Best hackable e-reader for night reading?

Scarfo · 04-26-2020, 01:04 PM

What e-book reader would you recommend given the info below, ignoring price? I’ll be using it 100% for side loading and library e-books, Wi-Fi only.

4 Must-Haves
1. E-ink, not a tablet
2. Optimal for reading in the dark without blue light, dimmable
3. Physical buttons
4. Hackable/Jailbreakable/Rootable
5. Waterproof

4 Nice-to-Haves
1. Wireless side-loading, kludge/hack/dropbox is ok
2. Larger than 6” screen
3. Good PDF-reading experience, whether via hack to get reflow, big screen or native
4. Ability to sync with an e-book and/or audiobook reader on my iPhone

I’m a Mac/iPhone user if that matters.

Thanks!

LucyOne · 04-26-2020, 01:26 PM

Pocketbook Inkpad 3 Pro ticks all your boxes.

7.8 inch, waterproof, white and orange LEDs, buttons, sync with DropBox and Pocketbook Cloud, as well as Pocketbook App for your phone. Send documents via email to the device.
The native PDF reader does reflow. You can also install KoReader.
Audiobooks via Bluetooth.

JSWolf · 04-26-2020, 02:34 PM

Kobo Forma at 8" ticks all the boxes except the audiobook part and maybe the PDF part as that's not good with eInk

TBH, eInk Readers are not all that good for audiobooks. The battery goes pretty quick. And if you want to stream, the battery goes even more.

Pajamaman · 04-26-2020, 03:28 PM

Koreader is good with pdf and works on a kobo.

Onyx nova but it's not waterproof and no buttons.

DNSB · 04-26-2020, 09:35 PM

I'd suggest the Kobo Libra H20 (7 inch) or the Kobo Forma (8 inch) screen. The frontlight has colour temperature control. The Forma has DropBox integration out of the box. Both are hackable though neither can be rooted or jailbroken since Kobo does not lock down their ereaders. If you are using the Kobo store and syncing the books to your Kobo ereader, it syncs to the Kobo iOS app (there have been on and off issues with this). They do not have audio support but I'm not an audiobook fan since they are so bloody slow -- the narrators don't seem to be able to speak at 1000 WPM

and I do read at that speed.

Now, I don't have the biggest pile of Karma, and my Karma ain't the fanciest, or the prettiest. But it is honest Karma, dug out of these hills post by post, pun by pun, smart ass comment by smart ass comment. I have toiled under the oppressive gaze of the green meanies, and scuttled like a rat avoiding their fearsome bolts of moderation.

rcentros · 04-26-2020, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scarfo

What e-book reader would you recommend given the info below, ignoring price? I’ll be using it 100% for side loading and library e-books, Wi-Fi only.

4 Must-Haves
1. E-ink, not a tablet
2. Optimal for reading in the dark without blue light, dimmable
3. Physical buttons
4. Hackable/Jailbreakable/Rootable
5. Waterproof

4 Nice-to-Haves
1. Wireless side-loading, kludge/hack/dropbox is ok
2. Larger than 6” screen
3. Good PDF-reading experience, whether via hack to get reflow, big screen or native
4. Ability to sync with an e-book and/or audiobook reader on my iPhone

I’m a Mac/iPhone user if that matters.

Thanks!

The PocketBook InkPad Pro 3 would meet most of these requirements (including 7.8" screen, the HD3 would also work, but it has a 6" screen). (It also has text to speech.) Not sure about rooting — I think it can be rooted, but it's Linux not Android, so I don't know what you would do with it. It does flow PDF to text, but I don't know how well (this is something I don't do on an eReader). You have the choice of both the PocketBook Cloud or Dropbox built-in. It does sync to the iPhone via its app and has free Cloud service.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pocket...er/id805488884

The Ink Pad Pro 3 can be bought from Germany and be shipped free to the U.S. from Grooves.Land...

https://www.grooves-inc.com/pocketbo...SABEgLKZPD_BwE

Or it can also be bought from GoodEReader in the U.S...

https://goodereader.com/blog/product...ook-inkpad-pro

Abish4i · 05-20-2020, 04:26 AM

PW 4 is can be jailbroken with factory firmware...

