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Quoth · 03-03-2018, 11:31 AM

A slim majority of eBooks are read on phones, because they are convenient, fit pocket etc, can be used in a free few minutes.
I mostly read at home and often part of the day and night, sometimes to the early hours. I have various tablets, an LCD eReader and various eInk.
The eInk screens are very expensive, so decent ereaders are maybe twice the price of an LCD tablet that can do many tasks.
The eInk is a niche. I do know nine people with them. One mostly reads paper. Number of books is 100s to 1000s.
Some people I know only read eBooks on the phone.
I have over 1000 books on my Kindle DXG and about 1200+ on my Kobo Aura H20. Doesn't make either slow. My Android Tablet is slower to load as is my phone (5 years old). My Win10 folio keyboard Tablet is slower. Slowest is the Binatone LCD eReader (about 8 years old), but usable.

I use Calibre on Linux to manage everything. The majority of books are classics from Gutenberg. Twenty three are my own novels (Kobo annotation is best). Some are bought. My wife & daughter buy the most eBooks.

Different people have different preferences and reading situations. Not everyone feels a decent eInk is worth the money.
eInk 6" and larger with 200 dpi to 300dpi screens with touch and annotation are much closer to reading on paper than LCD or OLED. Also up to x10 battery life. But a good enough LCD tablet for web, games, YouTube, eReader (7" 800 x 480) is about £37. Decent eReader is £80 to £250 and is only really useful for reading eBooks (not usually PDFs).
I worry that Amazon's predatory nature will kill of all not-Kindles. Being a big USA company, an internet version of Mail Order, NOT a Tech Company, they might get a monopoly and one day kill the eInk format.

Choice is good. Amazon doesn't like it. KDP Select, Amazon Prime and Kindle DRM destroy choice. Already Amazon has three different families of eBook formats. Two do not work on eInk readers (well, I'm not sure about Oasis or Voyager), only on Apps*. Some Amazon books only download to Kindles or tablet Apps, but curiously not available for the PC app.
[* The Kindle Fire, now called just Fire is a crippled version of Android for Amazon lock in instead of Apple, Google or MS lock-in. A cheap Android tablet will take Amazon Kindle App and be more "open" and as good for reading]

So eInk eReaders have probably peaked. Dedicated LCD eReaders are dead: Phones and Tablets. The eInk is niche loved by some and incomprehensible to others.
Obviously heavy home readers may prefer eInk, but many avid readers are happy with phones.

03-03-2018, 11:31 AM	#163
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,292 Karma: 105299897 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	A slim majority of eBooks are read on phones, because they are convenient, fit pocket etc, can be used in a free few minutes. I mostly read at home and often part of the day and night, sometimes to the early hours. I have various tablets, an LCD eReader and various eInk. The eInk screens are very expensive, so decent ereaders are maybe twice the price of an LCD tablet that can do many tasks. The eInk is a niche. I do know nine people with them. One mostly reads paper. Number of books is 100s to 1000s. Some people I know only read eBooks on the phone. I have over 1000 books on my Kindle DXG and about 1200+ on my Kobo Aura H20. Doesn't make either slow. My Android Tablet is slower to load as is my phone (5 years old). My Win10 folio keyboard Tablet is slower. Slowest is the Binatone LCD eReader (about 8 years old), but usable. I use Calibre on Linux to manage everything. The majority of books are classics from Gutenberg. Twenty three are my own novels (Kobo annotation is best). Some are bought. My wife & daughter buy the most eBooks. Different people have different preferences and reading situations. Not everyone feels a decent eInk is worth the money. eInk 6" and larger with 200 dpi to 300dpi screens with touch and annotation are much closer to reading on paper than LCD or OLED. Also up to x10 battery life. But a good enough LCD tablet for web, games, YouTube, eReader (7" 800 x 480) is about £37. Decent eReader is £80 to £250 and is only really useful for reading eBooks (not usually PDFs). I worry that Amazon's predatory nature will kill of all not-Kindles. Being a big USA company, an internet version of Mail Order, NOT a Tech Company, they might get a monopoly and one day kill the eInk format. Choice is good. Amazon doesn't like it. KDP Select, Amazon Prime and Kindle DRM destroy choice. Already Amazon has three different families of eBook formats. Two do not work on eInk readers (well, I'm not sure about Oasis or Voyager), only on Apps. Some Amazon books only download to Kindles or tablet Apps, but curiously not available for the PC app. [ The Kindle Fire, now called just Fire is a crippled version of Android for Amazon lock in instead of Apple, Google or MS lock-in. A cheap Android tablet will take Amazon Kindle App and be more "open" and as good for reading] So eInk eReaders have probably peaked. Dedicated LCD eReaders are dead: Phones and Tablets. The eInk is niche loved by some and incomprehensible to others. Obviously heavy home readers may prefer eInk, but many avid readers are happy with phones. Last edited by Quoth; 03-03-2018 at 11:37 AM.