Thread: Something non-Amazon like Kindle Paperwhite
View Single Post
Old 06-12-2018, 07:31 PM   #9
davidfor
Grand Sorcerer
davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.davidfor ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 24,905
Karma: 47303824
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia
Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridcully View Post
I'm looking for a new ereader as my Kindle 7th gen is starting to get e-ink "pockmarks" and I want something I can read in the dark.

I really like Kindle's collections, dictionaries and the bookmark/note taking feature, these are really things I wouldn't want to go without. I'm also a big fan of the touch screen, although I do wish it could be turned off while reading, reading with the touch screen while lying in bed can get tiring -- I loved the side buttons on old kindles for this reason, although they would fail within a couple of years.

I want weak backlighting and I'd like the ability to turn it off to save the battery. The Paperwhite lighting looks pretty good for that reason, but I'm wary of buying from Amazon again, because the build quality is meh and I want to get rid of Amazon's snooping. Also, Kindle's sidecar files are worthless for backup. I can't figure out how to read them, and when I restore them after a factory reset, the Kindle doesn't recognize them anymore.

So, anything that fits the bill, hopefully at or below Paperwhite's price? (My main priorities are lighting and dictionaries)
With that last statement, the device that fits you best is the Paperwhite. The dictionary is the killer. As far as I can tell, the Kindles have the best dictionary of the dedicated ereader devices.

Otherwise, the new Kobo Clara HD probably hits the mark. The light appears to be good and can be turned off. The dictionary is a weakness in all Kobo devices. They have decided on a smallish Merrriam-Webster dictionary. I completely disagree with @mobama about the software. I run the stock Kobo firmware (no patches, but a couple of not-officially released features turned on) and am very happy with it. Could they improve it? yes, but calling it a "disaster" is absurd. But, I suspect that if you have a problem with the sidecar files on a Kindle, you won't be happy with a Kobo. The only thing I know that is in the sidecar files is the annotations and Kobo doesn't really support exporting their annotations. There are methods, but none are aimed at restoring them later. But, again, this can be done with a little fiddling. An advantage for the Kobo is it probably has the best integration with calibre of any device (note: maintain the KoboTouch driver and a plugin that adds a lot of function).

The only other ereader I have good knowledge on is the tolino. I don't know which of their devices is the closest to the Paperwhite, but I have the 7.8" tolino epos. It is a very nice device, but I find the firmware lacking compared to the Kobo. Features I use constantly on my Kobos are missing on the tolino. From memory, the dictionary is some free dictionary (WikiDictionary maybe). I don't know if it is any better than the Kobo dictionary. For backup of anything purposes, there isn't anything on accessible parts of the drive that would be useful to backup.
davidfor is offline   Reply With Quote