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In actuality there are several forks, and the original Crosspoint Reader really got the ball rolling, but now seems to get stuck in discussions. The forks (especially the one I linked) has progressed much further and has better KOReader sync (as in actually syncs to the correct XPath position instead of some close-enough position), bionic reading, streamlined UI, etc. Give that one a shot!
Be aware that Xteink is locking down devices sold for the Chinese market (which includes those being sold on e.g. Taobao). If you want to run crosspoint, you should probably order your reader direct from Xteink.
February is probably right before they tightened things up. The Liliputing article mentions the lockdown starting in Q1 2026, so devices shipped before then likely weren't affected yet. Whether that includes late February is unclear.
Worth adding: the Chinese-market lockdown appears tied to a firmware version, not hardware revision. My unit from the Xteink store (shipped October) flashes fine, but a friend's Taobao order from the same week was already on the locked build.
50-70 dollars? A Kobo Clara is about 100 and has a bigger screen, an adjustable front light and you can easily load DRM free ebooks via USB mass storage or custom firmware like koreader. If you just want to read books you should probably just get a Kobo.
I have a bunch of e-readers and this X4 is probably my favorite precisely because how small and pocketable it is.
I comfortably fit around half a page of a real paperback book on the screen. Its not the biggest compromise ever and for the size its great.
You know how they say "the best camera is the one you have with you" well the same goes for an ereader. I do have my bigger e-reader but it doesn't fit in my pocket, it fits in my bag and that's believe it or not a big difference.
I also have a more expensive "phone sized" ereader, and its fine. The size is really good and I've read many books in it. The issue is that it feels like carrying two phones, its the size and weight of a modern phone. The X4 is like 80gr. Its significantly smaller.
You could say this about endless devices.
Ricoh GR: Why buy this camera that fits in your pocket when a bigger more expensive one with more features that doesn’t fit in your pocket exists?
$45 on ali. I've been looking for an affordable open phone-sized e-reader for years, but unfortunately this one doesn't have a backlight which is a hard requirement for me.
The pocket argument is real. Availability beats specs every time. Just make sure you've got a backup plan when the community firmware dies and you're stuck on a plane with 8 hours to go.
The Kobo Clara doesn't fit in my pocket while the X4 does. An e-reader that I actually have on-hand beats one that I leave in a drawer at home so it was an instant purchase for me the moment I saw one.
I ordered the Xteink X4 not knowing about CrossPoint and I was so disappointed with the included firmware:
- Almost no formatting on the ebooks you upload (no bold text, missing glyphs, no images/cover art)
- The book had to be rendered before being uploaded. I suspect they were uploading series of bitmaps.
- This meant if you wanted to change portrait/landscape or change font size/type you had to re-render the book
- Bitmap fonts were very ugly.
Overall it was barely workable. More of a proof of concept. The CrossPoint firmware on the other hand:
- Actually renders books as you would expect, in a pleasing manner, formatting and all
- Much more reader configuration on device: font settings, margin, spacing, alignment, progress display
- Update via USB or OTA
- Multiple ways to get your books: Connect to your Calibre library to push or pull books (thanks for introducing me to Calibre!), USB, Wireless file transfer
- Sync progress via KOReader
It's the best gift the community could give to the manufacturer. With only the default firmware my X4 would have been in the junk drawer within a week, but now I carry it every day, I've shown it to so many people. It's a marvel. With the news about them attempting to lock it down I can't recommend it anymore. Why would they do that?
PINE64 were trying with the PineNote[0], sort of. It's quite a large device (10.3"), in the same size class as reMarkable/Boox devices. It's cost-competitive with those products, but it's way too big and too expensive to compare to traditional ~7" e-readers.
Seed studio sells some. reTerminal is the more polished one, it has a metal case, nice buttons, and a 2Ah battery. The Xiao screen is more diy, but also has more potential options
I used a reTerminal as a bedside weather station UI recently, works rather nice
Not exactly reading devices, yes, but they are open hardware
supernote's tablets are designed to have replaceable motherboards/batteries although it's still to be seen whether they will actually be able to support that long-term.
I’m running Crosspoint on the X3, and am quite pleased with both the software and hardware. It even supports reading progress via Koreader sync, which I use on my main eInk devices.
I love this device and the firmware. It has increased the amount I read now, just because it's convenient to have all the time and use it instead of doom scrolling.
P.S: Shameless plug, I also built an OSS iOS/Android app to help syncing files and clipping web articles/blog and sending to X4 on the go https://crosspointsync.com/
Front light would make it the perfect device. I use it on the go everywhere now, to limit the distractions inherent with trying to read from my phone. But in bed having to pull out a book light or a headlight is an annoying step that risks disturbing my partner.
I bought the book lights that they sell along with the device and they're perfect for it. They include an adapter so they magnetically attach to the back, or they can clip to the folio.
Ah yes but that one is probably going to be much more expensive as it runs android and more powerful hardware. It won't support crosspoint-reader then either :'( Though you could install KOReader then, which is a good alternative. It also seems to lack page turn buttons.
We rigged up a small clip-on LED from Amazon for night reading — works fine, honestly. Not elegant, but $8 and done. The S4 with built-in front light is supposedly close though, so might be worth just waiting.
I'm quite frustrated to hear that Xteink have decided to block firmwware being changed on some devices. I can only imagine the reason would be consumers who look for support after something went wrong but it's frustrating for those of us who just want an open eink device.
I wonder, how difficult would it be to do something similar for "Onyx Boox Tab X C 13.3" ?
Btw, did Onyx publish sources as required by GPLv3 for that device? AFAIK there are no sources in the open (if I am not mistaken ) and I have no idea what can push them toward publishing them.
Buying hardware that runs community firmware is a gamble. CrossPoint looks healthy enough, but we've been burned by projects like this that quietly died. Worth checking commit cadence before ordering a dozen units.
In actuality there are several forks, and the original Crosspoint Reader really got the ball rolling, but now seems to get stuck in discussions. The forks (especially the one I linked) has progressed much further and has better KOReader sync (as in actually syncs to the correct XPath position instead of some close-enough position), bionic reading, streamlined UI, etc. Give that one a shot!