i have a pocketbook touch lux 4 and a boox page. both are good at their own thing: the book trades a bit of battery life and a higher price for being able to run any android app like tachiyomi, etc.
my recommendation is look through what e-readers are supported by koreader, the best e-reading app, and also, get something with physical page turn buttons and enough/expandable storage.
this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2024
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Pocketbook also makes great devices, not that well known outside of EU but their software has more features than Kobo and is (as of yet) not in the book selling market so no conflict of interest (and no analytics, contrary to kobo).
I bought a Boox Palma and I love it. I know people have concerns about privacy related to android (though a kindle and/or Kobo are just as bad IMO). I never set up an Google account and it's been in airplane mode since I turned it on. I wanted an e-reader that I could add books from my PC without any fuss. That's all I need and it works well for that. I love the form factor too.
A decade old paperwhite is plenty good jailbroken. A real bargain.
I love my Kobo Libra 2, with KoReader installed. I manage my books with Calibre.
What do you like about KoReader? I think I installed it on a bold reader a while back and didn’t feel that impressed. Willing to have my mind changed though.
It allows me to have all my books in one place, has a bunch of customization options, and works offline and lets me load "aquired" ebooks
My last eReader purchase was the Kobo Clara 2E and it’s fantastic. I got one for my dad as well. I love the fact that you can use it completely offline and without any account.
Then they announced a partnership with IFixIt, and that cemented for me (barring any changes), that my next eReader will also be another Kobo… though with this partnership I expect that to be a long time down the road.
without any account
Did they make this easier? I have a Sage and I had to open a SQLite database file on the e-reader, then flip some flag, to bypass account sign in. But that was a few years ago.
I don’t think so, I had to go in and do the song and dance with changing a config file. Reposting this comment here for posterity.
- Delete
.kobo/KoboReader.sqlite(if you are already signed in). - Restart Kobo
- DO NOT tap "Set up over wi-fi". Press the other one and connect it to a computer.
- Go to
.kobo/Kobo/Koboreader.config(or something like that) - Open the config file and under
[ApplicationPreferences], write on a new line:SideloadedMode=true. - If you did not do steps 1 and 2, delete
.kobo/KoboReader.sqlite. - Eject and restart ereader.
- Yay! You just bypassed registration!
Is it possible to use this reader with an amazon account?
Not without significant hurdles due to Amazon’s (very intentionally crafted) walled garden. You’re locked in by the file format as well as Amazon’s DRM. If you do anything to bypass this, it’s technically illegal as a violation of the DMCA.
I've been extremely happy with my boox go 10.3! Crazy long battery life (on the order of months; no backlight and i keep wifi off), amazing reading experience (looks basically indistinguishable from paper) and writing experience is good enough as someone who doesn't write often on it.
I own the Kobo Libra H2O and the Boox Air 2, both are amazing for different reasons.
Kobo is small and portable, fantastic for reading in bed.
Boox Air 2 has pen support and runs android. Fantastic for note taking, large PDF files, and so. It is a bit big at 7in screen, pretty much a tablet.
Kobo Libra H20 owner here too then Kobo Colour!! Love both! My husband upgraded me for free because he worked with Kobo
How do you like the color? I'm looking to upgrade from an H2O like you did!
Love it though admittedly I haven't utilize much of the color e-ink feature. Primarily book covers right now and highlights (btw, contrary to what someone already responded Kobo has yellow, blue, green and pink highlights). The book covers look great in color but not as sharp as black and white. I'm hoping to read the Sandman soon though and other graphic novels from my library is why I got it (and it was a free upgrade for me).
But I love both my Kobos and have no complaints. Theyre so customizable and easy to use.
I'm a cheap guy, and honestly I got the cheapest Kindle (I believe 2022) and I've been reading books from Calibre without issues.
No other e-reader was as cheap as that, and it... Just works.
If you can get an Onyx Boox tablet used by a first adopter that it wasn't right for, it has the best of all worlds. Open, Android, EInk, large screen, and can be used to bang out content and read email. Other than that I would just get a downmarket but new Android Tablet and use it as a dedicated eBook and audio book/podcast device. The screen isn't ideal but you can get a stock android tablet for $150 bucks us and use Caliber on it along with all the typical android stuff. Hell you might even be able to get a Linux tablet that would fit your needs but cost a little more. But if you go tablet the devices tend to be a bit more open to sideloading.
Don't get a device without e-ink as a reader. It will end up in the trash where it belongs. A low resolution backlit display will just discourage actually using it to read.
Who said anything about a low res backlit screen? And if you read monitors and screens all day, it may be an issue, but with dark mode reading it is fine. The devices I am talking about have about twice the PPI as a 22/24 inch 1080p monitor. There are cheap e-readers that have atrocious resolutions but the tablets I am talking about are fine, but not as good as EInk.
All LEDs are backlit, and a full 1080p on a 7 inch LED screen is a dogshit reading experience that will make your eyes bleed in about 2 minutes. If you manage to find a terrible OLED at a low price, it's still emissive and still absolutely terrible for reading.
Free is obscenely overpriced for using a budget LED tablet as a reading device. It's terrible and has nothing going for it. Don't pay a penny for a device you intend to read on with any display that isn't epaper. You won't read on it because it will be a torture device.
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