Quote:
Originally Posted by kacir
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.
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.
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I guess you're right, I'm expecting too much from an e-ink device...
Nonetheless, I'm still not sure whether Android is better for an e-ink reader than non-Android operating sytems (open linux with terminal would be satisfying too, but that's just a dream). Especially Kobo devices seem to be very hackable, and their are instructions on how to install Android on a SD to dual-boot it. And, obviously, non-Android devices (or devices not specified running full Android without rooting or flashing) are
a lot cheaper, often half the price of comparable Android readers.
The YotaPhone you mentioned would be a great deal, but the YotaPhone 2 is sold out anywhere and the YotaPhone 3 has a 450$ price tag.
Both Tolino and Kobo readers are able to run full Android, and both have devices sub 160$. Kobo seems to be even a bit more hackable, e.g. you can run Debian on it or other alternative operating systems while keeping the original Kobo OS in the internal storage.
The more information I got, the harder the decision gets...
