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The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

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Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#81

Post by emme »

senorcrab wrote: post #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.

I've bought a X3 and I loved it (with crosspoint). However, the screen broke after just a week, even if I used the official cover all the time. It's a cute gadget but it's too fragile for the intended use: its strength is the form factor, you want to bring it with yourself to read a page in any mobility setting, but its fragility is a critical issue.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#82

Post by Langley »

I got the X4 Reader recently as well. I really worried that it was going to be a gadget I used for a while then just toss into a drawer but it really has been a useful device. I liken it to the phrase "The best camera is the one that's with you.", having this attached to my phone, so I near always have it with me, just means when I have a tiny bit of downtime say waiting for the bus, or waiting for a food order, I just pull it out, read a few pages then carry on my day.

Only challenges I have are, I wish the MagSafe was a little stronger, it does come off when I put my phone in my pocket which, 9 times out of 10, means I just have 2 separate devices in my pocket.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#83

Post by jerojero »

sieve wrote: post #37
kstrauser wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> It's not the best reader I own, but it's the best reader I have on me at any given moment This. The form factor is almost the right one for an e-reader. The battery lasts for weeks. It is so open that you could probably write your own firmware for it based on CrossPoint or similar for your own needs. Needs some iterative development while ruthlessly culling requests for random features.

crosspoint has started developing a little slower now that its in a really usable state.

I've merged some working PRs onto my device and it's working great. I really needed a dictionary option because I like to quickly know the meaning of words as I read.

its fine. theres a few more things that could be nice (reading statistics for example) that other forks do have.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#84

Post by jerojero »

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #70
tmottabr wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are rumors they will release a V2 Pro version with touch and backlight in the second half of this year. They also have already announced the S4 that is basically the same device, a bit ticker with touch and backlight and running android.

It has perfectly usable buttons. Adding touch feels like straying from the core proposition to have a minimal reader.

if its still as open, I'm pretty sure the touchscreen can be worked out to work well.

but I really agree with you, I'd love to have a frontlight on it. That's literally all I'd wanted over the current device. No touchscreen necessary.

but between touchscreen + frontlight and neither, perhaps I'd be willing to have a touchscreen so long as the software is good (which something like crosspoint I'm sure would nail)

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#85

Post by jerojero »

pluralmonad wrote: post #31
sieve wrote: 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…

Not being lighted is what has kept me from trying it. If they do add lighting I hope it is a front light and not a back light. Hard to beat a front lit e-ink display for reading. Bonus points for warmth settings.

Its not physically possible to have eink (based on inked beads, like the current e-reader has) and backlight.

only frontlight is possible.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#86

Post by c45y »

kstrauser wrote: post #68
sieve wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's not the best reader I own, but it's the best reader I have on me at any given moment This. The form factor is almost the right one for an e-reader. The battery lasts for weeks. It is so open that you could probably write your own firmware for it based on CrossPoint or similar for your own needs. Needs some iterative development while ruthlessly culling requests for random features.

> The form factor is almost the right one for an e-reader. It truly is. It fits perfectly in one hand without stretching uncomfortably, so I can hold it for longer than any reading session I've had without making my hand get stiff. While holding it in the normal way, my thumb naturally rests on one of the side buttons, which I've mapped to "next page". If I were to hold out my hand, and someone put an X4 in it, I wou…

That was the big surprising win for me too, it just fits so comfortably in the hand

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#87

Post by c45y »

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #70
tmottabr wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are rumors they will release a V2 Pro version with touch and backlight in the second half of this year. They also have already announced the S4 that is basically the same device, a bit ticker with touch and backlight and running android.

It has perfectly usable buttons. Adding touch feels like straying from the core proposition to have a minimal reader.

Yeah I really like not having a touchscreen that I have to worry about bumping while I'm reading, a backlight is the only addition I would enjoy to the current x4

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#88

Post by jerojero »

BeetleB wrote: post #12
miohtama wrote: post #6

For those who can afford it, I can recommend the Boox Note for the ebook reader. It comes with full Android, so you are not limited to books but can read news, Hacker News, and other doomscrolling that fills the Internet. In a pinch, you can also connect it to a Bluetooth keyboard and use it as a development terminal. SSH terminal looks gorgeous on e-ink.

> It comes with full Android, so you are not limited to books but can read news, Hacker News, and other doomscrolling that fills the Internet. That sounds like an anti-feature. When I first bought an ereader over 15 years ago, I intentionally chose one that didn't support Wifi for this very reason. I want it primarily for reading documents. But then again, I guess Boox is meant more to be a tablet than an ereader. Al…

I have a boox device (go Color 7 gen 2) and the battery life is not good for an ereader. For a tablet, it's fine I guess but I actually get more battery life from my actual tablet than this little ereader.

it lasts a day if youre reading all day, a couple days with lighter use. I couldn't finish a whole book on a single charge even if its a small book. Not at my reading speed anyway.

As a comparison, I've already read 3 books on the xteink x4 and still have 60% of battery left. So yeah, android is good but these things need much better batteries to compete.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#89

Post by jerojero »

cbushko wrote: post #43
aanet wrote: post #34

I've been eyeing the Xteink Reader but cannot decide between the X4 (4.7" diag) and X3 (3.7" diag). FWIW, the X3 requires a pogo pin cable, while the X4 requires a standard USB-C. Anybody got any recommendations? Thanks!

I picked the X4 over X3 because the usb-c is convenient for charging (which you barely need to do) I love it and use it every day.

precisely, also, if you don't need to charge the device for weeks, months even, you're probably gonna lose the specialised cable.

a usbc is so easy to come by, you're never going to have to wait for amazon to deliver the cable you need to charge this one device you own.

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