'Corogoo' extremely light pocket reader

[rowe]

Got this today. Spent a few hours tinkering then read a few chapters on it.
https://i.redd.it/ejr0400zzsga1.jpg

TLDR; The InkPalm is still probably the best pocket reader for most people, but this is interesting for ereader enthusiasts who like very light readers. I’ll try this as my go everywhere reader for a while, and use my InkPalm at home.

Pros
- Cheap (£38/$46)
- Probably the most comfortable e-reader to hold
- Probably the lightest e-reader at 60g (the InkPalm is 115g)
- Fits in the tiny ‘watch’ pocket on Levi jeans
- Open source and I suspect it’s relatively easy for people with dev skills to modify
- USB-C
- Has physical light and page turn controls
- No additional layers on top of e-ink so screen is sharp

Cons
- The case is quite thick
- The screen is small (2.9”)
- It’s Chinese language only (I don’t understand Chinese though and am managing to use it)
- Only compatible with .txt files
- No control over font or layout (the only issue bugging me so far is that the text is justified)
- Not grayscale (points are either black or clear, no in-between) so pixel style typography
- Wireless only file transfer

The version I got was the 2.9 with light from Aliexpress from 'huo niu Store'.

For context, I’ve read many books on the following pocket readers:
- Hisense A5 (too heavy/bulky compared to others for me)
- InkPalm (best of the bunch, worst characteristic is the glossy layer added over the e-ink)
- Yi-Ben P47L (best screen and form factor for me, but buggy software and mine broke after a couple of months)

The tricky part was loading books onto the Corogoo without understanding the language. Here’s how…
- Click the left button while holding the right button to open the home screen
- Select the 4th icon along (short press to navigate, long press to select using the right button)
- Select the wifi address ‘ESP 8266 E-Paper’ on the device you want to transfer .txt books from (password 333333333)
- Open http://192.168.3.3 in your browser
- Select the 3rd green button along on the bottom row
- Press the turquoise button
- The file upload interface you now see should be fairly straightforward

[Quoth]

I've not seen any SW bugs on the Y-Ben P47L, but there are at least two versions, earlier one is matte surface and later one has a soft shiny film that doesn't come off even after dissassembly.
The YiBen Y-Ben P47L is 4.7" screen and fits any pocket, though costs more at about €100 / $100 inc shipping. Has multiple languages inc English.

A 2.9″ screen sounds a bit small, but I'm tempted to get it for testing that our images in epubs work on a smaller than 4.3″ screen (my smallest working Android phone).

My craziest device to read an ebook is a Palm Z22. Only 160 x 160 pixels and about 2″ screen. At least there is also a Linux app to talk to it and an archive site of Palm OS apps. Neither pdb format supports images or indeed really anything except paragraph breaks as extra space.

[Quoth]

Are you sure it wasn't designed as an in-building text pager?

Like can you push text to it over WiFi to automatically display?

Is there a beeper?

If it can do large Chinese text it's maybe meant as a badge!

[rowe]

'I've not seen any SW bugs on the Y-Ben P47L, but there are at least two versions, earlier one is matte surface and later one has a soft shiny film that doesn't come off even after dissassembly'
Mine was the earlier one

'A 2.9″ screen sounds a bit small'
I've read half a novel on it in the last day and it's fine for me. But I like small ereaders I think the P47L screen size is my sweet spot.

'I'm tempted to get it for testing that our images in epubs work on a smaller than 4.3″ screen'
You can open images on it, but not epubs (only txt book files). This is similar and opens epubs: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...d=9dz1UAwPxdte

'Are you sure it wasn't designed as an in-building text pager? Like can you push text to it over WiFi to automatically display?'
Not that I'm aware of. It's marketed as a weather station, clock, and reader. I'm not interested in the first two.

'If it can do large Chinese text it's maybe meant as a badge!'
It's too thick IMO and there's no attachment. There are much better e-ink badges on AliExpress.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by rowe

'I'm tempted to get it for testing that our images in epubs work on a smaller than 4.3″ screen'
You can open images on it, but not epubs (only txt book files).

I realised later that obviously as it's plain text it's useless as a smaller screen to see image handling in the epub.

Sounds like a bit of fun for maybe €60. Customs will charge 23% VAT on the cost + shipping + duty, though it's under the limit for duty.

That's why I bought the P47L from Denmark. In EU, so the price inc shipping was the price. No customs.

[rowe]

Yeah, I didn’t get any extra charges on this one shipped to the UK

[JSWolf]

That is way too small to read with.