Thank you all a lot for your answers, this is helping me narrow it down a lot! I am getting the overall impression that Kobos are a good idea for my usecase and situation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by davidfor
@BlauMond: When I see posts like this, I always wonder why "hackable" is important. And in your case, why it seems to be the most important thing. So:
Why does it have to be hackable? What do you want to do with it that it needs to be hackable?
|
Besides just wanting to read things, I am also interested in exploring the capabilities of a handheld e-ink device. Specifically, I want to attempt to write applications that work well with e-ink screens and perhaps see some things that others have made. So this for me is kind of an experimentation device
Quote:
|
You mention calibre, so you do intend to use it for reading. But, it almost seems to be a secondary consideration. Are you planning to use it for something else? Exactly what your plans are might affect the device suggested. If it is just to run other existing apps, then you probably want an Android based device. If you just wanted a command line, then a Linux based devices would be the choice.
|
I would like to mess around and am more comfortable with Linux than Android, so that is part of the reason why I am gravitating towards a Linux-based device.
Quote:
|
For the best hackability, you might want to look at devices with a removable internal SD card. That make it easier to recover from "mistakes". The only current availably devices I know of with this are the Kobo Clara HD and Kobo Nia, and the equivalent tolino devices (same hardware, different software). You should be able to find older Kobo devices such as the Glo HD, Aura H2O (6.8" and waterproof but you would need to break that to get to the card) and the Aura Edition 2. And while these had good battery life, the batteries could be aging and have reduced life. The Kobo devices are Linux based while the tolino's are Android. There is a lot of discussion on hacking the Kobo devices in the forum here.
|
The SD card is a fantastic point! And thank you for naming so many examples! I will look into battery replaceability too, I am not too scared to open a device up, though I don't have soldering experience yet.
Quote:
|
As to the last two requirements, I think you will be out of luck. People only sell their devices after using the three wishes. Though I think a common third wish is to get a good price. I haven't heard of a device with fairy dust. Do you mean the magic blue smoke that a lot of electrical devices contain?
|
Damn, I did not think of that, bummer. And I guess I'll have to settle for blue smoke
