also cool that it's chip is just an ESP32.

I would like to see a phone case which this inserts into --- bonus points if there's a way to use it as a status display for the phone for use in bright/direct sunlight.
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