r/XTEINK

Everything about the x3 is absolutely perfect except the lack of a light. I’ve been designing this for weeks, probably 50-100 prototypes to get it perfect without increasing the size. I used the “retro case” as a base for this, modified the inside and added a completely flush cr2016 battery on the back. I’m working on a switch that should be here tomorrow. Hope you like it as much as I do!!! 😊

Got my case customized into a frosted finish. haha!

A simple question, probably primarily for those who keep their Xteink on the back of their phones: do you keep a case on or risk it without a case?

I bought the case because I figured I'd like the extra protection while out and about. However, it's annoyingly svelte and more streamlined package without its case attached to the back of my Pixel 9 Pro. The magnetic hold is also more secure.

I'm undecided at the moment. Maybe I'll go caseless for a bit and just keep budget aside if I can, in case I go and knock it against something.

Just thought that I should share my journey and the steps that I took in order to replace my screen in case there are others out there who feel a bit scared in starting.
For some pretext, I am NOT a repair expert, and I just happen to have the materials with me. I just had to buy the contact adhesive and the plexiglass.

1. My screen broke after dropping it, along with my phone, on the ground (was attached via magsafe), the screen protector didn't help because of the impact on the corner. At first I thought i broke the eink display, however was still able to finish a book on it.
2. After heating up the front on a heatplate at 60C I was able to use picks to pry it out of the body. After carefully removing the tape covering the ribbon, the screen was finally fully removed.
3. Repeating the heating process on the screen itself, adding isopropyl alcohol drops, and applying a bit of pressure using picks, I was able to slowly weaken the glue. Ensuring that the heat plate does not go past 60C is important as the isopropyl will just evaporate. I had to be careful in working around the broken pieces as I did not want the edges to scratch the ink surface display. Working around is the safest way to add openings for the isopropyl alcohol to be dropped in.
4. After carefully removing the leftover screen glue with isopropyl and a clean microfiber cloth, I gently placed the screen over the reader, plugged the ribbon in, and placed the pre-existing tape over the socket. I then tested the screen.
5. Testing the screen initially gave me a heart attack, because it seemed to flash and interact weirdly if the screen was propped up. I believe this was due to the connection being a bit weaker when the position is high, but after having it lie down flat on the body, further testing showed that there were no issues at all. It seemed that my reader had a weaker socket, as they needed to use the tape during production.
6. I had a 1mm thick pane of plexiglass acrylic that I was able to cut down and sand to size. This stage took the longest as I was careful in not oversanding or overcutting. The final results were satisfactory, as they were able to be slotted in and stay in place due to the pressure against the sides of the body.
7. After wiping the screens clean again, quickly applied an amount of black contact adhesive, specifically the T-7000, and carefully pressed the screen down. I have to do this twice as the glue dries up quickly. However, after a few days later, I have no issues.

I plan on 3D printing a case that would hide the glue and corners of the screen, as well as adding a matte screen protector for that e-reader look and feel.

Wow this little thing is amazing 😻 Xteink x3. Finally joined the gang 💕

Recently picked up an x4 and an x3 for my wife and myself. Being a leather crafter I naturally had to whip up a couple cases to protect them.

They work great. The x3 you can charge with it in the case, and the buttons aren’t affected in any orientation.

I’m thinking about doing a limited run of these. Let me know if you are in need or have any interest in this style.

Hi

New here and Reddit in general.

Just got this little guy and I'm addicted already.

I also have the kindle paper white 10th generation.

My plan is to use the kindle at night in bed, keep the X3 when I'm outside or on the move.

I haven't jail broke the kindle, is it possible to read the same book on both and have them synced(would this require jail breaking)

So far I have bought the book I am reading on kindle, I then downloaded the epub on the X3.

Then just go to the chapter and skip forward to where I left off on one of them.

Thank you

Love the way crossinks carousel looks

I was worried I’d been influenced and this would be too gimicky to use. I’m surprised by how much l love it. I thought it would be an addon to my existing devices but I’m using it a lot more.

It’s really easy to read on. I do need my glasses but I’m loving how it fits in one hand and the buttons are great. I have a Kindle Oasis with buttons and a Kobo Clara without. I hate the experience without buttons.

I kept the default firmware for now. It was a bit fiddly to set up but I figured it out.

I got the green cover, extra screen protectors, rings and the light. It comes with rings and a charger. I bought a charging adapter from Amazon to keep on my travel kit. I’m One Bag when I travel and every bit counts.

If you’re on the fence about getting one, do it.

Flashed the latest Witch(hunt) Reader, and I'm REALLY impressed by the way it renders epubs, especially when those epubs have small caps or bold text! I've only been using it for a couple of days, but I think it's gonna replace CrossInk as my firmware of choice!

https://github.com/jpirnay/witchhunt-reader

(2) X4 and a X3

im so happy i got an ereader that can fit on the back of my iphone 17 when im on the go! my main daily driver is a kobo libra color w koreader and some plugins. im not very tech savvy... so it took my brain a bit to get all that stuff sorted on my kobo bc its brain overload (for me).

but now!! i want to figure out the easiest way to get all my stuff synced from my kobo-koreader stuff to this. i got cross ink firmware right now on my x3 and i dont really know what im doing tbh. i tried using "sync.koreader.rocks" thing for progress but its not working out even when i pushed and selected filename instead. its all set up properly on both devices so i dunno...

also is there a library kind of plugin or firmware or something for this device?

id love for you all to share what you do to make the best of your x3 and your ereader ecosystem. im trying to watch some youtube vids on it but they dont really go into depth on all the features for crossink or a better firmware and im kind of lost.

It’s just perfect for summer 💛

I’ve always wished e-readers had swappable shells so I could change the color whenever I wanted. I honestly thought it was a ridiculous idea, until now. The color is perfect, the case quality is just ok but this is the only option I can find right now.

Still, I’m really happy rn, can’t wait to travel with it.

I have been learning Japanese for a couple of years now, trying out many apps along the way.
Mostly, I have been reading on my phone or on my Boox, but I wanted something more portable with a better battery life that is easier on the eyes.
The forks I checked didn’t have the features which I wanted so I vibe-coded it with Claude while waiting for my X4. It arrived on Thursday finally. After A LOT of performance fixes due to the small memory (which didn’t occur in the emulator), I finally got what I want!

I introduce Matcha reader, that features:

- Vertical & horizontal text support (optimized for Noto Sans & UGDigiKyokasho - didn’t check other fonts)
- Manga support with panels views (after converting the manga with the tool chain)
- A dictionary supporting the Yomitan Jitendex, JMnedict & grammar dict for offline use for both EPub & Manga (text extraction for Manga is done by Gemini API in the toolchain, requires a Gemini key. I first had a Mokuro implementation but I was not satisfied with the accuracy)
- A translation feature to look up a whole page with Gemini (requires an API key; for manga, the translation is embedded in the toolchain file, so translations are locally embedded. WiFi is required for books). The translation feature also works with other non-English books.
- A library view with covers & shelves (I got rid of recent books, the library is sorted by recent but shows all books)
- Statistics with a reading streak to motivate to read consistently
- Homescreen shows percentage read
- Embedded images in books are rendered as big as possible and rotated to fill most of the screen if necessary
- UI translation is available in Japanese, including optimizations to make the navigation between entries feel snappy

This was a fun project to do and I think this is the very first ebook reader that really does what I want!

It was very challenging to overcome the memory issues by the CJK font and vertical text. Also, I spent a lot of time formatting the vertical text nicely.

If you wanna try it as well, the fork is here.