7 ms·

Ask HN: Cheap, hackable e-reader?

• 0942v8653 10y ago
  I'm currently looking at a simple 7th-gen Kindle. ( https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Kindle-6-Inch-Previous-Generation-7th/dp/B00I15SB16?th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Kindle-6-Inch-Previous-Generat... ), for $35. I've done some research, and it seems that it is possible to jailbreak it, but I would like to be sure I can really write software for it before I buy.
  • Relys 10y ago
    It's possible to jailbreak any Kindle as you can preform a downgrade to a vulnerable firmware version.
    • i336_ 10y ago
      I am extremely interested to hear how I could do this on a 7th gen/2014 model Kindle Touch.
• MistahKoala 10y ago
  The Nook Simple Touch can be rooted. I found it to be a little bit unstable, but YMMV. http://nooktalk.net/blog/reliable-way-to-root-nook-simple-touch http://nooktalk.net/blog/reliable-way-to-root-nook-simple-to... Simple Touch readers should be dirt-cheap.
  • benchtobedside 10y ago
    I rooted mine back in 2014 and found it useful and quite stable. I haven't investigated the scene since so it may have progressed significantly. You can configure it such that the Nook would boot and appear as normal, but holding down a key took you to the android launcher, and you would give up the use of two (redundant) buttons of your choice to control android-specific actions like <back>, etc. This system was limited -- at the time -- to an older version of Android with limited app support, but if your purpose is to create your own apps this shouldn't pose any problem.
• femto 10y ago
  Kobos are quite hackable [1], to the extent that their Linux operating system is on a removable internal SD card, and you can run Debian on them [2]. [1] https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kobo_Touch_Hacking https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kobo_Touch_Hacking [2] https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Debian_Linux_on_a_Kobo https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Debian_Linux_on_a_Kobo
  • _wmd 10y ago
    Kobos require nothing more than a 2 line shell script on an SD card to get telnet, after which, they publish their modified Qt sources, so you can even rebuild the UI framework without much effort, although I don't know much about keeping their proprietary display and touch driver blobs in place. Back in time they had some kind of third party development support, so you could plug addons into the existing UI. AFAIK the framework hasn't changed much to prevent that kind of dev, and there example addons built around it But in terms of a random stable embedded environment that is quite transparent, with an awesome out of box hardware/software experience, Kobo are not to be beaten
    • anarcat 10y ago
      > they publish their modified Qt sources, so you can even rebuild the UI framework without much effort Really? AFAIK, only parts of the distro are liberated, here: https://github.com/kobolabs/Kobo-Reader https://github.com/kobolabs/Kobo-Reader Most notably, the user interface itself ("Nickel") is completely missing from there: this makes it really hard to develop extensions for it. Some people have gone through great lengths to try and improve the firmware image, see for example this guy who went as far as writing his own QT plugin for the UI, basically bruteforcing his way through undocumented APIs and missing source code: http://blog.ringerc.id.au/search/label/kobo http://blog.ringerc.id.au/search/label/kobo He gave up in 2011. I did my own share of fooling around with the Kobo. It's true that it's very easy to hack: just drop a `KoboRoot.tgz` tarball in the `.kobo` directory, and you basically overwrite any part of the filesystem, which gives you a lot of freedom. I wrote a tool to sync my Kobo with Wallabag here called Wallabako: https://gitlab.com/anarcat/wallabako/ https://gitlab.com/anarcat/wallabako/ But there's no APK, far from it: the Kobo suite is developped in typical proprietary fashion of keeping the secret sauce to themselves, not a collaborative way. And even though they are less hostile than Amazon in trying to keep people out, nothing says they will keep on being nice like this. What we really need is a liberated hardware e-reader. There are some examples elsewhere in this thread that are interesting...
