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

Posting to WordPress Microposts with php2Micropost

April 1, 2026 | Comment

I have accounts on plenty of microblogging sites (Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky and even Threads) but they are all owned and controlled by someone else. I decided that I wanted something that I could use and manage, and a quick search came up with Michael Gbadebo‘s WordPress plugin called Microposts.

I installed this and after playing around for a while, I decided that it was just what I was looking for. However, it was quite cumbersome to make a post from a mobile device when I was out and about. What I wanted was a simple … Read the rest

How to turn PHP code into a package that will work with Composer

March 25, 2026 | Comment

I’ve learned a lot while developing my php2Bluesky package spurred on by my own desire to make a decent product and by suggestions from users. One such itch I needed to scratch was to take my static code and turn it into something that I could use with Composer, the de facto way of handling dependancies in PHP.

I have to admit that not everyone was thrilled about my proposed move to Composer, as many seemed to prefer not to use it and to manage updates and load the code manually. This meant that I also needed to make … Read the rest

Xteink X4 – 3rd Party Support

March 18, 2026 | 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

Apple MacBook Neo

March 12, 2026 | Comment

I’ve been looking for the perfect device to take away with me when I’m travelling for as long as I can remember. My latest attempt was an iPad with a folding keyboard but this seemed to be compromised by iPadOS. So when the MacBook Neo was launched I thought that it sounded like it might be the answer.

Unboxing

It won’t surprise you to hear that the unboxing experience for the Neo is no different to any other Apple product. It comes in the usual stiff box, carefully packed with the Neo, and below that just a USB-C cable.

In

… Read the rest

Foldable Wireless Keyboard for iPad

March 11, 2026 | Comment

I’m always looking for ways to reduce the amount of technology I take away with me and have long wondered whether I could manage with just my iPad rather than taking along a laptop. When I saw this foldable keyboard on AliExpress I thought that it would be great to give it a go.

Unboxing

Looking at it you might be forgiven for thinking that this is an Apple product, cut from a block of aluminium, but sadly not. It’s cut from plastic and I t’s lightweight, although the latter does make it easier to carry.

The device consists is … Read the rest

Find My Phone

March 4, 2026 | Comment

I don’t know who thought of this but I will forever be grateful.

If you have an Apple Watch and iPhone for as long as I can remember you have been able to press a button on the watch and have the phone “beep” to help you find it – providing it is within range of course.

Now, however, not only do you get audible feedback but the watch shows you how far away you are from the phone. As you get closer the distance updates and the colour changes. It’s like playing with the children’s “you’re getting hotter” game!… Read the rest

How to fit the Perfect Screen Protector

February 21, 2026 | Comment

I hate applying screen protectors, but I know that they are vital to protecting the somewhat fragile screens of modern devices. Maybe you have a device that has screen protectors that come in a box – just pop the device inside and pull. Hey presto! The perfectly applied screen protector. But what happens if you don’t have a compatible device?

Applying a Screen Protector

These steps work every time for me:

  1. The Steam Room: Go into your bathroom and run the hot tap for a few minutes until it’s slightly steamy or do it after taking a shower. This “grounds”
… Read the rest

Xteink X4 Review

February 12, 2026 | 1 comment

I posted recently a video of me unboxing the Xteink X4 reader and I said that I would post a longer review once I had a chance to use it. This is that review.

How I read

I’ve never really considered myself to be an avid reader, but when compared to the rest of the country, it seems that I am a voracious reader. Where 40% of people in the UK don’t read any books at all in a year, I find myself in the top 8% who read more than 30 a year.

I read a mixture of both … Read the rest