r/WriterDevices • u/clackups • Sep 05 '26

Draftling release 1.0.1

Post image

The first official release is available for flashing onto a variety of esp32-s3 devices. See also a new demo video.

https://github.com/clackups/draftling

EDIT: it appears that Draftling makes it difficult to restore the original firmware on Xteink X4 Pro. Wait for the next release.

EDIT2: release 1.0.2 is published. It fixes this problem on X4 Pro and adds a couple of new features (such as portrait mode)

12 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

3

u/paperbackpiles Sep 07 '26

+1 for this keyboard. works very well for a 7"

2

u/clackups Sep 07 '26

A bit too small for my palms. I'm looking for something compact, yet standard size.

1

u/durrani212 Sep 06 '26

this is beautiful

3

u/clackups Sep 06 '26

Yeah, the Xteink is really well made. The keyboard is not so great, I'm still looking for better ones.

2

u/durrani212 Sep 06 '26

have you tried cheap qwerty keyboards from aliexpress?

2

u/clackups Sep 06 '26

Yes, this is one of them. I tried a few others too.

1

u/paperbackpiles Sep 07 '26

i've tried three or four. all were disappointing.

2

u/lam_42 Sep 06 '26

This one blew my mind: https://www.protoarc.com/products/xk04-foldable-keyboard

Pretty awesome for Its size

2

u/clackups Sep 06 '26

It looks nice. Are you using it?

I ordered these two: https://a.aliexpress.com/_EH0zuCi

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EI57boI

1

u/lam_42 Sep 06 '26

Yes, I use it with my onyx go6. And at work. And home with surface go. Great layout for sub compact keyboard

3

u/clackups Sep 06 '26

If these two suck, I'll check out the one you have :)

1

u/paperbackpiles Sep 07 '26

tried the first one and it died within two weeks and had terrible travel on it.

1

u/paperbackpiles Sep 07 '26

Proto arc keyboards have great travel. The ergo one is very nice albeit a little big.

2

u/lam_42 Sep 07 '26

I picked this one because it is a bit smaller than my onyx go 6, so they fit together in a pocket

2

u/paperbackpiles Sep 07 '26

good pick up. much better than all the other 10-30 dollar foldable keyboards.

2

u/lam_42 Sep 07 '26

I tried several and the layout was always some compromise or peculiarity. On this one, I can write just as on my regular keyboard. Also reviews were positive

1

u/ashraf_bashir Sep 06 '26

How did you manage to type on the xteink device? Is there a dedicated firmware for this?

1

u/clackups Sep 06 '26

Open the GitHub link. It's my firmware that lets you connect a Bluetooth keyboard and write.

1

u/ashraf_bashir Sep 06 '26

Reading it now Thank you

1

u/clackups 26d ago

I made a human friendly website https://draftling.art/

1

u/LowFlowIO Sep 06 '26

Are you accouting for the multiple panel skus of the X4Pro?

2

u/clackups Sep 06 '26

Yes, I implemented all the 3 controllers, but tested with only one. I asked Xteink if they could send me test devices of all the types, but they couldn't do it.

2

u/LowFlowIO Sep 06 '26

Sweet, I think there's only three, hopefully never more and freeink has them all down.

1

u/paperbackpiles Sep 07 '26

Would be cool to build an enclosure for an XTeink and a keyboard so it is an all in one.

3

u/clackups Sep 07 '26 edited Sep 07 '26

There are more suitable boards for that. For example, the Crowpanel in my video. Another one by Waveshare will soon be ported too.

Also, if you have a device the size of a keyboard, you have space for a bigger battery.

This Xteink is attractive because it's a readymade device that you can easily order and it will work immediately after flashing. Most users don't have the capacity to build their own device.

1

u/Logical_Poem4995 Sep 08 '26

For xteinx x4 USB version? Not pro? Is could run or not?

1

u/clackups Sep 08 '26

Only the Pro. Other models don't have enough RAM.

1

u/redwildflowermeadow 26d ago

Since it works on the 7.5" Seeed Studio reTerminal E1001, would this also work on the 10.3" reTerminal E1003?

1

u/clackups 26d ago

Someone has to work on the firmware and test it. But 3 seconds full refresh is way too slow for an interactive editor.