• marcjuul 10y ago
  If you just want to modify the existing OS and write apps for it the look at the kindle hacking community on the mobileread forums. The best devices are probably up to and including 5th generation kindles since I believe they are the latest to still have working soft-jailbreaks (but that could have changed since last I checked). I believe all kindle models are trivially rootable if you are willing to buy a 1.8v usb to serial adapter, open the kindle up and solder on three wires. If you want a 100% FOSS distro on your device and you're not afraid of soldering, cross-compiling and super-pre-alpha code then read on. I've been working on a linux distro for i.MX based e-paper readers (kindle, kobo, etc.) for a while and just had two other hackers join me on the project. Currently we are furthest along with the Kindle 4th generation non-touch with a slightly modified super minimal Debian booting and basic graphics support (Xorg works but no window manager and no screen auto-update yet. e-ink is weird). I believe we've managed to strip out all binary blobs so it's really all open source now. This system is still using an ancient kernel (a slight variation on the one used by the stock OS). We just got the latest stable kernel booting a few days ago but only barely (not even mmc support yet). There's just three of us for now, and we hang out in #fread.ink on freenode and our code is up on https://github.com/fread-ink https://github.com/fread-ink You should look at the repo https://github.com/fread-ink/fread-vagrant https://github.com/fread-ink/fread-vagrant to get started.
  • mintplant 10y ago
    All e-ink Kindles prior to firmware 5.8.8 can be jailbroken without hardware modifications. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=275877 https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=275877 The Kindle hacking community believed they had a permanent solution prior to the release of the latest firmware version; unfortunately, Amazon seems to have finally found a way around it.
    • bdelay 10y ago
      I don't think anyone with experience hacking kindles believed it was a permanent solution. Unfortunately, most of the technical expertise in that area is fleeting. I'd recommend an older Kindle if you want to get root easier. 5th generation Paperwhite and older models should be cheap and have various exploits. Probably would recommend a Kobo or something else though. Kindles are awesome pieces of hardware but they do try to keep them secure. Not the best choice for an open platform.
• leggomylibro 10y ago
  I like this idea, and I'd like to take the question one step further: are there any affordable development platforms which can work with eink screens? I've read that the screens themselves are pricey due to EInk's de-facto monopoly on supply, and difficult to work with due to the need for things like manual temperature compensation just to drive the display. But surely there must be breakout boards by now, right? Or a raspberry module that's larger than 3"? Can you effectively source raw screens through the usual hobby suppliers like digikey, mouser, jameco?
  • TD-Linux 10y ago
    You can, I've used Pervasive Displays (I bought them from Digikey, they also have breakout boards): http://www.pervasivedisplays.com/ http://www.pervasivedisplays.com/ But yeah they are kind of complicated to drive. I've only used the small ones, but you do the refresh pattern manually - you also need to compensate for the temperature, and the pixel layout is a bit funky. Luckily there's already software for this at repaper.org, so you don't have to worry about it. The complicated logic being in software opens the doors for more complex refresh logic as well. Just keep in mind if you do this you can burn in the display, so buy a couple if you plan to experiment :)
    • i336_ 10y ago
      Huh. I thought controllers were insanely complicated or used proprietary technology. This is interesting to hear! What exactly is temperature compensation? I'm aware that it's a thing, but I haven't yet figured out what it is. Do you have to alter the drive voltage or current or something? Also, I'm not currently aware of any open e-ink driver designs. A few people might be interested in the one you built, regardless of how simple it is. Of course standard disclaimers would apply.
      • TD-Linux 10y ago
        It's way simpler than that, you just write the displayed image more times based on temperature. If you don't do it your display will just have less contrast in the code. The chip-on-glass has tons of registers to set drive voltages and the like, but the datasheet just gives you values to write to all of them. What do you mean by e-ink driver? If you mean the software, check out the Arduino and Raspberry Pi librares on the repaper site. If you mean the hardware, just follow the schematics in the datasheet and repaper.org.
• problems 10y ago
  Kobos are extremely easy to modify and completely not "protected". I highly recommend them. Many of them have touch screens and wifi too if that's of any benefit to you. There's a pretty decent dev community that has Qt fully working too which could offer you a good starting point. There are already full UI replacements going on in the community, like KoboStartMenu and KoReader.
  • marcjuul 10y ago
    Completely agree that Kobos are better than Kindles for hacking purposes. Generally not as easy to find cheap used though.
