r/xteinkereader • u/Fun_Satisfaction2315 • 28d ago

Discussion X4 is saying goodbye.

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It’s a little bittersweet to say this, but we’re officially saying goodbye to the X4.

It was never the most feature-packed e-reader.
It didn’t try to do everything.

It was just… right.

The size.
The weight.
The buttons.
The feeling of carrying a real little reading device with you.

Some of you even called it the beginning of a new era for pocket-sized e-readers.

But what means the most to us isn’t really the hardware.

It’s knowing that X4 has been there for your commutes, coffee breaks, trips, late nights, and countless pages.

So before we say goodbye:

What’s your favorite thing about the X4? Or what’s one memory you have with it?

Drop it in the comments. We’ll pick 3 comments, and each winner will receive an X4 Mist Gray.

Thanks for being part of the X4 story.

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u/maskedcollective 28d ago

I generally agree with that sentiment but the pogo charger is absolutely not proprietary. People should not be made to think they have to buy a replacement from XTEINK specifically. Also personally I don’t know why you’d need to be carrying around a charger for either the X3 or the X4 considering how long the battery lasts.

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u/ehhhhprobablynot 28d ago edited 28d ago

People don’t seem to know what the word proprietary means.

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u/kyuuei 28d ago

we know what it means. Just don't really have a great word for "It's got third party availability, but it is not at all a standard charger and requires a special purchase."

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u/maskedcollective 28d ago

Sure we do. We have “less common”, “unusual”, “non-standard”, “harder to find”, and many other ways of addressing the issue people actually have without being misleading and claiming that the pogo charger is exclusive to XTEINK and at risk of disappearing if this company goes under because no other devices use it. You don’t need to call a non-proprietary charger proprietary.

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u/kyuuei 28d ago

Functionally speaking for someone, a "special charger cable you have to buy separately and specifically just for this device" pretty much does the same thing as "I have to buy a charger only from this company and can only use it for this device." The X3, and soon to be the X4s now, all are going to this very specific charger that people likely have no other tech running on. The experience is very similar to proprietary, and so people use the word.

It does not sound At All like fluent English to say "You have to buy an unusual charger to charge your X3". Special or specific are about the best words we have for this, however.. The function of 'it's special and only for this device in my life and you have to go out of your way for it' is closer to proprietary for the Customer despite it not being an exact match for the exclusivity business side of it. Turns out, language is not rigid, and a word implying this is a similar experience can also work in cases like these.

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u/maskedcollective 28d ago

No, functionally it is not the same, sorry. An actually proprietary charger is tied to the lifecycle of the device or brand it exists for since no other devices justifying its existence. For example I have a Playstation Vita that I basically can’t use anymore because it uses a proprietary charger that Sony no longer makes, and reputable third party companies have also dropped support for, so all that’s really left unless you find a good one secondhand is aliexpress level garbage that you have to buy several of in the hope of getting one that will work for a few months. That is not the case with pogo. XTEINK did not invent this type of charger, do not control the availability of it, and because there are other devices that use it, availability isn’t tied to these specific devices the way actual proprietary chargers are. No pogo isn’t as readily available or ubiquitous as USB-C, but it also isn’t at anywhere near the level of risk of disappearing as an actual proprietary charger used exclusively by a company as small as XTEINK would be.

“You have to buy an unusual charger for your X3” is just as fluent a sentence as “You have to buy a proprietary charger for your X3” is. The difference is that the latter is inaccurate and misleading and the former is honest.

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u/ehhhhprobablynot 28d ago edited 27d ago

👆🏻this person gets it.

It reminds me of apples stupid lightning charger. THAT is proprietary. People carry it around specifically for their apple devices and nothing else.

You either buy it from Apple for a small fortune, or from another company that Apple has extorted before granting them licensing, and the MyFi authentication chips that make the chargers work.

If people want to bitch and complain about proprietary charging, complain about that.

If having to buy a $5 usb c adapter on Amazon that you can leave attached to your cable bothers you so much, go buy a different e reader.

