There are plenty of lovely e-readers out on the market that come with an nice big e-paper display. There aren’t nearly as many that come with two. [Martin den Hoed] developed the Diptyx e-reader with such a design in order to better replicate the paper books of old.
The build is based around the ESP32-S3, a powerful microcontroller which comes with the benefit of having WiFi connectivity baked in. It’s hooked up to a pair of 648×480 e-paper displays, which are installed in a fold-open housing to create the impression that one is reading a traditional book. The displays themselves are driven with custom look-up tables to allow for low-latency updates when turning pages. The firmware of the device is inspired by the epub reader from [Atomic14], and can handle different fonts and line spacing without issue. Power is from a pair of 1,500 mAh lithium-polymer cells, which should keep the device running for a good long time, and they can be charged over USB-C like any modern gadget.
You can follow along with the project on the official website, or check it out on Crowd Supply if you’re so inclined. The project is intended to be open source, with files to be released once the design is finalized for an initial production run.
I don't remember where I heard about this, but I fid feel comfortable shelling out the cash to preorder one. I think its really cool and I'll absolutely swap out a bigger sd card when/if I get it (being realistic with my gamble here, this is basically kickstarted I know theres a non zero chance I just don't get it)
3
Tiger @sh.itjust.works - 1day
That’s a great idea surprised hadn’t seen before.
3
𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝙼𝚎𝚘𝚠 - 1day
It's not that great of an idea. You can only read one page at a time anyway, so why bother with the second screen, which only really adds weight?
5
Tiger @sh.itjust.works - 1day
It’s not a great idea for usage, but rather for marketing - people would buy it for the novelty.
3
musubibreakfast @lemmy.world - 1day
Nah, I want an e-reader with 200 separate pages so I can accurately emulate reading an airport paper back.
2
JennyLaFae - 23hr
You'd only need power to change books if you could load the whole thing to e-paper 😂
rss in hackaday @ibbit.at
DIY E-Reader Folds Open Like a Book
https://hackaday.com/2025/12/24/diy-e-reader-folds-open-like-a-book/https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/331781765314157325_f1cd80-e1765778255482.jpg?w=800
There are plenty of lovely e-readers out on the market that come with an nice big e-paper display. There aren’t nearly as many that come with two. [Martin den Hoed] developed the Diptyx e-reader with such a design in order to better replicate the paper books of old.
The build is based around the ESP32-S3, a powerful microcontroller which comes with the benefit of having WiFi connectivity baked in. It’s hooked up to a pair of 648×480 e-paper displays, which are installed in a fold-open housing to create the impression that one is reading a traditional book. The displays themselves are driven with custom look-up tables to allow for low-latency updates when turning pages. The firmware of the device is inspired by the epub reader from [Atomic14], and can handle different fonts and line spacing without issue. Power is from a pair of 1,500 mAh lithium-polymer cells, which should keep the device running for a good long time, and they can be charged over USB-C like any modern gadget.
You can follow along with the project on the official website, or check it out on Crowd Supply if you’re so inclined. The project is intended to be open source, with files to be released once the design is finalized for an initial production run.
We’ve seen some great DIY e-reader builds over the years, and we’re loving the development we’re seeing in the writer deck space, too. If you’re whipping up something fun in this vein, be sure to let us know on the tipsline!
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On that's fun!
E-Reader DS lol
I don't remember where I heard about this, but I fid feel comfortable shelling out the cash to preorder one. I think its really cool and I'll absolutely swap out a bigger sd card when/if I get it (being realistic with my gamble here, this is basically kickstarted I know theres a non zero chance I just don't get it)
That’s a great idea surprised hadn’t seen before.
It's not that great of an idea. You can only read one page at a time anyway, so why bother with the second screen, which only really adds weight?
It’s not a great idea for usage, but rather for marketing - people would buy it for the novelty.
Nah, I want an e-reader with 200 separate pages so I can accurately emulate reading an airport paper back.
You'd only need power to change books if you could load the whole thing to e-paper 😂