For the past few months, I have had ereader envy. Its cause: the Xteink X4.
In many ways, it’s the ereader of my dreams. Or at least close to it.
It’s incredibly tiny, at 4.49 × 2.72 × 0.23 inches. It weighs less than 3 ounces. It uses physical buttons for turning pages (I find ereader touchscreens can be too sensitive). At $69, it’s so inexpensive compared to some other ereaders that it can almost be classified as an impulse purchase.
There are some tradeoffs. There’s no background light. The CrossPoint software that many people use with it to unlock ePub support, Wi-Fi book transfers, and better typography often drains the battery significantly. And then there is the one that has truly held me back: there is not one central or even several easy places to download the books I want to read on an ereader.
The promise and perils of ereaders
Nevertheless, when I see friends and colleagues enjoying their mini ereaders, I am filled with envy. I’ve spent my entire life since I could read carrying a book with me in some way. I prefer a physical book, but with very little room in my bag and far less space on my bookshelves, an ereader often makes more sense.
And yet I frequently leave my Kindle at home because it’s not quite small enough to make it an EDC essential. If I opt not to bring an actual book with me, there’s always a backup on my phone on one app or another, though I dislike cutting into its battery life and having to fight the distractions on it.
So I keep checking the Kobo site, hoping they will come out with something like the 2012’s Kobo Mini that was 5.2 x 4.0 x 0.4 inches, but only lasted a year and a half before it was discontinued. This has ramped up in the past couple of weeks since there’s been word that Kobo will finally have integration with Bookshop.org, which would free me from Big Bezos and let me support my favorite independent bookstore.
The high price for small tech shrinks
Then of course there’s Boox, which has the Palma 2 Pro which is still a bit big for my taste, at 6.3 x 3.1 x 0.35 inches, but has very few other shortcomings except for its very large price of $399.99.
But Boox has recognized that it holds all the keys to capitalizing on the sudden popularity of tiny ereaders and late yesterday, it had an announcement that was music to my ears.
It’s releasing the Picco, a perfectly pocketable ereader with a 3.97-inch front-lit display. Little else is known about it, but from the available images, physical buttons do seem to be involved. Most importantly, Boox told The Verge that the Picco will be available at “an accessible price point.”
The Picco would make purse-sized ereaders a true trend, hitting the rule of three, and I hope it’s one that really catches on.