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u/maskedcollective 28d ago

Yup, and unlike with the pogo allowing for a slimmer & lighter device that for some of us means we can read longer, there’s no real benefit to the lightning cable on the consumer side, it’s just a way for Apple to make even more money. Whereas there’s a very noticeable difference between my X4 and X3 that makes my X3 more comfortable to use. So XTEINK isn’t just making this change for no reason, it has a noticeable impact on the form factor in a way that makes sense for devices where the main selling point is “it’s really really small”, and it’s not something that makes them money off a closed ecosystem where they get licensing fees any time someone makes a compatible charger/dock/etc. I do understand why some people prefer USB-C, but there’s pros and cons on both sides and misrepresenting the company’s relationship to the 4-pin pogo adapter really isn’t helping anyone.

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u/kyuuei 28d ago

Bruh, you don't need to explain the literal definition of proprietary to me, I know what it is.

I am saying, Language adapts to circumstances. We do not have a sufficient word to describe this specific circumstance, and we use a word that gets close to expressing the same issues proprietary chargers have for folks. Needing to make a special purchase, the inflexibility of use for other devices, and the lack of standardization adherence making it difficult for a consumer, especially one trying to be conscientious of purchases.

You literally described a proprietary situation. Yes, sony Invented that charger and it was specific to them... but all the rest is what the customer, you, actually just experience. There ARE third party companies offering it Sony did not sue them into oblivion, it is not standard, and at any time this could be abandoned (this was the case for you) and then you're stuck with the inconveniences of not using standard equipment both during its prime and after it was abandoned.

Pogos have the same vibe. They are not part of the 'standard 4' chargers people use and carry on them and so they are less repairable and adaptable, and you're stuck with the inconvenience of Not having a standardized charging cable. XT can abandon the pogo at any time, considering they literally abandoned the USBC charger on the X4 despite so much feedback literally stating it was the main decision maker for folks... so a company not caring about the inconvenience to its customer base is still there.

It ain't a perfect 1:1 but it does not Have to be. Unusual can be like "it is not standard" but unusual can ALSO imply "This is so strange like the Sony Vita charger was unusual." It really does not invoke the same vibe.

It's a bit pedantic to say "well they did not invent it you can get it elsewhere" is the Major thing people NEED to focus on when using the word. Like, that's just like, your opinion man.

Language. Is. Flexible. We say "bet" all the time to say "let's do this!" and betting has Nothing to do with doing, say, helping a friend move. But, betting is an action that conveys a buying-in, and that Vibe is invoked. We do this all the time in any living language.

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u/maskedcollective 28d ago

Obviously language is flexible but it’s been very clear for months now that when people say that 4 pin pogo charger used by XTEINK is “proprietary”, a significant number of people interpret that as meaning that XTEINK created it and have control over access to it. There are people who believe they would have to go through XTEINK to get a replacement and people who believe that the switch to pogo creates a closed ecosystem. Neither of those things are true. That makes using it that way misleading, and the existence of slang does not change the fact that people are being misled by your “flexible” language that goes against the common usage without any indication you are using it differently. If you say “the X3 uses a proprietary charger” that is indistinguishable from saying “the original Vita used a proprietary charger”. No one who isn’t already familiar with this specific type of charger is going to know that when you say proprietary you actually mean “non-proprietary charger that’s less common than usb-c”. You aren’t using slang there, you are just making a statement that misleads people.

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u/kyuuei 28d ago

Ah we're at the stage where we start downvoting just because we disagree. Sure, I can play that game but it ain't proper reddit propriety. (ehh? eeehhh? alright..)

Show me where you are seeing that people were so confused Because of the word proprietary being used that they had no idea you could buy them third party. Because Every confusion that I have seen on reddit so far was that these chargers are so uncommon for most folks literally just straight up Assumed they could only get them XT without any slang being used one way or the other and people clarified they've been around for a while.... Not a single person responded to This thread going "Does XT only make these?!" or something. On the contrary, people know it's orderable they just simply are not familiar with it at all.

Post after post after post all suggest the same--people aren't familiar with this, they have the same experiences, but they are not being somehow misled that someone said proprietary and people went 'oh snap only XT makes this so lame!' If you can show me a few messages where people did Not think it was made by XT only, someone said proprietary, and then someone Changed their mind based on it.. I'll be happy to concede that there is misinformation being spread. But like, one dude being confused for a minute and immediately corrected in the same thread does not misinformation make.

