TLDR The battery on my Libra 2 seems to have started to get worse lately and as it's been 4 years since I bought it, I've been wondering what other options might be available as a replacement, if I ever need to.
I'm not married to any particular company, so I'm willing to consider any and all options as long as they meet my non-negotiable needs, but Libra 2 is my current baseline. I use my reader pretty much exclusively for reading -- primarily novels, sometimes manga, very occasionally pdf files. Here's what I'm looking for...
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The non-negotiables:
* waterproofing
I often read in bath and have been caught in rain, so any waterproofing that protects against an accidental brief submersion will suffice.
* sideloading
I have a huge collection of books and I like to keep them on my person for quick reference. Also willing to consider jailbreaking, if that's what it takes.
* minimum of 16GB memory
My collection is actually far larger than that due to several large files, but I can squeeze it down to that level, if necessary.
* price less than 400$
This is the maximum limit I'm willing to consider, though I'd really like to have something more in the 200-300$ range
The wanted features:
* buttons for page turning
I can manage with a touch screen only, but found that I really prefer some physical buttons for additional grip and ease of page turning.
* custom dictionaries
The more possibilities to add/convert my own the better.
* sunken IR-screen
Just a personal preference.
* no glossy surfaces
My first reader had glossy bevels and they were constantly full of fingerprints as a result.
* 7" size
I found this is the size I'm most comfortable with, but I don't mind going an inch above or below it.
* weight around 215g / 7.6oz
Libra 2 weight is quite comfortable for me, so anything near or under that would be ideal, but weight itself is not a dealbreaker.
Don't care much about:
* colour
More of a curiosity than a feature for me and I care about the text quality far more.
* audio
Don't want to use anything that eats the battery and other devices are better suited for it.
* note taking
Same battery concerns and I have some very nice gel-ink pens, so unless there's a stylus that feels better on a screen than a gel-ink pen feels on paper, I'm not interested.
* adjustable color temperature
Tried out the comfortlight on Libra for a while and didn't feel it made any difference whatsoever.
* Dropbox / Google Drive
As long as I can get my books on the device somehow, I don't care.
* library access
Don't have any libraries near me, so not applicable.
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Currently, if I were to continue with Kobo, here are the options I've considered so far based on the above criteria.
Option 1: Kobo Libra Colour
This seems like the most likely candidate for an upgrade, being lighter and having more battery capacity, better CPU, and more RAM. However, the screen quality is a concern to me. What attracted me to e-ink in the first place was the paper-like quality of the screens and Libra Colour seems like a step backwards from what I can see in videos and pictures compared to Libra 2.
Option 2: Kobo Sage
This seems like more of a sidegrade to me. From the features I want, the only advantage it seems to have is the larger screen size, which would make for a more comfortable manga reading experience. However, I primarily read manga on paper or from the computer screen, so it has limited use to me. I'm a bit concerned about the lower battery capacity, though I'm unsure how much difference it would actually make in practice.
Option 3: Kobo Clara BW
The main feature I would even consider it for is the seemingly better quality screen. However, the smaller screen, no auto-rotate, and lack of buttons combined make it seem more of a downgrade for me overall.
Option 4: Pocketbook Era
With less memory and flush screen, this seems like a straight up downgrade for my purposes.
If anyone has any other suggestions for a reader or any insights about the above devices compared to Libra 2, I'd sure like to hear it. I'm a bit dismayed at the seeming lack of viable options, but as long as I have a working device, I can at least wait and hold on for a while longer.