I searched for each of the supported eInk devices and they were all tiny. Anyone know if there is a larger reader (maybe Paperwhite size-ish) that might run this?
The "Hardware" link indicates that the BoM specifies a "24-pin SPI e-paper for GoodDisplay panels (3.97″, 4.26″, 7.5″ and up)." A search turns up this: https://www.good-display.com/product/516.html
I've never heard of any of them; I guess it's geared toward build-it-yourself or kit-type devices? I can't imagine a serious aftermarket FW not supporting a single Kindle or Kobo device.
I got an Xteink X4 a few weeks ago and love it. I've tried out a few different firmwares but haven't settled on one yet. I love the screen and how simple the interface is. It's kind of a pain in the butt getting my Kindle books on there, but worth the effort. It's also encouraging me to buy books outside of the Amazon ecosystem. I've been getting more stuff from Humble lately.
My favorite at this point is Witch reader (https://github.com/jpirnay/witchhunt-reader). All the features of Cross-point, with better book rendering, and more features. I've tried a lot of the various alternatives, and keep coming back.
I also got one a few weeks ago! I love how pocketable it is.
I tried different firmwares too and ended up settling on CrossPoint. So far it's been the most stable and the UI feels more intuitive than the others (for me at least)
A Kobo ereader is as open as I need it with koreader installed. The Kobo Libra 2 black and white is the best ereader I have ever had. (not the color version,,unfortunately a step back in reading quality for normal reading)
remarkable / remarkable2 also work with KOReader. KOReader provides a very good ereader experience - can import dictionaries, export word lists (ie it tracks words you look up), and supports numerous ebook formats and lets you modify the padding/margins/layout. A very good piece of open source software
These are not competing with Kobo. These are micro-ereaders, often much smaller than a phone. They're characterized by extremely weak processors and minimal hardware. 'Apps' are not a concept here yet.
Are there any instances from the closed e-book system (kindle, nook, etc..) where you paid for a book and the book was either updated to a revised version or just removed from the device because of the content in the book?
It's fairly rare - like when 1984 was deleted from amazon when the seller didn't have the rights (and customer was refunded), but https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/oct/22/amazon-wipes-c... shows an example where someone's account was deleted and they lost all licenses of books they bought.
Yep, first instance I know of was from back in 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jul/17/amazon-ki... and the kind of thing keeps happening over the years. It'll continue to happen since you aren't paying for a book. You're paying for a license to read the book for as long as the publisher/owner allows you to do so and they can revoke the permission at any time.
I still find it hilariously ironic that the first instance that was widely reported (as far as I know) was it happening to 1984.
Are there any serious legislative efforts to fix the ebook market? I know getting rid of DRM entirely isn't likely to happen, but at this point I'd be happy with just vendor-neutral DRM.
Yep. The infamous case in my mind were the Roald Dahl updates. I believe there were a few more cases that got news coverage a few years back, but I don't recall, so don't quote me.
I really like my Boox e-reader because I can install any android app on it. I run Storyteller on it and it syncs position to my storyteller server. So i can listen to the audiobook on my iPhone and then pick up reading on my Boox from where I was listening.
I got an Xteink X 4 a few weeks ago and it's a very cute device. While I'm a fan of the hardware what's been really fun is noodling around with building some custom firmware and sync architecture to optimize content for the device's extremely limited CPU and Memory. That's meant a custom format for images and metadata that match the device's hardware and interface needs and an automatic ingest pipeline for building these files from common book/comic formats. Maybe some day I'll even read a book on the thing!
It saddens me that most of the ebook world is leaning towards smaller screen sizes.
My reader is 8", and I think that's just the right size. I like a decent sized font, and I don't like continually scrolling.
Surprisingly, the original promise of "low battery use" isn't panning out. My ereader's battery doesn't last that long, although I can live with it. Once you switch to large size color eink screens, the battery life is poorer than tablets!
Which reader do you have? I've been looking everywhere I can think of for a good 8-inch device, but I need it to run Android. Heck, I even tried looking into tablets with traditional screens and am having trouble turning up anything serviceable.
I have a 6" screen and it's too small. I got a 10.3" one and it was too large. But I'm starting to suspect those of us who primarily want to read are the only ones who want 8 inches, and we're a rare bread.
> most of the ebook world is leaning towards smaller screen sizes
Meanwhile, the smartphone world suffer from a lack of smaller screen sizes. Maybe we should just mandate the executives to switch industries with each other for a decade or so?
Yes, I too had a Sony ereader for years, and it was nice fitting it in my jacket pocket.
But the reality is that most book pages are larger than 6", and if I found myself preferring the book because of the size, what's the point of an ereader? I first switched to 7", which was better, but not good enough. 8" is great, though.
> Scribe Coloursoft go weeks between charges
How many hours will the battery last while on? And how does that compare to a similar sized tablet?
