MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Good 6" Android eReader to play book, less than 150U$ ?

TechniSol · 08-15-2017, 12:18 AM

I know it's not what you asked for, and it doesn't have an E-ink display(don't actually recall you saying you had to have e-ink), but if I were you, and it wasn't a deal breaker to read from a very good IPS LCD display @ 1920x1080 with a decent capacitive touchscreen, I'd consider an 8" Nuvision TM800W610L Signature Edition (no bloatware) Windows 10 tablet. It's run by an Intel Atom X5-Z8300 with 2GB RAM and a 32GB EMMC, expandable through SDXC so pretty much the sky's the limit for a mobile tablet device. Being a full Windows 10 Home tablet you can easily run Calibre on it and store a MASSIVE library on SDXC. One word of caution, they're a little slow until you run all the Windows 10 updates(through Creator's or further with the Insider's Ring) and let everything settle -helps a lot to delete the old version of Win 10 when updating or install it from an ISO downloaded to your SDXC card or a flash drive, as the internal Emmc drive C: is only 32GB for everything!

If you must have Android you can easily install MeMU on it and run most apps, albeit at the price of battery because the android is emulated... I use MeMu to run Appy Geek on mine. Sucks a little battery, but again Android is being emulated and with Appy Geek you're continually downloading and displaying images/text so the screen and Wifi are sucking the power up too. I use a Win 10 Store App for epubs and with the screen turned down to 5-10% it's plenty bright, and with Wifi off(airplane mode) power draw isn't too bad -it's still a tablet, but not bad.

These little guys were available for $59 brand new at Christmas time and can be found for near that used in great condition or around $75-85 new easily on eBay, Amazon, etc. Microsoft Store still has them brand new for $149, often going on sale for $79. I wouldn't pay $149 for one, but at $80, or so, they're a phenomenal steal. They have a sturdy aluminum shell, weigh about 10 ounces and are IMHO a remarkable value, especially if you can use Win 10 and wouldn't mind an 8" screen on a sleek device about 0.30" thick. I didn't buy mine as an ereader, but it serves very well as one. Matter of fact, I'd say it's an even tossup between whether I grab it or my Kobo Glo, granted the Glo is not the latest model, but that's the comparison for you. I haven't spent a penny on software and at $79 it's like getting a free tablet and a $20 bill stuck in your pocket compared to buying a copy of Win 10 Home OS...

The full version of Win 10 Home OS gives you much to consider in terms of it being used as a highly mobile mini-PC with a bluetooth or onscreen keyboard. MS Word, Excel, OneNote, etc. are available for free in full mobile versions capable of content creation from the Windows App Store, you can run whatever video or movie player you like for Win 10 -I use KODI because you can jack up the volume pre-amplification and still get pretty decent sound out of the built-in speakers, although they are positioned for portrait mode, not landscape. Much louder than VLC, etc. TTS is available, etc. Comic & PDF readers can be had for free. Standard 1/8" headphone jack.

I'm adding a link for information purposes. I hope no one takes offense.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/stor...t/8pqxt2zn12td

These little buggers are hard to beat for the money. If you must have Android and can live with a decent IPS display, Nuvision may have an Android version. These are worth a look and a decent alternative. Not, however, an e-ink device.

Best of luck!

08-15-2017, 12:18 AM	#13
TechniSol GranPohbah-Fezzes r cool! Posts: 1,056 Karma: 3151024 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Nook STRs, Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo	I know it's not what you asked for, and it doesn't have an E-ink display(don't actually recall you saying you had to have e-ink), but if I were you, and it wasn't a deal breaker to read from a very good IPS LCD display @ 1920x1080 with a decent capacitive touchscreen, I'd consider an 8" Nuvision TM800W610L Signature Edition (no bloatware) Windows 10 tablet. It's run by an Intel Atom X5-Z8300 with 2GB RAM and a 32GB EMMC, expandable through SDXC so pretty much the sky's the limit for a mobile tablet device. Being a full Windows 10 Home tablet you can easily run Calibre on it and store a MASSIVE library on SDXC. One word of caution, they're a little slow until you run all the Windows 10 updates(through Creator's or further with the Insider's Ring) and let everything settle -helps a lot to delete the old version of Win 10 when updating or install it from an ISO downloaded to your SDXC card or a flash drive, as the internal Emmc drive C: is only 32GB for everything! If you must have Android you can easily install MeMU on it and run most apps, albeit at the price of battery because the android is emulated... I use MeMu to run Appy Geek on mine. Sucks a little battery, but again Android is being emulated and with Appy Geek you're continually downloading and displaying images/text so the screen and Wifi are sucking the power up too. I use a Win 10 Store App for epubs and with the screen turned down to 5-10% it's plenty bright, and with Wifi off(airplane mode) power draw isn't too bad -it's still a tablet, but not bad. These little guys were available for $59 brand new at Christmas time and can be found for near that used in great condition or around $75-85 new easily on eBay, Amazon, etc. Microsoft Store still has them brand new for $149, often going on sale for $79. I wouldn't pay $149 for one, but at $80, or so, they're a phenomenal steal. They have a sturdy aluminum shell, weigh about 10 ounces and are IMHO a remarkable value, especially if you can use Win 10 and wouldn't mind an 8" screen on a sleek device about 0.30" thick. I didn't buy mine as an ereader, but it serves very well as one. Matter of fact, I'd say it's an even tossup between whether I grab it or my Kobo Glo, granted the Glo is not the latest model, but that's the comparison for you. I haven't spent a penny on software and at $79 it's like getting a free tablet and a $20 bill stuck in your pocket compared to buying a copy of Win 10 Home OS... The full version of Win 10 Home OS gives you much to consider in terms of it being used as a highly mobile mini-PC with a bluetooth or onscreen keyboard. MS Word, Excel, OneNote, etc. are available for free in full mobile versions capable of content creation from the Windows App Store, you can run whatever video or movie player you like for Win 10 -I use KODI because you can jack up the volume pre-amplification and still get pretty decent sound out of the built-in speakers, although they are positioned for portrait mode, not landscape. Much louder than VLC, etc. TTS is available, etc. Comic & PDF readers can be had for free. Standard 1/8" headphone jack. I'm adding a link for information purposes. I hope no one takes offense. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/stor...t/8pqxt2zn12td These little buggers are hard to beat for the money. If you must have Android and can live with a decent IPS display, Nuvision may have an Android version. These are worth a look and a decent alternative. Not, however, an e-ink device. Best of luck! Last edited by TechniSol; 08-15-2017 at 12:43 AM.