The XTEInk X4 is a small open eReader that has a 4.3" screen and costs $69. It is based on the ESP32-C3 micro controller, which is becoming popular amongst makers because it is more affordable than Single Board Computers like the Raspberry Pi. I had seen ads for it on my socials but after Rui Carmo posted about it and and learning there is an active community using and supporting it, I decided to buy one.

Upon recommendation from the community I flashed the CrossPoint Reader software on the device. CrossPoint provides more options, like additional fonts and being able to read in landscape, than the default software.

Auto-generated description: Text discusses the inevitability of failings and fallings in life as purposeful and highlights the concept of entering the second half of life beyond chronological age.

Despite having a small screen, I find one can read very comfortably even with the smallest font size, although I am using the medium size font. Above is a screenshot of how the text looks with the medium font. The display does not have a front light, so requires a well lit room and will work very well outdoors in the sun.

Reading on the X4 reminds me of before smartphones using a Pocket PC to read books. Back then, before there were larger screen eReaders like the Kindles, we could read books using an app called Mobi Reader, which had it’s own file format that was later acquired by Amazon. I remember reading several books during the time that I used Pocket PCs.

You cannot read eBooks that are protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM) like those sold by Amazon. You can read books that are in the EPUB format and to find books to read search for “EPUB books.” The lack of support for DRM means you probably won’t be able to read the latest on the New York Times best sellers list but you will find many classics.

Right now I do not know how I will use the X4, I bought it mostly to tinker. For reading, I am thinking short stories or poetry might be more useful than novels. An idea I have is to use it for review of the highlights I create while reading books that I have stored in Obsidian via Readwise.

Notes in Obsidian are in markdown, so I searched for a way to generate EPUB files from markdown and found md_to_epub, which is a Python app that is very straight forward to use. The script uses pandoc to create the EPUB version of the file, so it needs to be installed on the computer. I cloned the repo, created a virtual environment and ran the installation.

To transfer files from my Macbook to the X4 turn on the Hotspot feature on the X4, connect the Macbook to the Crosspoint Reader network and then use a web browser to open the page using the IP address provided on the device. When I exit the Hotspot mode on the X4 the Macbook reconnects to my home network.

I can connect the X4 to my home Wifi and then browse to the IP addressed assigned to it, but I have found that connectivity to be slower and less stable, which is why I am using the hotspot.

Everything is stored on the micro SD card in the X4 and I can pop that out and put that in a card reader to copy files, but the network method is more convenient. What I wish I could do is connect the X4 to the Macbook with USB and mount the storage card so that I could simply copy files using the Finder but Claude tells me that is not possible because the ESP32-C3 chip lacks native USB hardware.