    • problems 10y ago
      Depends on your country, in Canada at least they're stocked by our largest chain bookstore. They're quite readily available online just about anywhere though.
    • lexpar 10y ago
      That's because they fall apart in a few months (at least the two I got did).
  • ender89 10y ago
    I'm pretty sure koReader is available for kindle as well. I have it on my paperwhite
    • problems 10y ago
      The catch with the Kindle and why I would suggest the Kobo over it is that Amazon has tried and in the most recent firmwares has succeeded at blocking modifications. The Kobo has no such protections, it's fully your own device and you can mod it as you see fit. Additionally, the whole OS is on an internal SD card and if you fuck everything up you can crack it open and reimage your SD card. Perfect tool for modders.
• kutkloon7 10y ago
  If you're willing to take it a step further and have some experience with hardware (or you are willing to learn), you can even buy a bare e-ink screen and interface with it. For example, the ED060SC4 is cheap. The datasheet is not very helpful, but if you look carefully, you can find some drivers on github, or more generic tutorials on e-ink drivers. http://essentialscrap.com/eink/ http://essentialscrap.com/eink/ is probably one of the most helpful resources out there if you want to do this.
  • soared 10y ago
    Oh man someone could easily buy these at scale, 3d print some casing, and sell them as e-ink raspberry pi screens. Good demand and no reasonably priced supply.
    • kbart 10y ago
      Buying e-ink screens for e-reader might be a problem. During the last project with e-ink screens, we had an explicit clause with supplier implying that these screens will not be used for e-readers. That was 3 years ago though, things might have changed since.
  • atopuzov 10y ago
    Also http://spritesmods.com/?art=einkdisplay http://spritesmods.com/?art=einkdisplay
    • tylerflick 10y ago
      This is a great tutorial. Unfortunately the Espressif SDK it uses is out of date, and I was unable to get the source working with the current SDK.
• krick 10y ago
  PocketBook, I guess. I never tried programming it myself, only installed some plugins, but it's basically a Linux underneath, so, I guess, a lot can be done. And unlike all these shady Kindle/Kobo/Nook/whatever they don't have any notion of DRM, they are just a device. My own is quite old and the screen is not top-notch, I don't know how advanced and expensive they come right now. But give it a look.
  • stefantalpalaru 10y ago
    > unlike all these shady Kindle/Kobo/Nook/whatever they don't have any notion of DRM, they are just a device You're wrong about the Kobo line. It's the best choice for hackers: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=247 https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=247
• kylesf 10y ago
  Just wrote this, let me know if I can be of any help! https://medium.com/@kylesf/my-experience-in-creating-the-worlds-first-low-power-animated-picture-frame-ee24877a4b46 https://medium.com/@kylesf/my-experience-in-creating-the-wor...
  • erohead 10y ago
    Great post, I love the water scene idea!
  • i336_ 10y ago
    That looks really neat. If you ever decide to make a 2nd version, making the bezel about 500% smaller would look a lot more attractive. Also, the C code you listed was very cute. :3
    • dddw 10y ago
      i like the bezel
      • i336_ 10y ago
        I don't mind it myself, but I kind of can't unsee the fact that it looks like it's dwarfing the tiny screen. Most picture frames have a 1 inch or so bezel, and I guess if I was trying to emulate a physical device I'd want to copy it as accurately as possible to maximize the surprise factor.
  • kylesf 10y ago
    Thanks for the comments and feedback!
• frio 10y ago
  The bq cervantes[1] is open source[2] but isn't so cheap. [1]: https://www.bq.com/es/cervantes-3-bq https://www.bq.com/es/cervantes-3-bq [2]: https://github.com/bq/cervantes https://github.com/bq/cervantes I'm planning on picking one up soon (or, hopefully, a Cervantes 4 if it comes out...). I'm (fortunately in a position where I can be) willing to pay the extra to support F/OSS out of the box :).
  • marcjuul 10y ago
    Cool! I did not know this existed!
