I hope the reason they took so long is that they were waiting on a really good color e-ink screen, but I doubt it. That said, I love my Kobo Sage and my LazyLibrarian + Calibre-web + Kobo Sync workflow, and if you can do the same on these, then they'll probably be a good buy.
this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2024
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What e-reader should I buy, when I don't want to use amazon (or similar) services to log in/buy/transfer books to the reader?
I have plenty of free old PDF books I simply want to copy there and be able to read them without ads and online bs.
I don't need web browser, mp3 player, spotify, google translator or other such nonsense. I need simple controls, backlight (adjustable) to read at night and that's basically it.
Thanks for any input.
I agree with the other reply that pdfs are terrible for e-readers. That being said, Pocketbooks can open them (which is not that common) and it is possible to read them, although it isn't so comfortable, especially for A4 pdfs. It can also open wide range of other formats and I'm quite happy with it in general. You can connect it to a computer and simply copy your books there, among other means of getting books there. But I have to say I have no first hand experience with competition.
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PDFs are usually terrible for reading in this screen size. If they are plain text, you might be able to convert them to proper ebooks in Calibra.
OK, thank you for noting that. Never thought about it. My local library hands out free e-books of classic old literature so it might be available in other formats too. I grabbed some PDFs, because it was easiest to open in PC or android. Will check it out.
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I use a kobo libra 2 with calibre and it’s great. If you buy a kobo either make sure you really like it or buy it from Amazon. Their customer service is absolutely horrible.
I had a good experience with their customer service.
My Kobo bricked a few days after the warranty expired (it's possible I broke it installing koreader improperly or something) and they replaced it no problem.
Took a few weeks but I was happy they replaced it at all.
I’m glad you did! I ordered a device from them and wanted to return it and it took multiple chats over multiple days (maybe weeks?) to get it done. Was quite a headache.
That's kinda hilarious. Buying a product from its own competitor.
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Both use E Ink’s latest Kaleido color screen technology, which has subtle, pastel-like hues and drops from a 300ppi grayscale resolution to 150ppi when you view content in color.
I had to check just how bad 150ppi would be when dropping down the resolution for color.
A 24" Full HD monitor has a PPI of 92. So it's actually okay.
I'm still using my old Kobo Aura HD (now roughly 11 years old) and the battery still lasts over a month. The screen was already decent back then, but a bit sluggish. I just checked, the old one has 265 ppi. Maybe it's not time for an upgrade yet :)
A PPI of 92, but that screen is going to probably be between 2 and 3 feet from your face, vs the 150 PPI sitting 6 inches to a foot away... Doesn't mean it isn't good enough by any means, but it's certainly not a conclusive comparison
Of course, but it's mostly for reading. The color will probably be used for notes and the occasional image, for which it's easily good enough. When I read it's usually a foot away, while I keep my monitor at 2 feet.
Black and white content (text) has 300 dpi atleast, so for that it's perfect.
E-Ink is fantastic for lots of reading and battery life, for everything else an actual screen is leagues ahead. The response time is awful too.
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I've used the Boox color e-reader. It's fine. My one complaint is that the white background of the screen is not as white as the background in traditional e-readers. Like I saw somewhere that the Kindle's white background is somewhere near 85% white, and the Boox color screen is 65ish% white. It was noticable when I used it, to the point that I sent it back and got a non color e-reader.
I ended up getting the Boox Nova Air 2. it is fantastic. https://onyxboox.com/boox_novaair2
I don't understand why everything by Onyx is so much more money than anything else on the market. I want to try one because Kobo Software is 'meh' but I can't justify double the price for.... ???
I know nothing about this topic, but was thinking of grabbing a Kobo. What about the software would you say is meh?
My last Kobo was bought 4 years ago so it may be different but it was very slow compared to a Kindle bought at the same time. Searching for books took a very long time. Looking through your library was click next, wait 10s, click next, wait 10s.
Once you were in a book it was perfect.
I only use Calibre to push books on to the device so I can't speak to their store. With that modifier - Kindle can't do that well at all so it's a non-starter.
I wonder if that will be at all improved with the new model coming out? I do like that Kobo doesn't have ads on its home screen, as well; I'd probably be willing to put up with less optimal performance if that stays the case. Anyway, thank you for the response! It's definitely given me stuff to consider before buying an e reader myself
Calibre is a fantastic Ebook organizer. It can handle all sorts of file conversions, firmware updates and de-DRMing books you own. Whichever eRader you get - I would highly recommend it.
It is the iTunes to your iPod except for eReaders. It is also FOSS.
E.g. Here are 5,000 books available for free forever as part of Project Gutenburg.
That's is download, and click Sync within Calibre. It handles all formatting, metadata, etcetera. Good luck accessing them without third party software. Kindle, Kobo, B & N do not want you reading free books.
Separately given the price differential these days. Get an eReaders with a back/front-light. eReaders are as difficult, if not more, to read as books are without bright light.
eReader lights point into the screen instead of at your face - it's much different than a phone and much easier on the eyes. It's like staring at a lightbulb (LCD Phone) vs staring at a newspaper lit from overhead.
I don't know how much time I have spent reading in bed with-backlight-on not bothering my wife but it's a lot. It's where I do the majority of my reading. Not possible with a real book - she's a light sleeper and any light bright enough to read would keep her up.
