Tiny $70 Xteink X3 e-reader puts Silicon Valley to shame

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?

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.

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.

I guess more sensible than Yotaphone. Still annoyed we got 3rd screen on foldables before eink.

E: also waiting for this formfactor to get optimaxxed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL05zoHBGwA

Little eink dogtag that flips through one sentence at time.

I love my Xteink. It’s so small and lightweight I can take it anywhere. It runs fully on free software, and I paid close to nothing for the Chinese version on AliExpress.

I’ll use a bigger e-reader at home, and carry it to continue reading my book on the go. I have it for close to two months and charged it only once.

My favorite thing is that simply having it nearby showing the book cover is an invitation to read.

This could never have been invented in SV. You cannot show large bright colored advertisements on it!

As someone that mainly switched to e-readers because of bad eyes, this is way too small. Even the bigger x4 seems too small for the font size I feel comfortable with.

As someone who actually started reading more with bigger screen sizes[1], this article is really not jiving with me and is light on details. I still don't understand why I'd prefer this to a Kobo. Other than the size, what is the benefit?

[1] I read more with a 7" than a 6" and even more with an 8".

I recently got an X3 (on a sale £58 with shipping) after deciding between X4 and X3 for a long time and I think I made the right decision. I fits perfectly in my wallet and I don't think about it.

Carrying my regular 6" ereader around feels like I'm taking something with me, it feels like extra weight. I have to either carry it in my hand which is inconvenient or take a rucksack with me when I go for a walk. X3 is so small that it doesn't feel like I'm carrying anything, but it's always there. So when I go for a long walk and decide to take a short break I take it out and read for 10-20min. Same on my commute, I replaced reading the news on my phone with reading for 25-30min on the train.

First think I did was flash Crosspoint on it, because it's lightweight and preserves the battery much like original OS. Battery feels great, I love that it's not touchscreen. Buttons take getting used to, but overall I'm impressed!

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.

$70 in the US, 90€ ($105) in Europe :3 https://www.xteink.com/products/xteink-x3

I guess West Coast shipping from China is much cheaper

I really didn't think I would, but I really enjoy using my X4. The only thing I wish it had was a backlight. It seems Xteink is hellbent on including pogo connectors on all their other models, and that the original X4 with USB-C was an unfortunate outlier in this regard.

Surprised I never heard of this!

Looking to pick one up, any recommendations on X4 Pro vs Classic?

for me, the killer feature of the little xteink readers is _no touchscreen_. This is important because you can hold the device as you would a paper book, thumb on the page itself without accidentally turning the page or triggering some menu system.

I have one and am very happy with it. I vibe coded a bilingual ebook reader, which is what I bought it for. However a Kindle is a way better deal and is much better as far as screen quality etc. But I like how small my XTEINK X4 Pro is.

Mine's screen cracked in a month. Didn't drop it or mishandled it. Be aware that is it much more fragile that a Kindle.

I got one and it is a neat fun device.

And it's pretty hackable, with an open firmware, bunch of community involvement in developing third party alternatives for the default software.

I have even vibecoded random software to run on it.

The fact that you can use it one-handed is the killer feature for me, both for reading and as a generic dashboard/remote control for stuff in my home.

After the x4 was marketed as having MagSafe that would work with a phone, while the magnet doesn’t align with MagSafe.

Neat little esp32 eReader with the standard bs around the company.

"In a sense, it is that. Xteink sounds less like a real brand name than the kind of garbled text you’ll find in AI-slop memes."

I think it's a great name. To me it reads like "extend e-ink", crazy how perception can be so different.

I'm tempted, despite being wedded to Kindle. I can search for and borrow a library bok on Libby in 30 seconds, then have it automagically appear on my Kindle; I doubt the experience is so seamless with Crosspoint, and of course the progress won't sync. But otherwise, an e-ink screen on the back of my phone is something I have always wanted. Hey Amazon, how about a Kindle counterpart to this?

The X3 seems nicest as it’s smallest and a good deal lighter.

but no usb-c port? Nooooooooooo!

NOBODY asked for a proprietary pogo pin usb cable. shame on you!!!!

The CEO of this brand once portrayed himself as a first-time entrepreneur, launching a small batch of products at extremely low prices, then raising prices and quickly rolling out new models. But earlier this year, one of his competitors publicly presented a series of allegations that were subsequently substantiated, including that he had actually been involved in multiple previous ventures with a highly questionable track record, and that some of the products' key specifications had been seriously misrepresented. The company later apologized for the inaccurate specifications, claiming that the misinformation was unintentional. However, it offered neither a recall nor any meaningful compensation to affected customers. Soon afterward, the brand launched yet another new product, only for customers to discover after receiving it that the promotional images were also misleading. At the end of the day, this brand's business model seems to be little more than assembling cheap off-the-shelf components and using aggressive social media marketing to convince people that they need its products.

My cynical take: these cute little things still end up in landfills, and my 5+ year old phone runs the kindle app just fine.