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A $150 Buttonless, Open Hardware Answer to Kindle is being crowdfunded by Open Book Touch (itsfoss.com)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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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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[–] 12 points 3 months ago (8 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.

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (4 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.

    Update: I just saw that CrossPoint has has an affiliate link, and that if you buy the reader direct from the manufacture you can still get unlocked USB devices. It's only on the international stores like AliExpress that you may get a crippled version. https://github.com/crosspoint-reader/crosspoint-reader

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (3 children)

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

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (2 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/

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago* (1 child)

    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

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