Amazing comment, thank you. Saving it for future use :)
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I'm guessing because onyx doesn't have a book store to subsidize the price with like Amazon.
I really REALLY love my Kobo Libre 2, it's a fantastic reader. I would like to move the Color version, but they didn't actually show anything like a graphic novel, guess I'll be waiting for reviews, not sure why they wouldn't show the most common use for one of these unless maybe it's not great at it.
I've had a Libra 2 for almost 2 years now and just yesterday I was thinking "it still looks great!". I don't feel the need to upgrade and colour isn't a must for me, so I'll just wait for a couple of generations until the colour technology is more mature and they add some kind of feature my Libra 2 doesn't have besides that.
Yeah, sadly a good color e-ink screens seems like one of those techs that is always a couple years away. It seems like maybe the demand just isn't there for R&D with everyone having large form factor phones these days.
I thought e ink was just in patent hell with only one company developing it and charging high fees on everything they can related to it and they aren't that good at r&d but they are good at milking something for all its worth
Sorry, I haven't made the jump into an e reader of my own yet, so I may be missing something, but could the same not be said for phones and B&W e readers? Phones can basically do everything an e reader can on its face, but there's still a niche to be filled by e readers, so I'm not sure lack of demand would exactly be the problem?
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I have a Onyx Boox Nova C that has pretty much the same technology (Kaleido Plus) and would say that the color display is mostly just a neat gimmick that comes with some tradeoffs. Compared to a pure monochrome E-Ink display the contrast is much worse and colors don't really pop either. You basically always need at least a bit off background lighting to be able to read.
I'd recommend these types of display only if being able to read without background lighting isn't a must and even then only for stuff that's better with color, like notes, technical books or the occasional colored page in a book/manga. If you want to read something reliant on stunning colorful artwork like graphic novels I'd stay away.
This was my fear, thanks. When I saw what they were doing with it I was like come on, who needs to take notes in color.
"Kobo announces they'll finally spend a couple more bucks in each unit so they can ship same display any other Chinese company doing e-readers ships". - There, title fixed.
Chinese
Kobo is Canadian.
The point is that you've tons of Chinese companies selling e-ink tablets with color displays and Kobo now decided to spend a couple more bucks doing the same in order to catch up.
the day will eventually come that I need to replace my kindle and I assume e-ink will be full HD by then.
Honestly if an e-reader doesn't last you decades you're doing something wrong.
My kindle oasis (1st gen) cover disagrees with this statement. Somehow my Kindle Keyboard outlasted my oasis by a decade.
I agree with your sentiment, but the resolution on e-readers has been better than HD for about a decade now.
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with extras like [..] no lockscreen ads
What the fuck? Why is that an extra not just the default? It's great that this product isn't riddled with ads, but that's like saying it's great a burger is not made of human shit; it's crazy that anyone would tolerate a shit-burger in the first place.
Maybe ads are normal in the e-reader space for some reason, but that's just insane to me.
I think it's only Amazon that does lock screen ads but since they have two-thirds of the market share globally (and a near monopoly in the US where the Verge is based) then whatever they do in the e-reader space is "normal"
Just talking here in the US, the only competitor Amazon has really had here is Nook which also has lock screen ads
Kobo is also available in the US
I know but I meant as popularity wise. I don't think most people outside the Hard-core privacy/tech focused crowd know it.
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I'm trusting y'all to let me know if it's worth it
What do you need it for?
It isn't up to snuff for reading Comic Books or Graphic Novels, and it's worse experience than a good Non-Color E-ink display. Which is saying it's worse for the vast vast majority of books you will read.
I'm not sure why it exists other than it has to - in order for a better version to eventually come out. R&D isn't free.
I have the Boox Onyx Note 3c. Its a color e-ink and its okay for comics. But I mainly use it for note taking. The colors are helpful for more detailed notes. The eink display makes it easier in my eyes especially for long days of note taking.
Oyeah the E-Ink is so great for your eyes. Just like a book. I just meant Color vs BW E-ink.
Yeah. The color definitely isn't a replacement for an actual comic or graphic novel. It's good enough to give you an idea of what it should look like. And I agree. If you have no need for the color, then black and white is going to be much better.
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Whilst this is nice. I've had a color ebook reader for maybe four years. It's not a new technology.
Ooohhh, this is huge! And also an upgraded Kobo Clara (in black and white)!
BW e-readers are sufficient for reading but colors are awesome for image content in books, such as graphics and maps and whatnot. Hopefully some reviews show up soon.
Looks like Kobo's primed for the top spot since Jassy gave up on innovation
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Both use E Ink’s latest Kaleido color screen technology, which has subtle, pastel-like hues and drops from a 300ppi grayscale resolution to 150ppi when you view content in color.
The seven-inch Kobo Libra 2 is my favorite e-reader outside of Amazon’s ecosystem, offering the Kindle Paperwhite’s IPX8 waterproof design but with extras like physical page-turning buttons, no lockscreen ads, and more storage.
However, it’s $30 more expensive than the Kobo Libra 2, and you’ll have to buy the stylus separately for $69.99.
It offers the same six-inch display and IPX8 waterproof design but now comes with 16GB of storage, as well as an improved processor.
I hope so; the Kobo Clara 2E’s sluggish performance was one of my chief complaints.
All of the devices are available to preorder starting today and will ship on April 30th.
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