URL for the crowdfunding: https://www.crowdsupply.com/oddly-specific-objects/open-book-touch
Specs:
- Display: 4.26" e-paper touchscreen, 480 × 800 px, warm + cool frontlight
- Processor: ESP32-S3 dual-core, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth LE
- Memory: 16 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM
- Formats: EPUB and plain text, no DRM
- Storage: microSD card slot
- Interface: USB-C with integrated LiPo charging
- Dimension: 78 × 120 × 10 mm, about 85 g
- Open source: MIT-licensed firmware, open hardware (to be released at shipping)
It also has a replaceable 800 mAh battery, I found it cool :)
I realized there is also LibreHardware community. I wonder why there is no post there. This fits right in LibreHardware.
that screen… alas, too small for me. I use a Kobo Libre Colour now
Kobo Klara is $159 has a 6" screen, supports 15 file formats, 16 gb of storage and a 1448 x 1072 resolution with Dark Mode
I see people get excited about this. But if you are realistic, buy a Kobo e-reader and you are good.
Copy-pasting me own comment from under this CNX post
I am a BOOX Leaf user. Very much frustrated with BOOX. They do not release the GPL code. I quite like a cheap e-reader with too > long battery life. But I have several criticisms on this thing:
- It uses ESP32-S3. It’s Xtensa. Worse software support. Didn’t the folks stop their Xtensa line?
- Isn’t 8MB (PS)RAM short?
- The screen supports only 2 bit grayscale. And they haven’t written what screen they are going to use. That makes a realdifference. I already feel the difference between me BOOX Leaf with Carta 1200 and me brother’s BOOX Go 7 Color with Carta 1300.
- If you want to simply sideload normal DRM-free epubs, all of those devices support it.
- If you are fine going for an AP, you can install custom software like koreader on many devices including Pocketbook and Kobo ones. Not sure why it has written you cannot run custom code on Kobo Clara BW.
Regarding the last point, I do want a decent e-reader like Leaf I have but with Linux support. To make us closer to the goal, I have > extensively contributed to postmarketOS wiki: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Category:Ebook_reader
As I have written in the respective wiki pages, both PocketBook and Kobo openly permit running custom OS/firmware on their ebook readers if you can go outside warranty.
This just won’t do it … replacable battery is awesome but a 4” screen is absolutely a niche …
First steps are still steps. I am more excited about faster e-ink displays that are currently being developed.
Why is it buttonless??? We like physical buttons, how are we supposed to turn it on/off??? This is just confusing lol
Why is buttonless a selling point?
Not trying to be snarky, genuinely wondering.
You can easily load alternate firmware on a Kobo.
Ugly and small, cool idea tho
The specs vs the price does match up.
The specs are an absolute joke. Even my Sony PRS from 2008 comes with 64MB RAM and physical buttons.
This thing will choke on epubs with embedded fonts, if it doesn’t just plainly ignore them (which it seems like it will, since they’re talking so much about their own custom font).
Neat idea, but I fear it’s destined to fail. I also think it’s too small. The PRS-505 is six inches and I wouldn’t go any smaller than that for comfortable reading.
MIT licenced firmware… Another bunch of libertarian kids who don’t know better.
Like they don’t know everyone likes buttons, specially page turn buttons,
I only vaguely remember hearing nerds debating between the GPL licenses and MIT, way back when…What makes the MIT license libertarian?
I guess by not enforcing openness through copyleft? It’s free at the source code, but it doesn’t protect freedoms.
🏴☠️
Would I be able to push overdrive/Libby books to this?
Low frame rate, black/white e-ink screens are obsolete: https://youtu.be/nHbA2-_qzH4
Yeah, that’s $700.
holy shit, this is insane!
This is an ebook reader. You don’t need high refresh rate to read books. It’s a waste of power and money.
