A 4.26-inch e-paper screen you can read in bed
800 × 480 pixels at about 220 ppi, on a matte screen that looks like print in daylight. A built-in front light takes over at night, and the touchscreen handles menus, highlights and anything you build.
The e-reader you can open up.
Inkito is a pocket-sized e-paper reader built on the ESP32-S3, with a touchscreen, a front light and page‑turn rockers on both sides. The firmware and hardware are going open source, so when you want it to do something new, you can make it.
$90 on the waitlist.
Early bird $100, retail $120. Joining is free.
Chapter I
The River Bank
The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms.
Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said ‘Bother!’ and ‘O blow!’ and also ‘Hang spring-cleaning!’ and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.
86%
The River Bank
1%
Monday 26 October
Wi-Fi ● 86%
07:42
Rain after 4 pm. Take the umbrella.
- 09:30 Standup
- 13:00 Lunch with Mira
- 18:30 Climbing
my_dashboard.c · wakes every 10 min
Concept drawing. Press a side rocker to turn the page.
What's inside
These are the specs of our October 2026 prototype boards. Some details will change before launch, and some are yours to vote on.
Rockers on both sides
Page-turn rockers sit on both side edges, so Inkito works the same in either hand and there are no buttons on the front. The power button is on top.
ESP32-S3 inside
A dual-core chip running up to 240 MHz, with 16 MB of flash, 8 MB of PSRAM, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE.
A library on microSD
Your books live on a push-push microSD card that you can swap, back up or open on any computer.
USB-C, and a battery that tells the truth
A fuel gauge reports how much charge is actually left. A real-time clock can wake Inkito on a schedule while everything else sleeps.
An accessory port for whatever comes next
A small 6-pin connector carries I²S audio and 3.3 V power. Add a speaker for audiobooks, a microphone for voice notes, or the add-on nobody has thought of yet.
- 13V3
- 2BCLK
- 3GND
- 4WS
- 5DOUT
- 6DIN
Full prototype spec sheet
- Display
- 4.26″ e-paper, 800 × 480, about 220 ppi
- Touch and light
- Touchscreen, built-in front light
- Processor
- ESP32-S3, dual-core, up to 240 MHz
- Memory
- 16 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM
- Wireless
- Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz), Bluetooth LE
- Storage
- microSD, push-push slot
- Buttons
- Page-turn rockers on both sides, power button on top
- Sensors
- Accelerometer, battery fuel gauge, real-time clock
- Power
- USB-C charging, 1,000–1,300 mAh LiPo (final size to be decided)
- Expansion
- 6-pin accessory port with I²S and 3.3 V
- Build
- Back cover held on with screws
- Colorways
- Seven concepts, narrowed down by your votes
Hack it from both sides
Use Inkito as an e-reader and never open it, or treat it as a dev board with a really good screen.
Software
The firmware will be open source. It's a standard ESP32-S3 project, so ESP-IDF, Arduino and PlatformIO all work. Change how the reader works, or turn Inkito into a desk dashboard, a smart-home panel or a pocket notebook when you're not reading.
# the firmware repo goes public soon
$ idf.py build flash monitorHardware
The back cover comes off with a screwdriver, not a heat gun. We'll publish the schematics, PCB layout and enclosure files, so you can repair it, print a new case or design add-ons for the accessory port.
We're cleaning up the repos before they go public. People on the waitlist hear first.
Get in early, pay less
Inkito gets cheaper the earlier you join. The waitlist price is the lowest we're offering.
Waitlist
Super early bird
$90
For everyone on the waitlist. Joining is free, and we'll email you first when orders open.
Join the waitlistEarly bird
Crowdfunding campaign
$100
When the crowdfunding campaign goes live.
Retail
Regular price
$120
What Inkito costs once the campaign is over.
Joining the waitlist now saves you $30 against retail.
Join the waitlist
Help us settle a few design questions and claim the $90 price at the same time.
- Answer a few quick design questions. It takes about a minute, mostly single taps.
- Leave your email on the last page. That's what puts you on the waitlist.
- Get the poll results, build updates and first access at $90.
Thanks for voting.
Every answer feeds straight into the design.
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Questions
Do I pay anything to join the waitlist?
No. Joining is free and doesn't commit you to buying. When orders open, people on the waitlist get first access at the $90 super early bird price.
How is the waitlist different from the early bird?
The $90 price is for the waitlist only. When the crowdfunding campaign launches, the early bird price is $100, and retail after launch is $120.
When will it ship?
We're testing prototype boards now. We'll share dates with the waitlist once we're confident in them, and not before.
What does "hackable" actually mean?
On the software side, the firmware will be open source and builds with the usual ESP32-S3 tools, so you can change anything from the reading app to what happens when it wakes up. On the hardware side, the back is held on with screws, there's an accessory port, and the schematics, PCB layout and enclosure files will be public.
When will the code and design files be public?
Soon. We're tidying the repos first. People on the waitlist hear the moment they go live.
Who makes Inkito?
Inkito is made by Icelens.