MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Looking for a reasonably private e-reader / note taker

hurikanc · 01-05-2021, 07:03 AM

Hello, I just recently tamed my smartphone somewhat by hindering ~most of its tracking features, started turning it off a lot and leaving it at home.
Now I'd like an e-reader that would not reintroduce all the spying features.

I will only read documents/books without DRM, probably PDFs and EPUBs and will not use any subscription/library service with it.
It would be nice if I could write down a thought on it and manage it all easily over USB.
I will not be connecting wirelessly.

I'm hoping my needs are fairly reasonable. Please point me in the right direction. Thank you!

Budget up to 200 €, but I'm flexible, see below.

--

My weighted priority list:
(bigger number = proportionally more important)

weight 100 - Not LCD: A must. E-paper-like only (easy to read).

weight 100 - Can be used “offline”: A must. No way I that I’d not be able to use it without internet access.

weight 100 - No phoning home or it can be disabled:
This is a must. I’m OK with having to disable “the feature”, by switching something off in a menu or a “confirmed/working” community hack if the choice is respected.
Do we have any evidence / suspicion these devices try to to phone home even if the wi-fi / bluetooth is set to off? For example, not respecting user’s choice and secretly searching for open, public networks to gain a connection, force the user to “log-in” every once in a while to continue using it or constantly resetting the “wireless off” decision? That would absolutely be unacceptable for me, but I’m OK with it if I can choose my preference.

weight 60 - Has good support for common formats: at least PDF, EPUB, some sort of plain text.
Does reading PDF’s require a big screen? I saw some comments regarding this in other threads. I think PDFs will be common in my use case.

weight 40 - Has good battery life: If the battery time is around 8h for 50% brightness usage (as I've heard), I'm OK with it.

weight 40 – Has note taking: I'm OK wit it having only "on screen keyboard" as long as notes are in a plain text-like format and easily transferable to a computer via USB. A "markdown"-like format would be a big plus.

What would my budget need to be to have a enjoyable "sketch" note taking support / wacom layer? Does that mean that handwriting (non cursive being acceptable) can be converted "on device" to letter characters/font in a non proprietary format? Does it work even if the language of the note is not English or is it heavily reliant on a dictionary (being confused if word is not found in dictionary)? If all that works fine I think I might consider going up to 350€-ish. But firstly I want a good reader, and onscreen keyboard note taking is acceptable if in a plain text format.

weight 30 - Has lit display: I’d like to have it, but I’d sacrifice it if my other requests can be met without it.

weight 20 - Has no Bluetooth:
I’m OK with it being present as long as “Phoning home can be disabled” is satisfied.

weight 10 - Has no Wi-Fi:
I’m OK with it being present as long as “Phoning home can be disabled” is satisfied.

weight 10 - Has no first time registration:
I’m OK with it needing a registration as long as it’s a one time thing and the info can be faked (temporary email address etc), not tied to my purchase address...

weight 10 - Should not be super slow to use: Up to 1 second to display a page is OK, up to 10s to opena a reasonably sized document.

weight 5 - Not having Android:
I have nothing against Android as long it is not phoning home.
How hard/easy is on these ereader Android devices to check if google services are installed? Can these devices be connected via adb and services/apps disabled?
If there's a device with a "community" software / mod / project for it - it would be welcome.

weight 1 - Has SD card support: Nice to have, but I've already seen not many include that.

Thank you very much for the help and your precious time!

01-05-2021, 07:03 AM	#1
hurikanc Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2021 Device: none	Looking for a reasonably private e-reader / note taker Hello, I just recently tamed my smartphone somewhat by hindering ~most of its tracking features, started turning it off a lot and leaving it at home. Now I'd like an e-reader that would not reintroduce all the spying features. I will only read documents/books without DRM, probably PDFs and EPUBs and will not use any subscription/library service with it. It would be nice if I could write down a thought on it and manage it all easily over USB. I will not be connecting wirelessly. I'm hoping my needs are fairly reasonable. Please point me in the right direction. Thank you! Budget up to 200 €, but I'm flexible, see below. -- My weighted priority list: (bigger number = proportionally more important) weight 100 - Not LCD: A must. E-paper-like only (easy to read). weight 100 - Can be used “offline”: A must. No way I that I’d not be able to use it without internet access. weight 100 - No phoning home or it can be disabled: This is a must. I’m OK with having to disable “the feature”, by switching something off in a menu or a “confirmed/working” community hack if the choice is respected. Do we have any evidence / suspicion these devices try to to phone home even if the wi-fi / bluetooth is set to off? For example, not respecting user’s choice and secretly searching for open, public networks to gain a connection, force the user to “log-in” every once in a while to continue using it or constantly resetting the “wireless off” decision? That would absolutely be unacceptable for me, but I’m OK with it if I can choose my preference. weight 60 - Has good support for common formats: at least PDF, EPUB, some sort of plain text. Does reading PDF’s require a big screen? I saw some comments regarding this in other threads. I think PDFs will be common in my use case. weight 40 - Has good battery life: If the battery time is around 8h for 50% brightness usage (as I've heard), I'm OK with it. weight 40 – Has note taking: I'm OK wit it having only "on screen keyboard" as long as notes are in a plain text-like format and easily transferable to a computer via USB. A "markdown"-like format would be a big plus. What would my budget need to be to have a enjoyable "sketch" note taking support / wacom layer? Does that mean that handwriting (non cursive being acceptable) can be converted "on device" to letter characters/font in a non proprietary format? Does it work even if the language of the note is not English or is it heavily reliant on a dictionary (being confused if word is not found in dictionary)? If all that works fine I think I might consider going up to 350€-ish. But firstly I want a good reader, and onscreen keyboard note taking is acceptable if in a plain text format. weight 30 - Has lit display: I’d like to have it, but I’d sacrifice it if my other requests can be met without it. weight 20 - Has no Bluetooth: I’m OK with it being present as long as “Phoning home can be disabled” is satisfied. weight 10 - Has no Wi-Fi: I’m OK with it being present as long as “Phoning home can be disabled” is satisfied. weight 10 - Has no first time registration: I’m OK with it needing a registration as long as it’s a one time thing and the info can be faked (temporary email address etc), not tied to my purchase address... weight 10 - Should not be super slow to use: Up to 1 second to display a page is OK, up to 10s to opena a reasonably sized document. weight 5 - Not having Android: I have nothing against Android as long it is not phoning home. How hard/easy is on these ereader Android devices to check if google services are installed? Can these devices be connected via adb and services/apps disabled? If there's a device with a "community" software / mod / project for it - it would be welcome. weight 1 - Has SD card support: Nice to have, but I've already seen not many include that. Thank you very much for the help and your precious time!