Open Book Touch is Crowdfunding: A Buttonless, Open Hardware Answer to Kindle
itsfoss.com
It's $149, runs on an ESP32-S3, and skips DRM entirely and lets you skip the Kindle ecosystem.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/49429587

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 :)

  • Fmstrat@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    16 hours ago

    Lots of people complaining about buttons, but most people are fine without them.

    This thing will fail because of the tiny screen, not because of the lack of buttons.

    Sad choice.

    • Tuxman@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      3·
      13 hours ago

      I doubt the screen size is an issue for most. The Xteink X4 is about 4 inch and is flying off the shelves right now

      • Fmstrat@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        9 hours ago

        Fair, it is selling very well now. But strong sales after a viral release doesn’t neccisarrily mean a market norm. Could be an interesting market trend if it starts a shift to smaller, though.

    • Apathy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      14 hours ago

      Hi, if you don’t mind sharing; What do you feel is the conversion feature from kindle? I am developing on a platform with novels and want to develop user centric features; I have feature where you get assisted highlighting of words with auto scroll so you can “follow the word” and read.

      I have the architectural design in place to incorporate tts for example but would love feedback from the reading communities