Xiaomi launches the InkPalm 5 mini e-reader for 599 yuan (~$91)

[treo]

Originally Posted by qwerty12

does EinkBro work for you? It kept crashing here whenever I tried it.

Thank for TTS tips, will try them today.
EinkBro is working fine for me, but now I prefer the SmartBro.

[qwerty12]

Originally Posted by treo

EinkBro is working fine for me, but now I prefer the SmartBro.

Huh, thanks. Maybe I was too overzealous in my disabling of applications.

[treo]

Just tried InkBro again. It crashes, if opened from EinkLauncher. From the standard launcher "Moan" it's working fine.

[qwerty12]

Originally Posted by treo

Just tried InkBro again. It crashes, if opened from EinkLauncher. From the standard launcher "Moan" it's working fine.

Thanks, that fixed it for me. I tried it when I was using E-Ink Launcher and it was, indeed, crashing. I had already moved to Simple Ink Launcher in the meantime, and tried EinkBro again and it starts fine on SIL.

[philips]

Originally Posted by treo

I've installed Kindle app not from Amazon store, but from the pre-installed device Appstore. But, you need to log once in AmazonStore beforehand.

Ah, that did it. Thanks!

[philips]

I have been gathering information gleaned from this forum and elsewhere into a single GitHub README. I hope it can help others.

https://github.com/philips/inkpalm-5-adb-english

[qwerty12]

I've taken Modificator's E-Ink Launcher and made some small changes. My fork is based on shunf4's fork.

Changes:

• From shunf4: custom sorting of applications + more (see his repo link for details)
• Date format in the status bar has been changed (you may or may not consider this a feature)
• EinkBro (and possibly others are/) is launched properly and it will no longer crash on startup
• You can tap-and-hold an application's icon to adjust its DPI, like in the original Moann launcher
  • You can see the applications' App Info as well
• The cut-down Xiaomi version of the standard Android settings can be launched
  • and if you tap and hold the icon, you can open the accessibility (TTS settings are accessible from here) and locale settings
• The Lock screen button works: you'll be asked if you wish to grant EIL device admin rights
• The uninstall option is hidden for system applications
• A brightness button has been added. Tapping it will let you set the brightness of both cool and warm LEDs, holding it will toggle the backlight
• A contrast button has been added. Tapping it will let you set the contrast, holding it will let you change the refresh mode
• A "refresh" button has been added. Tapping it will refresh the screen, holding it will trigger the device's functionality to free up memory

You can, of course, hide all these icons through EIL's Apps Manager.



The APK can be found here: https://github.com/qwerty12/E-Ink-La...eleases/latest
Source: https://github.com/qwerty12/E-Ink-Launcher

I can't seem to find already-built APKs, but https://github.com/NevermindZZT/InkLauncher is also a very nice launcher available in English, with "bedside clock" functionality.

[rowe]

Good work on the launcher and GitHub page.

On the GitHub, suggest changing...
'The Navigation button setting needs to be updated to make a Long Press return to home. It will do a "Back" action by default.'

To...
'The logo button defaults to 'back' for short press, and 'refresh' for long press. The button functions can be changed in the settings e.g. long press can be changed to 'home'.

[philips]

Originally Posted by rowe

Good work on the launcher and GitHub page.

On the GitHub, suggest changing...

Good suggestion. I updated it.

I need to figure out how to take screenshots on this thing to add a guide through the settings.

[philips]

Originally Posted by qwerty12

The APK can be found here: https://github.com/qwerty12/E-Ink-La...eleases/latest
Source: https://github.com/qwerty12/E-Ink-Launcher

Awesome bug fixes and features in this launcher for this device. Thanks.

[treo]

Originally Posted by qwerty12

I got TTS in Moon Reader to work...

I've installed Google TTS engine and got TTS working in Moon Reader, AlReader, FullReader...

But, on all them it's working for only about 30 seconds and then stops ... Any ideas?

On a positive side, have installed Audible, KoboBooks and Stitcher and the audio is working fine there.

[qwerty12]

Originally Posted by rowe

Good work on the launcher and GitHub page.

Originally Posted by philips

Awesome bug fixes and features in this launcher for this device. Thanks.

Thank you both.

Originally Posted by philips

I need to figure out how to take screenshots on this thing to add a guide through the settings.

Thanks for the guide.

If you bring down the status bar, there's an icon to take screenshots. I think they get saved in the Pictures (or is it Screenshots?) folder.

I personally use scrcpy and ShareX on the PC side.

Originally Posted by treo

But, on all them it's working for only about 30 seconds and then stops ... Any ideas?

The built in memory optimisation of the inkPalm is pretty quick to jump the gun and kills the TTS engine (I guess TTS engines use a lot of memory).

You can exclude it from that process by doing the following:

1. Go to the Moan launcher
2. Launch the Moan settings (the hexagon with the circle inside it)
3. Choose the fourth entry from the top in the list (the corresponding icon is a bag with a tiny cog on the bottom-right)
4. You should be at a page where the only thing in Latin letters is "USB". Choose the fourth item in the list
5. Find Google Text-to-speech engine and make sure it is unticked

EDIT: You might want to exclude it from Android's built in battery optimisation too. You can do that from the standard Android settings.

(Also, tangentially related, you can get to the TTS settings through the modded version of the EILauncher or by running adb shell am start -a com.android.settings.TTS_SETTINGS. This simplifies the TTS setup process greatly: all you need to do now is install the TTS APK and you can set it up without settings invocations.)

[treo]

Originally Posted by qwerty12

... and kills the TTS engine ...

Thanks a lot! Finally the TTS is playing fine

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by treo

I've got my InkPalm and I'm quite happy with it 🤓

Few notes:

The settings on my InkPalm look different, but Google Translate was helpful.

There are settings for touch and long touch on InkPalm logo. Set them to Back and Go to Launcher and can navigate without any additional app.

After switching to English, have installed all apps via wifi, without ADB.

Removed pre-installed Kindle app.
From the standard browser installed Amazon Store App and logged in.
From the standard store installed Kindle app again and got logged with my Amazon.com account. So, all my library is with me again 📚

From the standard store installed KoReader and MoonReader and got them in English.

Just for reading, that's more than enough... No need to install any additional app store.

+ Great reading experience. Outside on sunlight and with the warm frontlight at night.

- Kindle app is not showing the audio in the books.
- Have no succes with any of TTS apps. Any suggestions are welcome!

= Yes, it's a bit slippery. Placed a small finger strap at the back and it's doing fine.

What version of the Kindle app did you wind up with? And how well does Word Runner work?

[treo]

Originally Posted by tomsem

What version of the Kindle app did you wind up with? And how well does Word Runner work?

8.40.0.100

It looks fine for me, you can take a look at the video in the attachment.