Today I happened to check the best sellers list for ebook readers at Amazon, and I was surprised to see the Xteink X4 near the top of the list.
It’s currently ranked at #6, but it’s actually the 5th ranked ebook reader since #5 is a wireless charging dock for the Kindle Paperwhite and Colorsoft. That’s as high as any non-Kindle could expect to rank, and it’s the highest non-Kindle on the list. The next non-Kindle doesn’t appear until #14 (if you disregard the hardcover book that inexplicably appears at #9).
I posted a review of the Xteink X4 last week, and I really like it, despite the fact the stock software isn’t very good. But you can install alternative open-source software called Crosspoint and that works much better.
Apparently a lot of people are interested in mini ereaders. I’ve been saying for years there should be more pocketable ereaders on the market, but most ereader companies don’t seem to want to acknowledge that.
Maybe they’ll start to take notice now. Just imagine how much more popular something like the X4 would be if it had a brand name like Kobo or Kindle or Boox on it.
The Xteink X4 is selling better than any of the ereaders from Pocketbook or Onyx that are listed on Amazon (and those brands have been around since 2007 and 2009 respectively), and it appears to be selling better than Kobo ereaders too, except maybe the Kobo Clara BW, which shows it’s sold 2k+ units during the past month, which is the same number the X4 shows.
Who would’ve figured the Xteink X4 would’ve been so popular considering the fact it doesn’t have a touchscreen or a frontlight, it doesn’t support ebooks with DRM, and it doesn’t even have a dictionary or support highlighting. It’s as basic as it gets, and yet people still like it. Hopefully other companies will start releasing some mini ereaders soon. There’s clearly a market for them.
Don’t know how much I’ll use it but what got me to make the purchase was the comparatively low price and the 30 day Amazon return option. I wonder how much of the sales figures were due to the recent Amazon sale price.
Lack of a touchscreen isn’t a big deal for me; lack of a temperature adjustable light is. The X3’s proprietary charging is an issue also. Some of the choices manufacturers make certainly seem like they don’t have taken enough actual (enthusiastic?)users’ opinions into account.
The latest firmware is much better than the 3.x version it came with, although alternative firmware like CrossInk and CrossPoint are still better. The manufacturer’s iOS app is still better than any alternatives I’m aware of.
The size is really impressive for carry around use, but I suspect a 7” or so reader would be better around the house. One of the upcoming models that will allow using the Kindle app (and other Android apps as well) might be the answer for Kindle users and syncing across devices—read at home on preferred devices and pick up on the tiny portable device when outside, then pick right back up at home. KOReader users do have that functionality currently with alternative firmware.
I’ve only had the X4 for a couple of days so am still figuring out if I’ll keep it or not.