MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - A5-sized PDF device with buttons

Quoth · 08-27-2026, 04:33 AM

I've tried many eink ereaders and tablets.
A5 is far too small.

Kindle DXG (9.7), Likebook Mars (7.8″), Elipsa (10.3), Sage(8), reMarkable (10.3). The Sage is best of those, though only 8" because the others are lower pixel count!
I gave away the reMarkable & the Elipsa, but the reMarkable returned when the owner got a Sage.

The only models I found that were good:
TCL Nxtpaper 11 (10.9″). Pro: SD Card slot maybe 1T, good for notes. Con: Not quite big enough for magazine PDFs and two page spread illustrated books, or proofing PDF novels for print (needs 2 page spread).
TCL Nxtpaper 14 (14.25″). Pro: perfect for PDFs and two page spread. Con: no SD card slot! Too heavy for handwritten notes.

Neither has headphone socket. BT or USB keyboard or Audio works fine. Total Commander + SMB plugin over WiFi is the fastest file transfer. Pocketbook App gives Wireless access to Calibre Server. Pocketbbook app good for PDFs and uses volume keys to turn pages. Don't use default settings. Some PDF apps don't do page order correct on a 2 page layout. For LtoR text the 1st page must be on the right and left empty.

The MyWrite Nebo (maybe renamed?) or other handwriting to text is terrible on eink, but fine on the Nxtpaper and the Android/iOS versions have far more features inc PDF (missing on Sage & Elipsa).

They are highly polarised, so though they are bright enough outside, polarising sunglasses may not work. The default settings and "eink simulations" are all poor. Better is sRGB mode and manual colour balance. Fixed brightness to match ambient on paper indoors and only use Auto outside.

The Kindle Scribe is "locked into" Amazon servers, so it crippled without losing privacy/security of the documents. Also Amazon wants you to use fixed layout KFX rather than PDF. I've a Paperwhite 3 (better than DXG for PDFs!) and had an Oasis 2. I'd not buy any Kindle now though bought them in the past.

Kobo only has some refurbished Sage in some countries.

Edit: Meebook has replaced Likebook.
Some SD Card slots only take up to 32G.

The TCL pro models not worth the extra.

08-27-2026, 04:33 AM	#3
Quoth Still reading Posts: 15,665 Karma: 114630515 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	I've tried many eink ereaders and tablets. A5 is far too small. Kindle DXG (9.7), Likebook Mars (7.8″), Elipsa (10.3), Sage(8), reMarkable (10.3). The Sage is best of those, though only 8" because the others are lower pixel count! I gave away the reMarkable & the Elipsa, but the reMarkable returned when the owner got a Sage. The only models I found that were good: TCL Nxtpaper 11 (10.9″). Pro: SD Card slot maybe 1T, good for notes. Con: Not quite big enough for magazine PDFs and two page spread illustrated books, or proofing PDF novels for print (needs 2 page spread). TCL Nxtpaper 14 (14.25″). Pro: perfect for PDFs and two page spread. Con: no SD card slot! Too heavy for handwritten notes. Neither has headphone socket. BT or USB keyboard or Audio works fine. Total Commander + SMB plugin over WiFi is the fastest file transfer. Pocketbook App gives Wireless access to Calibre Server. Pocketbbook app good for PDFs and uses volume keys to turn pages. Don't use default settings. Some PDF apps don't do page order correct on a 2 page layout. For LtoR text the 1st page must be on the right and left empty. The MyWrite Nebo (maybe renamed?) or other handwriting to text is terrible on eink, but fine on the Nxtpaper and the Android/iOS versions have far more features inc PDF (missing on Sage & Elipsa). They are highly polarised, so though they are bright enough outside, polarising sunglasses may not work. The default settings and "eink simulations" are all poor. Better is sRGB mode and manual colour balance. Fixed brightness to match ambient on paper indoors and only use Auto outside. The Kindle Scribe is "locked into" Amazon servers, so it crippled without losing privacy/security of the documents. Also Amazon wants you to use fixed layout KFX rather than PDF. I've a Paperwhite 3 (better than DXG for PDFs!) and had an Oasis 2. I'd not buy any Kindle now though bought them in the past. Kobo only has some refurbished Sage in some countries. Edit: Meebook has replaced Likebook. Some SD Card slots only take up to 32G. The TCL pro models not worth the extra. Last edited by Quoth; 08-27-2026 at 04:46 AM.