• godelski 10y ago
  Has anyone hacked the boogie board? It is extremely cheap. Edit: Googling this seems to be a good resource [1] and it looks like it is using an msp430 so should be hackable. But I don't actually know much about this stuff, so if someone does hack it I'd love to know how [1] http://forums.hackaday.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=846 http://forums.hackaday.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=846
  • duskwuff 10y ago
    Information in that thread and elsewhere suggests that the MSP430 doesn't have the ability to display information on the screen. Drawing on the screen is a purely mechanical effect, and the microcontroller is only used to clear the screen. More information on the technology: http://kentdisplays.com/technology/ewriters http://kentdisplays.com/technology/ewriters
    • i336_ 10y ago
      What's particularly interesting about these displays is that it does seem possible to read the image from the LCD (particularly the Jot 8.5 and the Sync; the others don't explicitly say). I'm trying to figure out whether the display device itself integrates memory cells or whether there's a tablet sensor overlaid on top. The website doesn't seem to want to explain much.
      • godelski 10y ago
        I'm under the impression the sync can be used to read the image, since it does have a save feature. I'm wondering if the reverse can be done too? Could you make the display show an image that was previously saved? I'm curious why you think the jot 8.5 can save. I do know the earlier models were using an msp430, which others are suggesting cannot save the image. I actually have one of these Jots, but I don't know anything about hardware hacking so I'm not going to tear it apart (unless people just want pictures of the guts and possibly what chips are in there)
        • i336_ 10y ago
• mrmondo 10y ago
  I've been doing a lot of research on this recently including contacting Chinese wholesellers to see what individual parts would cost. Essentially all I'm after is a Linux (not android) based 7-12" eink tablet with touch screen, a decent resolution / PPI for the size and at least say 2-4GB of ram at a minimum although if it was cheap enough I'd drop as far as 1GB if I really had to. I have a Dasung E-Ink monitor and it's dreadful, lots of ghosting, very slow refresh, have to have some 'interesting' software running to make it work, hard to work with multi-desktops etc.... and very, VERY expensive: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e-ink-monitor-13-3#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e... otherwise I'd attach that to a Pi or Cubox and live without the touch screen.
  • i336_ 10y ago
    What sorts of price ranges did the wholesalers provide, and for what? (I don't need exact values, just a rough idea.) Thanks for the info about the Dasung. A video showing the screen at its absolute worst might be very useful - but to be fair, showing what things the screen does do well would be very interesting to know as well.
    • mrmondo 10y ago
      For anything even slightly useful with a half decent display I was still looking at USD $200+ per unit and many wouldn't supply just one.
      • i336_ 10y ago
        Oh wow :/ that's quite a shame. On the other hand, this means that the Chinese "photocopying industry" doesn't realize people want (decent!) e-ink readers. Window of opportunity, anybody?
• orliesaurus 10y ago
  I have a generation 2 kindle and I would trade it for nothing, I miss having the backlight so I actually need to have a light in the room but other than that the amount of "hacking" I did on it is extremely impressive - oh and if you ever read this, thank you twobob for all your hard work on the kindle
• szatkus 10y ago
  Inkbook looks pretty hackable: https://inkbook.eu/shop/inkbook-classic-2/ https://inkbook.eu/shop/inkbook-classic-2/
• mattkevan 10y ago
  Anyone know anything about this: https://getremarkable.com https://getremarkable.com It's been advertised pretty heavily, and on the face of it looks like everything I want in an e-ink sketchbook/reader. I have a suspicion that it will disappoint, however.
  • reitanqild 10y ago
    Doesn't even seem to be available yet (website still offering preorder && no Amazon listing as far as I checked).
  • uzoodoo 10y ago
    https://support.getremarkable.com/hc/en-us/articles/214576205-Do-you-provide-the-reMarkable-with-a-SDK-for-custom-development- https://support.getremarkable.com/hc/en-us/articles/21457620... > Do you provide the reMarkable with a SDK for custom development? > The reMarkable will not initially ship with an officially supported SDK. We might however release an unsupported SDK for best developers. Not sure what that's supposed to mean, but it doesn't sound like something that would be hackable.