alt Hacker NewsGot the X4. Put CrossPoint on it. Works like a charm. The http server accessible over wifi makes transferring books extremely simple. (Shame on the Kindle for locking everything down.) This is proof-of-concept that a microcontroller is more than enough for something like an e-reader.
I have a Kindle and a Kobo. They are sturdy devices. But the X4 is the one that is a genuine e-reader. Would not get it as my one and only e-reader though as you tend to miss the size and backlight of the larger ones.
What would I want from future iterations?
- backlight even if it compromises on battery a bit
- a bit more DPI
Everything else is good enough.
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I love my X4 as well, and would love a backlight. Crosspoint and its downline forks are great.
the only funny thing about the X4 is reading it in bright sunlight. it will corrupt the image on the screen on page turn unless you shade it? something to do w/ older eInk screens and not having a UV Filter. weird, slightly annoying.
Its increased my reading 2-3x though!
I'm with you on every bit. I love my Kobo Libra 2 and it lives on my nightstand table. It's an excellent reader. The X4 with CrossPoint is an alright reader, but I've been chewing through books on my morning commute because it fits in my jacket pocket and I can have it out on the train without bumping into other people.
It's not the best reader I own, but it's the best reader I have on me at any given moment when I'm not laying in bed.
I have the Kobo Libra Color and the contrast on the X4 is much much better.
The whole sticking-it-to-the-back-of-your-phone i find a bit useless, but mine came with two metal rings so that I can stick it to other places.
I have one ring on the dashboard of my car so the X4 can hang there until i need to use it. Good for trips with many stops.
You can always install KOReader on Kindle to get the painless wireless transfer as well. It can even sync wirelessly with Calibre.
There are rumors they will release a V2 Pro version with touch and backlight in the second half of this year.
They also have already announced the S4 that is basically the same device, a bit ticker with touch and backlight and running android.
Do you know what the maximum SD card size that it'll support? I'm especially interested if a 1TB card will work.
It was probably a decade ago, but I used to have this extremely cheap e-reader that ran off AA batteries, used a monochrome LCD screen (no lighting) and was based on a microcontroller. If you let the batteries die and waited too long to replace them, you had to reflash the software on it. I think it only handled mobi format, but it might have been epub.
x4 pro will come with backlight and touch screen
All of this. It's a solid device. I like it. It won't replace my Kobo, but it has it's place in my tech lineup.
Will buy the next one if it has a light.
Not being lighted is what has kept me from trying it. If they do add lighting I hope it is a front light and not a back light. Hard to beat a front lit e-ink display for reading. Bonus points for warmth settings.
Question to X4 owners - what is the benefit over a smartphone?
I have a kindle for beach and travel as a good compromise size; I use my 10" tablet when I really settle in for reading, or when I read technical books with graphs or books with photographs etc. For my adhoc reader I use kindle app on my phone. What is the unique selling point of something like X4? I notice it attaches to the phone which seems bizarre, phone feels like a functional superset, so I must be missing something - is it battery life or less distractions or something else?
Thx! :)