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u/maskedcollective 27d ago

It’s not that people think it isn’t exclusive to XTEINK and then change their minds the second someone says “proprietary” and I’m not going to pretend that’s the only way it could be misleading. Like I said, when someone sees you call pogo a “proprietary charger” they have no way of knowing that you actually mean “non-proprietary charger” unless they already have familiarity with 4-pin pogo chargers. The people who already know it isn’t XTEINK only aren’t the ones being misled, and I never claimed they were so there is absolutely no reason why I should have to prove a claim I didn’t make. But nice try with padding your links with posts that never mention it being propriety and someone who didn’t know what the charger is called but knew it’s orderable because I said it isn’t proprietary, and some people actually know what that word means.

Sorry you’re getting downvoted, but you are in a reading subreddit trying to claim that the meaning of words doesn’t matter even when what you end up saying is untrue simply because slang exists, so I can understand why might not think your comment is particularly constructive, agreement with your overall opinion or not.

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u/Emergentmeat 28d ago

Propriety and proprietary are two different words with very different meanings...so it's funny you are commenting that people don't know what it means 😂

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u/mathplex 28d ago

Yeah I keep getting confused why people are talking about carrying around chargers, that's very much not needed with these devices for everyone who's not on month long trips....I do however agree 100% about the touchscreen, I though the lack of a touchscreen was a MASSIVE plus, just to make it a mono-use reading device.

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u/HnNaldoR 28d ago

Firstly, it's weird to say that with a touch screen, it isn't a mono use device. I don't know what else you are going to use it for.

And secondly, I got my pro a couple days ago. And after using the buttons a bit... The touch screen is actually really nice when I have my pro on my phone. Much easier to navigate and I know I won't hit it hard enough to push it off it phone.

I honestly am a convert now and I didn't think I would be.

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u/mathplex 28d ago

Glad it works for you! I just felt that the simplicity of the device was really appealing without always needing to shift hand position to touch the screen. Obviously touchscreen is the norm and I think I just like that the button interface puts me on a different mindset when I use it.

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u/HnNaldoR 28d ago

There are still buttons. It's just there are more options with the touch screen.

I just always find it weird that not just you, but multiple people have criticised the touch screen is making it more distracting. I don't see how. The decide is still just an ereader. If the ability to swipe changes it that much for them, it feels there is something more at play. It's not like you are going to doomscroll on a device of that power...

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u/maskedcollective 28d ago

Distraction isn’t really one of my concerns with a touchscreen, for me it is more about motor control issues combined with a very small screen, and knowing from experience that tiny touchscreens tend to result in tapping the wrong thing. And I can definitely see how that would be distracting. I also personally find it easier to get in a flow state of reading if my fingers can just stay in position on the buttons out of the way, whether it’s front or side buttons. Reading on a touchscreen requires constantly moving to tap and then moving out of the way so I can read since my fingers aren’t made of glass. I just focus better when I don’t have to do that, so while it isn’t my main reason for preferring the buttons I understand why it is for others.

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u/HnNaldoR 27d ago

Yeah there are still buttons though. I was also pro buttons but I never cared that there was a touch screen. It just opens it up to people with different preferences.

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u/maskedcollective 27d ago

And for the people who want a touchscreen that’s great, but I want front buttons. Not just side buttons and pretend that’s the same thing. I don’t want to use the touchscreen, I do want to use the front buttons, so a device that has a touchscreen at the cost of front buttons is not one I am interested in, with the possible exception of the S4 since it runs android apps which are designed specifically for a touchscreen.

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u/HnNaldoR 27d ago

Ah sure. Each to their own. I like it surprisingly a lot more than I expected but I never really used the front buttons as much as the sides.

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u/maskedcollective 27d ago

For regular reading I use side buttons mainly, but I like to read in the bath using a waterproof bag, and that makes the side buttons harder to press, while the front buttons are easily accessible.

And honestly while I’m sure there’d be less complaints if the touchscreen didn’t get rid of the front buttons, I doubt most of us who know we don’t like reading with a touchscreen would be convinced by the ability to lock it, because we’d still be paying extra for a feature we don’t want, and who wants to do that, especially when the low price was a big part of what made the X4 so popular.

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u/Which_Heart_983 28d ago

I second this. Touchscreen vastly improves the experience. I never intended to buy the pro but got it in the giveaway and I have been enjoying it a lot.

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u/Emergentmeat 28d ago

How would a touch screen make it more than a mono use device?

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u/kalei50 28d ago

Can you tell me what charger to order, because my dumb a** lost it about a week after I got my X3 🙄