I've had my i86 HDML Plus for a while now, and it's amazing!
My previous one was the M92 (another amazing one which is huge), so my comparisons are mostly with that.
For me the bigger the better, so the main thing which drew me to the i86 was the higher resolution.. and that does not disappoint, not just for pesky small text in some PDFs but especially when it comes to pictures/manga and diagrams (for a good example, see the Taylor Swift comparison pics from our friend here:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=187)
I see people complaining about the frontlight. I wouldn't say it's perfectly even (a little brighter on sides and bottom) but it's fine for me.
Anyway I'm not gonna turn it up full brightness to read in the dark (imo that defeats that purpose of having e-ink to protect your eyes), it's mainly just to enhance the whiteness of the background, or perhaps add a little brightness indoors.
When I first started using it, it was the fastest responding e-ink device I had ever used (even left kindle in the dust), although now that I'd loaded up most of my 32GB microSD card it's a little slower, but still good.
My only REAL gripe at the moment is that every time I turn it on now, it takes a minute or two to "Preparing SD card" and "Checking for errors" before I can read anything.
I haven't ruled out a problematic SD card yet, but anyone know how to disable Checking SD card for errors? (I've already disabled "Auto Scan Books after SD Card mount", which already saved a ton of loading time)
I'm actually tempted to leave the SD card out out of the device (for the fastest boot time); 8GB internal memory is pretty decent for books.
The ports have been replaced by more modern ones; I'd be fine either way but I guess they are more future-proof.
Data/power: mini USB > micro USB. This matches my phone, so more convenient there.
Storage: SD card > microSD card. Again interchangeable with phone, although I'd slightly prefer full size SD cards being cheaper.
Hardware buttons are not the easiest to press, but they are sufficient and better than the devices that rely completely on touchscreen.
I would prefer a flush glass screen as I'm always worried about stuff getting caught in the bezel gap/corners, but that would mean capacitive touchscreen, which I read is a little less responsive than IR touch.
Waterproof would also be really nice (reading in the bath), but that's pretty wishful thinking for someone who also wants tons of features too
(I think there are only 1 or 2 waterproof readers so far).
All in all I'm satisfied I've bought the best e-reader currently available on the market (feature-wise) and can't wait to start experimenting with Google Play apps (I know that won't work out perfectly, but hopefully more and more apps will eventually become e-ink friendly), especially the Kindle app, as I have bought some stuff on Kindle.
I've manually cut out an ipad screen protector (matte not glossy) and put it on the screen, but will probably get a full case/cover soon.