JSWolf · 05-20-2020, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abish4i

PW 4 is can be jailbroken with factory firmware...

Kobo can be patched with many different firmware versions including the latest version. No need for some specific older firmware.

Scarfo · 01-13-2021, 06:58 PM

It took me long enough but I finally got a Pocketbook Inkpad 3 Pro and it’s been great!

The iOS app doesn’t seem to like certain epubs, but in general it works well to easily add ebooks and stay sync’d with the ereader.

Thanks all!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

04-26-2020, 01:04 PM	#1
Scarfo Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Plucker	Best hackable e-reader for night reading? What e-book reader would you recommend given the info below, ignoring price? I’ll be using it 100% for side loading and library e-books, Wi-Fi only. 4 Must-Haves 1. E-ink, not a tablet 2. Optimal for reading in the dark without blue light, dimmable 3. Physical buttons 4. Hackable/Jailbreakable/Rootable 5. Waterproof 4 Nice-to-Haves 1. Wireless side-loading, kludge/hack/dropbox is ok 2. Larger than 6” screen 3. Good PDF-reading experience, whether via hack to get reflow, big screen or native 4. Ability to sync with an e-book and/or audiobook reader on my iPhone I’m a Mac/iPhone user if that matters. Thanks!

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04-26-2020, 01:26 PM	#2
LucyOne Librocubicularist Posts: 617 Karma: 11908623 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Germany Device: PocketBook InkPad 3 & Touch HD 3, Kobo Clara HD, Kindle Paperwhite 5	Pocketbook Inkpad 3 Pro ticks all your boxes. 7.8 inch, waterproof, white and orange LEDs, buttons, sync with DropBox and Pocketbook Cloud, as well as Pocketbook App for your phone. Send documents via email to the device. The native PDF reader does reflow. You can also install KoReader. Audiobooks via Bluetooth.

04-26-2020, 02:34 PM	#3
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,887 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Kobo Forma at 8" ticks all the boxes except the audiobook part and maybe the PDF part as that's not good with eInk TBH, eInk Readers are not all that good for audiobooks. The battery goes pretty quick. And if you want to stream, the battery goes even more.

04-26-2020, 03:28 PM	#4
Pajamaman Wizard Posts: 2,827 Karma: 10700629 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Canada Device: Onyx Nova	Koreader is good with pdf and works on a kobo. Onyx nova but it's not waterproof and no buttons.

04-26-2020, 09:35 PM	#5
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 35,296 Karma: 145435140 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Forma, Clara HD, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	I'd suggest the Kobo Libra H20 (7 inch) or the Kobo Forma (8 inch) screen. The frontlight has colour temperature control. The Forma has DropBox integration out of the box. Both are hackable though neither can be rooted or jailbroken since Kobo does not lock down their ereaders. If you are using the Kobo store and syncing the books to your Kobo ereader, it syncs to the Kobo iOS app (there have been on and off issues with this). They do not have audio support but I'm not an audiobook fan since they are so bloody slow -- the narrators don't seem to be able to speak at 1000 WPM and I do read at that speed. Now, I don't have the biggest pile of Karma, and my Karma ain't the fanciest, or the prettiest. But it is honest Karma, dug out of these hills post by post, pun by pun, smart ass comment by smart ass comment. I have toiled under the oppressive gaze of the green meanies, and scuttled like a rat avoiding their fearsome bolts of moderation.

05-20-2020, 04:26 AM	#7
Abish4i The Escapist Posts: 36 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2020 Location: Jhansi,India Device: PW4 (10th Gen), Android, Zorin(linux)	PW 4 is can be jailbroken with factory firmware...

01-13-2021, 06:58 PM	#9
Scarfo Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Plucker	It took me long enough but I finally got a Pocketbook Inkpad 3 Pro and it’s been great! The iOS app doesn’t seem to like certain epubs, but in general it works well to easily add ebooks and stay sync’d with the ereader. Thanks all! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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