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- Hacker News
- I had only heard about these things on HN, and thought they were primarily popular as a toy for people to hack on. I didn't realise they are so popular amongst "normies".
I have no current need for one as I am happy with my cheap second hand Kobo but it's great that they exist, especially with the open source alternative firmware. Hopefully they don't clamp down on that in future.
by NoboruWataya - I have an X4 and use it as a writer deck with microslate firmware[0]
I heavily customized the source code with llm so I can use emacs style keybindings and search.
by larme - by nkurz
- Much to my wife's chagrin I never have anything on my wishlist since I'm not a huge fan of (receiving) gifts in general, but I did put the X4 on my list a couple of months ago, since my decade+ old Kobo is getting long in the tooth, and I don't enjoy the manual syncing.
I wanted it mostly due to this: https://github.com/crosspoint-reader/crosspoint-reader
Has anyone tried it out?
by croon - I have an X4. I've read about 15 books on it so far, and I carry it everywhere.
I used to read books on my phone (Moon Reader), but it wasn't as compelling. I think it was a combination of the screen and the fact that I'm used to using the phone for other things. But I can't really pin it down more than that.
Things I like:
Flashable firmware. If they disable this capability, I wouldn't buy it. I'm using Crosspoint Reader ATM.
Lightweight.
Good battery life. You can get through a novel on a charge.
USB-C. They sell models with a proprietary connector, best avoided. If they drop USB-C, I wouldn't buy it. I'm not carrying another stupid proprietary charger on trips where I could lose it and render my device useless, and one that's certainly not cheap and trivial to replace.
uSD slot. Plenty of room.
Crosspoint integration with Calibre. Crosspoint lots of features. They just added offline dictionary support but I haven't tried it.
Narrow screen. It's like a newspaper column. Somehow I enjoy this more than a wide screen.
Lanyard attachment point. I don't use this, but it's a neat detail they added to the case.
Magnetic phone attachment. Sticks to the back of my pixel 9 case, or whatever metal you have handy.
Things I'm neutral about:
My model doesn't have a backlight. I make up for it with a front light. :) Sometimes I miss it, but other times I feel like books were meant to be read without a backlight.
Low resolution screen. It's visibly lower than my other e-readers, for sure. Get it under a loupe and... wow. But I don't mind it.
No keyboard. There is a software keyboard, but lack of touch makes it clunky to use. Luckily my needs are rare.
Only DRM-free EPUB support (and TXT). This is HackerNews; you know what you're doing.
Things I don't like:
There's a weird quirk where a screen that's exposed to direct sunlight won't render correctly after a page turn. It fades. I have to turn the screen into shadow before turning the page.
The case is weak. I don't want a cover for it because I stick it to my phone, but dropping the device will result in divots on the case edges.
It generally feels plastic. The buttons (which haven't failed me) don't have a solid feel to their action.
Xteink folks, if you're listening:
Allow firmware flashing, or I won't recommend it.
Keep USB-C, or I won't recommend it.
These are two of your killer features for a device that is a little bit overpriced.
by beej71 - it's hard to complain about this device, but here are my random ones:
1. yes, it is small and wonderful to one-handed read with, but _everyone_ around you notices you have a unique, small ereader in your palm. granted, maybe just reflects my self-consciousness. but until these are more ubiquitous, you'll be getting looks on the train/plane.
2. the whole "stick it on the back of your phone" idea is super silly and a bit of a gimmick at least:
2a. I don't want to make my expensive phone larger by volume and weight
2b. I do struggle to not fool around with my phone, and simply using "the back of the phone" is about the equivalent of being given a cigarette upside down as if that will stop me from smoking it.
3. after 14 years of Kindles, it's obvious how much better the eink tech is in premium devices (not a game changer at all, at most a nitpick)
yeah it's a super great device. I got it when prices were a bit lower a few months ago and it was a no-brainer. if you're really into reading and being thrifty/resourceful to get your ebooks, I'd check it out.
by BSOhealth - There are 10+ comments here praising a third-party firmware, so I think it deserves mention that this might (?) no longer be possible for new devices,
https://www.theverge.com/tech/921552/xteink-x3-x4-e-reader-t...
> "But now buyers report Xteink is blocking [CrossPoint Reader], which might depend on where you live and where you purchase its devices. [...] Instead of being offered a replacement, they received a statement they shared to Reddit explaining that recently shipped devices from Xteink now come with firmware flashing disabled."
by peri-cl - I got an X4 (slightly larger model) less than 2 months ago and I already finished 9 books on it. It is always in my pocket and I started reaching for it instead of my phone during tiny moments of boredom. Sometimes it's just a few paragraphs when I'm waiting for a train, but it is also surprisingly good for longer reading sessions.by jacek