I saw that Sidephone has partnered with Proton. I was wondering whether any other dumbphone companies have partnered with Proton. Protonmail is definitely one of the important core essentials for me, so I wondered whether there were any other modern options. I couldn't find a list.
Hi, I sorta want to get away from social media, but keep my chats with friends. I was wondering whether Beeper can be run on any dumbphones or devices with 4g/5g? Ideally I would want a device with Beeper, GPS and SD card.
Hi I just wanted to say that Xteink is the first device I have really been excited about since iPod Nano and Lumia 920. These are very old, so it has truly been a while. Never liked iOS or Android, and I really hope that the Xteink can help a bit with smartphone addiction.
Now I am going to run down a bit that I like about different features in current firmware, my own preferences and wishes. Everyone are welcome join in and do the same. I think it is just mainly me being excited about the device and that there is an active firmware community
User Interface
Preferred UI with covers: Lyra extended, Halo2
Preferred UI without cover: DX34 classic
Comment: Not all files I want to read has a cover. World be great if a title could be rendered typografi on the cover. Being able to edit title, author, publisher and edition on the Xteink could be nice.
Sleep screen
Freeze+sleep icon: This is done well in CrossPet
Quotes: I really love this feature in DX34
Cover: When reading a book without a cover it is sorta a bummer
Comment: It would be great being able to switch between type of sleep screen depending on whether you do a long or short press. I also think a sleep screen with a calendar or TO DO list would be neat.
Learning
Quote snippets: love this feature in DX34, but it has issues with Greek letters, linebreak and some white spac problems.
Flashcards: Works alright in vCodex. Doesn't work so well in CrossPet
Comment: Would be great with Anki synchronisation. Otherwise it would be great with picture flashcards and being able to turn quote snippets into flash cards. Being able to look up a word definition or concept over wifi could be great.
Reading experience
Text rendering: I think DX34 does this best, while CrossInk also seems fine. CrossPet was also alright. Being able to change style for individual book is essential. DX34 does this excellent and should also be fine in CrossInk.
Motivation: I like the idea of vCodex giving you rewards for reading and CrossPet evolving a tamagotchi, but this have not been significant for me.
Fonts: Bitter and custom fonts seem fine. Personally I use a 16th century inspired font which seems more readable to me than Bookerly and Bitter.
Comment: I am missing being able to role down one line at a time instead of just changing pages. The tools for optimizing epubs for small screen seems remove the next from images. Would prefer if you could zoom and images while reading. Also being able to save images similar to how DX34 saves quotes would be great. It is a huge issue that Greek letters for scientific notation can't be rendered and I don't know whether there is a fix for this in any of the current firmware.
Time management and habit trackers
Hours read: This was great in CrossPet. I think vCodex might have something similar.
Calendar: vCodex technically has one, but the setup for
syncing it is a bit odd and it is mostly focused on reading stats.
Pomodoro: This is in CrossPet, but I think it is a bit of a shame that it is hidden away in the apps menu.
Comment: I would wish more firmware had Pomodoro, that there was iCal integration, and habit trackers. One of my favorite apps on Windows Phone 7 was simple tracking app I used to see how many days had gone by since I last changed my contact lenses, but I think it was mostly designed for smokers. I also really like apps such as Habitica, but something much simpler and reading focused would be nice.
Games
Tamagotchi: I like the idea and that it stays simple and not time consuming in CrossPet
Chess: Some issues with the programming of the pawn rules in CrossPet
Comment: CrossPet can't let you disable just some games. You have to choose. Personally I would prefer games such as chess, free cell, Brain Challenge (iPod Nano), interactive novels (such as Delight Games), and some unique game that suits the form factor and e-ink technology of the Xteink.
Okay I am gonna stop myself here. Just some thoughts on top of my head because I am really excited about the Xteink. Have you thought about anything?
So far my favorite firmware is DX34 and CrossPet. I think they both have good UIs, but I like that DX34 has an UI without covers as I am primarily using them to read study notes that I have converted to epub. I like CrossPet has a lock screen that shows the current screen, but I also like that DX34 has a lock screen with quotes. VCodex is also great and it did the flash card feature much better than CrossPet. CrossPet has a Pomodoro feature though, which I think is great if the reason for buying this device is getting away from doom scrolling and being more produktive.
The games on CrossPet feels a bit like distracting bloating and there is some issues with the moves of the pawn chess pieces. I think it is really great that the XTEINK community are working on games though. My favorite mini games would be FreeCell, Tetris and that old IQ game on iPod Nano if anyone have tried that. I really like that tamagotchi and it doesn't seem that time consuming.
Looking forward to more features such as bluetooth integration with a keyboard and your phone. I am also hoping that it will become possible to sync with Anki or an iCal calendar. I really got excited about maybe being able to develop something for this device, but currently just enjoying reading study notes on my X4.
What is your favourite firmware and what are you looking forward to?