Xteink X3 Review

July 1, 2026 | Comment

I’ve made no secret of my love for the Xteink X4, the tiny ereader that you can take with you wherever you go (and I do). So why did I also buy the X4’s little sibling? Read on to find out…

Xteink X4 Review

What is the X3?

Xteink is a Chinese company that manufactures and sells small, basic and, importantly, cheap e-readers (they also sell a Tong card but not internationally).

They started with the X4, which I have written about a number of times before, and quickly followed it up with the X3.

Major differences are:

  • The X3
… Read the rest

Xteink Tong Card in Use

April 9, 2026 | Comment

Following on from my previous post taking a look at the Xteink Tong Card, in this post I am looking at how you can flash the card without using the official Xteink app.

What’s the Issue?

In order to put an image on the card you need an app to select the image and then flash it onto the card using NFC. This you can do with the official Xteink app, but only if you are using the Mainland China version, which requires a Chinese phone number to register. As I don’t have one of these, I went … Read the rest

Xteink Tong Card

April 8, 2026 | 2 comments

Xteink has a new device and it’s not an eBook reader! This is the Tong Card, which is still an e-ink display, but is a battery-less NFC device.

What’s a Tong Card?

I have to admit I had no idea why it was called a “Tong Card” and wasn’t 100% sure that it was so I turned to AI to explain it to me. I uploaded the image above and this is what it had to say:

Based on the image and the Chinese text, this is actually a Tóng Card (瞳卡). The confusion likely comes from the

… Read the rest

Xteink X4 – 3rd Party Support

March 18, 2026 | 1 comment

The Xteink X4 was launched only a few months ago in December 2025 but already there is a rich third-party ecosystem building up around it. In this post I take a look at all the things that are cropping up from cases to companion apps. Read on to learn more…

Table of Contents
  1. Getting Started
  2. Alternative Firmware
  3. Companion Apps
    1. Crosspoint (Web Browser)
    2. CrossX (iOS)
    3. CrossPoint Sync (iOS/Android)
    4. Send to X4 (iOS/Android)
    5. XTEINK (iOS/Android)
  4. External Light
  5. Cases
  6. Utilities
    1. CrossPoint Calibre Plugin
    2. Baseline JPEG Converter
    3. XTC creator
    4. Font creator
  7. Page Turners
  8. Conclusions

Getting Started

The first thing that you will want to … Read the rest

Why do e-reader Screens “Flash”?

February 6, 2026 | 2 comments

I’ve been having a bit of an e-reader renaissance recently with the purchase of an Xteink X4 reader, the tiny pocket reader. This is my first e-reader in about 16 years since my Sony Reader all those years ago. Something that hasn’t changed in all those years is the page flashing when the display needs refreshing.

If you don’t know what I am referring to, take a look at this video below, which shows page refresh in action on the Xteink X4.

Here is why that refresh (often called a “full page turn”) is necessary:

The Physics of “Digital Ink”

… Read the rest

Xteink X4 eBook Reader

January 25, 2026 | Comment

The Xteink X4 is a brand new eReader with a difference – it is tiny, about the size of an iPhone. Designed for reading on the go, this nifty little device is small enough to shove in a pocket and take with you everywhere. In this short video I unbox the device and take a look as to what’s included.

Having only received the device yesterday I haven’t spent much time with it but I can really see the X4 becoming part of my EDC. I will report back in a few weeks when I have spent more time … Read the rest