Open Book Touch
Shares rank 17 of 29 e-readers by recommenders
Open-source e-ink e-reader that people like for its openness and pocket size; the most common caveat is its small 4.3-inch screen and lack of page-turn buttons.
Open-source e-ink e-reader that people like for its openness and pocket size; the most common caveat is its small 4.3-inch screen and lack of page-turn buttons.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 8
- approval share
- 62%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Open, thoughtful project appeals
“I absolutely love the idea and passion behind this project.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” “I really like the thinking of openness behind this device.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” “Looks like it's a well thought project.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” Pocketable size for reading
“It's not too small, great for carrying in pocket, I've been reading articles on it.”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” “small enough to be pocketable is an important form factor”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” “I've read multiple books on it so far front to back.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Screen too small
“Half the thickness and ~2x the screen size and it would've been an instant buy.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” “I wish it had a bigger screen and buttons, though.”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” “The screen seems a little small. And buttons would be good too.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” - Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader”
- Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader”
No physical page-turn buttons
“You shouldn't be aloowed to call it an e-reader if it doesn't have physical turn page buttons”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” “The screen seems a little small. And buttons would be good too.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” “I wish it had a bigger screen and buttons, though.”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader”
Other e-readers people recommend
The four most recommended other e-readers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Kindle | 222 | 255 | 47% | 12 | 12 yrs37 owners | — |
| Xteink X4 | 178 | 47 | 79% | 10 | 2 mo31 owners | Approved |
| Kobo e-reader | 154 | 53 | 74% | 12 | 7 yrs14 owners | Approved |
| reMarkable 2 | 93 | 45 | 67% | 12 | 5 yrs13 owners | Approved |
| Open Book TouchThis page | 13 | 8 | 62% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
21 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's not too small, great for carrying in pocket, I've been reading articles on it.”
“I've read multiple books on it so far front to back.”
“this thing that only an engineer could love”
“Do not bother. It is too small.”
“Half the thickness and ~2x the screen size and it would've been an instant buy.”
“You shouldn't be aloowed to call it an e-reader if it doesn't have physical turn page buttons”
“This is so cool, I love seeing more and more epaper projects!”
“for an e-book reader, this is an unfortunate default.”
“it seems it is strongly implied that you should stick to mainstream custom firmware or risk getting stuck with a firmware forever”
“I absolutely love the idea and passion behind this project.”
“small enough to be pocketable is an important form factor”
“This is 10 year old ebook technology for the sake of being "open"”
“The screen seems a little small. And buttons would be good too.”
“4.3” screen, that’s a dealbreaker.”
“I really like the thinking of openness behind this device.”
“The one the post is about seems extremely appealing, but the price is a bit high for me”
“Talk about scope creep for a dedicated reader.”
“otherwise would have been a no brainer purchase”
“Looks like it's a well thought project.”
“it's honest about what it does and what it doesn't do”
“I wish it had a bigger screen and buttons, though.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.