tenor/cross

A Button controls

Four buttons below the screen, two on the sides

A tap and a hold are two different actions. The same button also does different things depending on which screen is open, so each context is spelled out below.

1Back, step out one level.
2Select, open what the cursor is on.
3Up, cursor back one row.
4Down, cursor forward one row.
5The two side buttons, one on each edge, about a quarter of the way down the screen.

On the device, the Up and Down buttons on the front are drawn as up and down arrows, and the two side buttons as left and right arrows. This page uses the same set of glyphs.

Tap a side button
- While reading: turn the page; the page turns as soon as you let go.
- On a screen with tabs, such as home and the reading menu: move to the tab on the left or on the right.
- On the chapter list: step back or forward one full screen of rows, instead of one row at a time.
- Inside a folder: move to a sibling folder at the same level, keeping the cursor where it was.
- On some settings screens: move to the neighbouring settings section.
Holdoron either side
- While reading: past 700 ms the hold jumps one chapter in that direction, and keeps jumping chapter by chapter at a steady pace until you let go. Holding both side buttons stops it. Since v1.0.3.
- On a screen with tabs, including home and the reading menu: moves the selected tab left or right, so you can arrange the tabs the way you use them.
Tap Up and Down

The cursor moves one row at a time through the open list. On a screen with tabs the cursor ring also passes through the tab bar, so a tab is always one press away.
Holdor
- In a list that spans several screens, such as the chapter list: select the first or last row of the screen you are looking at.
- In Favourites: reorder the pinned items, moving the selected one up or down.
- In Recent: holding Up returns the cursor to Continue reading, even after you have scrolled down to older books.
HoldSelect

On a book, a folder or a settings entry that supports it: pin it to the Favourites tab. Hold again to unpin.

The chapter list is the exception. There, holding Select opens the chapter number entry.
HoldBack
- While reading: go straight home. A short press also goes home, with the cursor waiting on Continue reading.
- In the book browser: a short press steps up to the parent folder, a hold goes straight home.

The device also shows a hint line at the bottom of each screen for that screen's own actions, so there is nothing to memorise.

B Read your way

Adjust until the page reads well

Size, weight and spacing are all set on the device, from the reading menu. You see each change as you make it.

Font sizes 12 to 26 with the fonts in the download pack.
Three weights, labelled Weight (beta) on the device.
Line, letter, paragraph and word spacing: five levels each, from extra narrow to extra wide. The preview matches the real page.
Paragraph indentation: Off, Default, Wide.
A large opening initial for each chapter, plus alignment and whether to keep the book's own formatting.
Reader status bar: six modes, from off to chapter, clock and battery; the page reflows at once and keeps your place.
Device status bar: Default, Off or Large. Off gives that space to the content.

Still experimental

Loading a TTF or OTF file directly, and the ink weights, are still experimental. The prebuilt fonts in the download pack are stable; a font you load yourself may come out looking wrong, depending on the file.

A book page open on the device, set in Literata, at the heavier ink weight. — A page at the heavier weight. The text in the shot is printer's filler, so you look at the type.

C Turn it on, keep reading

The book you left off is right there

A normal start opens home with the cursor already on Continue reading. One press of Select and you are back on the page you left.

Recent keeps up to five books. The first screen shows Continue reading and the next two, and you scroll down for the rest.
The large card shows the cover, title, author and an excerpt when the book carries that data.
Books without a cover use the tenor/cross sleep artwork rather than an empty box.
Holding Up brings the cursor back to Continue reading, even after scrolling down to older books.

The device home screen, Recent tab open, cursor on Continue reading. — The Recent tab, cursor waiting on Continue reading.

D What else is there

Eight more features, and where to find them

Find a chapter by number

Type the chapter number instead of scrolling the list. On a serial with thousands of chapters this is the short way.

Chapter list, hold Select.

Favourites

One tab shared by books, folders and the settings you open often. Once pinned, they can be reordered.

Hold Select on the item you want.

Stats and badges

Overall figures, per-book figures, and reading badges drawn from your actual habits, each with its reasoning shown.

The Stats tab on home.

Reading progress sync

It follows the KOReader protocol, so it works alongside other devices and the KOReader app. Tenor runs a server at kosync.tenor.vn.

Settings, KOReader sync.

Wi-Fi file transfer

Copy books and fonts across from a browser, without taking the card out. The device shows a temporary username and password to enter.

Settings, file transfer.

Over-the-air updates

The device finds new releases and downloads them from cross.tenor.vn, checking the certificate and the hash before it writes.

Settings, firmware update.

Sleep screen

Choose what shows while the device sleeps, including tenor/cross artwork and the cover of the book you are reading. There is a builder for your own image on this site.

Settings, sleep screen.

Bluetooth page turner (beta)

Pair a Bluetooth HID page-turner remote and turn pages without touching the reader. Since v1.0.4 it starts straight from Settings and keeps running while a book is open. Only HID devices are listed; a keyboard that speaks Bluetooth Classic only will not appear.

Settings, Device, Bluetooth page turner.

Three interface languages

The firmware interface comes in Vietnamese, English and Simplified Chinese. A file transfer page in all three is planned for v1.0.3.

Settings, language.

v1.0.4 was verified on X3 hardware and on the X3 and X4 simulators. X4 hardware is not verified for this release, and the X4 Pro has no release yet.

Give it a go

The download pack holds the firmware and the fonts. Instructions for flashing from the card or over USB are on the download page.

Go to downloads GitHub