Nickel, the stock firmware on Kobo, is pretty decent. KOReader is better, though. The Kobo is a pretty hackable device. I pair my Kobo Clara BW with BookFusion, which gives me portability between any KOReader device, Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android.
From my understanding this is the next iteration of OpenX4 E-Paper Community SDK - an sdk made by some of the core contributors of CrossPoint that abstracts the hardware of eink devices.
Huge props to the devs, that haven't just embraced people forking their repo - but have actually put in a lot effort to make it easier for anyone that wants to develop on these platforms.
How big of a problem is this? I did get my X4 from somewhere else, but I was still able to change firmware. I think it just adds a hurdle to make it less trivial for unscrupulous resellers to install crapware.
Is that true? I heard for the X3 the pogo pin cable they ship has 2 pins not 4 but you can buy one and it will transfer data and let you flash custom firmware.
I own both an "old" X4 as well as a "new"/"domestic"/locked X3. The pogo cable transfers data, and the device shows up in dmesg when connected, but disappears shortly after. The cable itself works fine for transferring data, tested with a different device with the same connector.
Maybe, but I feel like those are all just overwhelming trend/clickbait nonsense videos/articles. E-readers are awesome, but I bet the amount of people that have truly replaced their social media habits with ebooks out of nowhere is near zero.
Also, for anyone that wants to cut doom scrolling, just delete your accounts and delete the apps for the services you're not using in a way you like. In many cases, it's that simple.
Love e-readers though. I've carried one with me (when I had a reason to expect at least 30 minutes of downtime) for a few years now and it's a lot more convenient than the paperbacks I used to lug around.
it is pretty fun I was surprised. It's just nice it's so pocketable. I thought it'd be too small but I turn the font up so I am constantly flipping and I don't seem to notice. The page flips are fast
But also, I didn't understand how much the lightness is amazing. A kindle is light and one handable but it's noticable, this is so light I just can hold it up. I've heard in the ultralight mouse (for gaming), there's a point you just feel like you're moving your hand and don't notice the mouse. This is how I feel for this and it's worth something
If you want all your book series displayed together, AALU (https://github.com/dawsonfi/aalu) might be worth a look.
And Crosspoint OS itself is still really nice.
I tried different firmwares too and ended up settling on CrossPoint. So far it's been the most stable and the UI feels more intuitive than the others (for me at least)
I still find it hilariously ironic that the first instance that was widely reported (as far as I know) was it happening to 1984.
https://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/ronald-dahl-...
My reader is 8", and I think that's just the right size. I like a decent sized font, and I don't like continually scrolling.
Surprisingly, the original promise of "low battery use" isn't panning out. My ereader's battery doesn't last that long, although I can live with it. Once you switch to large size color eink screens, the battery life is poorer than tablets!
These are seriously niche devices. They're currently trendy but the Kindles of the world probably have something like 98% of the market.
Kobo had an 8" ereader. People loved it (except for the battery life). But there's no sign they'll make more of them.
I have a 6" screen and it's too small. I got a 10.3" one and it was too large. But I'm starting to suspect those of us who primarily want to read are the only ones who want 8 inches, and we're a rare bread.
Meanwhile, the smartphone world suffer from a lack of smaller screen sizes. Maybe we should just mandate the executives to switch industries with each other for a decade or so?
My Kindle Paperwhite and Scribe Coloursoft go weeks between charges.
But the reality is that most book pages are larger than 6", and if I found myself preferring the book because of the size, what's the point of an ereader? I first switched to 7", which was better, but not good enough. 8" is great, though.
> Scribe Coloursoft go weeks between charges
How many hours will the battery last while on? And how does that compare to a similar sized tablet?
Remarkable looks like it has a pretty active hacking community: https://github.com/rehackable/awesome-remarkable#launchers
Huge props to the devs, that haven't just embraced people forking their repo - but have actually put in a lot effort to make it easier for anyone that wants to develop on these platforms.
I currently use CrossPoint, so I wanted to install this, but when I clicked the GitHub button, it just linked to the CrossPoint Firmware.
The biggest win is not caring if I get the reader back on the charger before I drift off, which is a thing I need to do with my phone.
Also, for anyone that wants to cut doom scrolling, just delete your accounts and delete the apps for the services you're not using in a way you like. In many cases, it's that simple.
Love e-readers though. I've carried one with me (when I had a reason to expect at least 30 minutes of downtime) for a few years now and it's a lot more convenient than the paperbacks I used to lug around.
But also, I didn't understand how much the lightness is amazing. A kindle is light and one handable but it's noticable, this is so light I just can hold it up. I've heard in the ultralight mouse (for gaming), there's a point you just feel like you're moving your hand and don't notice the mouse. This is how I feel for this and it's worth something