this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2026
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A $150 Buttonless, Open Hardware Answer to Kindle is being crowdfunded by Open Book Touch (itsfoss.com)
submitted 1 day ago by FirmDistribution@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
120 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/49429587

URL for the crowdfunding: https://www.crowdsupply.com/oddly-specific-objects/open-book-touch

Specs:

  • Display: 4.26" e-paper touchscreen, 480 × 800 px, warm + cool frontlight
  • Processor: ESP32-S3 dual-core, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth LE
  • Memory: 16 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM
  • Formats: EPUB and plain text, no DRM
  • Storage: microSD card slot
  • Interface: USB-C with integrated LiPo charging
  • Dimension: 78 × 120 × 10 mm, about 85 g
  • Open source: MIT-licensed firmware, open hardware (to be released at shipping)

It also has a replaceable 800 mAh battery, I found it cool :)

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[–] Mystech@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago (4 children)

If they are targeting the tiny ebook reader niche, they're going to have to do better on features and pricing than the upcoming refresh of the XTEINK devices.

[–] foggenbooty@lemmy.world 5 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

But XTEINK is actively working to combat the flashing of open source software. It seems they had a spike in sales and interest due to their affordable hardware, but if they continue to lock aftermaket software out tech savvy people will be looking for different options.

[–] 9cpluss@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Do you have a link to an article or something about that?

[–] foggenbooty@lemmy.world 1 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I was interested in them but all the listings on AliExpress expressly said they didn't support custom firmware. I started looking into it and it seems to be something theu did after they got popular.

Here's some info, but a lot of it is scattered around online communities: https://pocketink.io/blog/xteink-locked-or-unlocked-buying-guide/

[–] 9cpluss@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Thanks! I bought one months ago and flashed crosspoint at the time.

But nice that you can still flash them via SD card even if they are USB locked. I guess it would be difficult to fully lock them given they just run an ESP32

[–] kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 21 hours ago

They aren't even doing better than the current generation. Their version is more than double the price of the X4 and has the same screen and SoC.

[–] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 day ago

Exactly, I just got a 4" model and it was 1/3 this price and has buttons and also had better open source firmware I could load on it.

[–] PabloSexcrowbar@piefed.social 1 points 20 hours ago

1 cm seems pretty thick for something you'll spend a lot of time holding, too.