Disclaimer:
DO NOT EXPECT your Android-based e-ink reader to be anything like an Android tablet (or a very large phone) just with an e-ink screen.
A few months ago we had a discussion here about Linux based e-ink reader and HarryT called such a reader a dancing bear. You see, with a dancing bear you can't expect that it will dance gracefully or well, it is a miracle that it can dance at all.
The only useful feature of Android for me is that I can select from a [very] limited number of e-book apps and select the one that sucks the least. I owned several [hacked] Android-based devices and all of them were severely limited. Limited, among *many* other things, by an e-ink display that has refresh frequency 1Hz. Even the majority of e-book reading apps are not suited for a device without physical buttons [that many e-ink readers lack] and without an LCD screen.
With many e-book programs you will not even be able to set the front-light to a minimum level, because for an LCD display there is a cut-off level of about 15-20% and you can't go lower than that, so an e-book reading app (for example Coolreader) will cheat and will start mixing black to the white background when you reach 20% backlight level to simulate a low-level backlight. This works very well with an LCD display, but it is a disaster on an e-ink screen. For my device even 15% level front-light is painfully bright for me. I keep mine at 1%. Fortunately with some apps you can set "use system brightness level" and set the front-light elsewhere, or choose an "e-ink" option somewhere and get a high-contrast UI and better control over front-light. There are other limitations. The default setting for all apps is to have lots of animations (even when you choose said "e-ink" option in settings), menus with pastel backgrounds, textured "paper" or "parchment" - like background for text in a book.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ars
However, all Android readers differ some problems: Some devices have just 512MB RAM (which is very low), others seem to suffer display stability (e.g. Onyx C67ML), and some are relinquishing hardware buttons for page turning and suffer providing accurate on-touch solutions (at least according to some reviews, especially for the Boyue Paper / Likebook Plus).
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Yes, see my rant above ;-).
By the way, 512MB is plenty for an e-book app and I wouldn't expect to use more demanding ones ;-). (I am just trying to lessen your disappointment once you receive your reader and try some stuff)
I also have a YotaPhone 2, and I very rarely use "normal" apps on an e-ink side of the phone. Mostly when I am showing it off ;-)
When I am using my YotaPhone 2 and when I have it flipped to an e-ink side I am using YotaReader (an e-book app) 95%+ of the time. I tried other e-book reading apps, with more configuration options for rendering text and control and I have always returned to the YotaReader. It sucks the least.
By the way ... there is YotaPhone 3 available, and they pulled the "mirror the main screen to e-ink" feature from this model.
My golden standard for an e-ink reader with good options for rendering text in a book, user interface, and other e-book-centric features is PocketBook 360°.
I was spoiled rotten with all the options, features and device ergonomy the legendary PB360° had and I have been looking for a worthy replacement ever since. I am *still* not fully satisfied, 6 devices later.