Best solution?

[Chris Jones]

I have used a Kobo Glo' for 2 years and I'm getting to the point where the battery is on its last knees (I need to charge it every night).

I will be looking into buying another device pretty soon.

I am not keen on buying another e-ink device because the screen's lack of contrast hurts my eyes. This gets really painful when I try to read more than an hour or so... a problem I have never encountered with computer screens.

Another problem with buying another e-reader: when you live in the U.S. the only option is the Amazon Kindle series.. And they don't support the epub format.

Library management already takes up enough of my time and I see no reason for adding in conversions of epub's to the kindle format.

I would be grateful for any advice from folks who have given up on e-readers and have had a better experience with other devices.

Main requirements:

- LCD screen
- Quality e-reading software
- Decent dictionaries!
- Capable processor (a major problem with e-readers)
- Minimum 16GB storage
- Reasonably light..
- 200 ppi screen or better
- Price range: $200.00-$300.00

For reasons I will not go into I am not interested in Apple or Microsoft products.

Thanks,

CJ

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Chris Jones

Another problem with buying another e-reader: when you live in the U.S. the only option is the Amazon Kindle series.. And they don't support the epub format.

Other options include Nook, Kobo, Onyx Boox, but anyway...

For reasons I will not go into I am not interested in Apple or Microsoft products.

Which pretty much leaves you with an Android tablet as there aren't really any modern LCD "eReaders" that aren't tablets. Are you looking for a smaller 7"ish device? If so a 2013 Nexus 7 might be a good choice and a good deal ($165 on Amazon). From there you'll need to try some reading apps (Mantano, Moon+ Pro, PocketBook, etc.) and possibly Calibre Companion (if you use Calibre for library management) to see what works for you.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Chris Jones

Main requirements:

- LCD screen
- Quality e-reading software
- Decent dictionaries!
- Capable processor (a major problem with e-readers)
- Minimum 16GB storage
- Reasonably light..
- 200 ppi screen or better
- Price range: $200.00-$300.00

If you're happy with Kobo, you might consider their Kobo Arc 7HD, which is currently on sale for $110 (originally $200). It has 16 GB of RAM, a 323 ppi screen (1920 x 1200), a quad-core (1.7 Ghz) CPU and Android 4.2 (not sure if it can be updated or not). It weighs 341 grams (about 12 ounces). I can't vouch for the Arc personally, but it seems to be a pretty good deal.

https://www.kobo.com/kobo-arc7hd.html

[HarryT]

I'd suggest looking at the Nexus 7. Excellent Android tablet which will allow you to install whatever reading app you wish. Lots of good ePub reading apps out there.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Chris Jones

I am not keen on buying another e-ink device because the screen's lack of contrast hurts my eyes. This gets really painful when I try to read more than an hour or so... a problem I have never encountered with computer screens.

You may or may not wish to first just check out a Kobo H2O or Kobo Glo HD (when it comes out) for the newer Carta screen and frontlight tech - there's a significant improvement in contrast.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by meeera

You may or may not wish to first just check out a Kobo H2O or Kobo Glo HD (when it comes out) for the newer Carta screen and frontlight tech - there's a significant improvement in contrast.

A 50% improvement, to be specific (eInk's own figures).

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by Chris Jones

I am not keen on buying another e-ink device because the screen's lack of contrast hurts my eyes. This gets really painful when I try to read more than an hour or so... a problem I have never encountered with computer screens.

CJ

Have you tried adding your own preferred font to the Glo and see if that helps? What I used to do before the Glo was to add my own fonts, but use only the bolder versions of the font, renaming them as regular and regular italics which tricked the readers into rendering bold text.

But the settings on the Glo for me solved my problem by adjusting the weight to max on the Advanced font settings. The Glo is comfortable for me out of the box in fact, whereas something like the Kindle PW isn't because you can't add your own fonts and there's very limited adjustments you can make on the PW.

I'd hate to have to give up the long battery life of ereaders and go back to an LCD screen.

[Chris Jones]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Other options include Nook, Kobo, Onyx Boox, but anyway...





Which pretty much leaves you with an Android tablet as there aren't really any modern LCD "eReaders" that aren't tablets. Are you looking for a smaller 7"ish device? If so a 2013 Nexus 7 might be a good choice and a good deal ($165 on Amazon). From there you'll need to try some reading apps (Mantano, Moon+ Pro, PocketBook, etc.) and possibly Calibre Companion (if you use Calibre for library management) to see what works for you.

Nook look like they're pretty much dead in the water... Just one cheap rather antiquated model and it doesn't sound like they'll come up with new stuff any time soon. Wouldn't bother me per se... but will they still be around six months from now?

As to Kobo, it looks like they do not have any outlets and you basically need to order their products from Canada... or hunt down an Indie book store less than 500 miles from where I live :-)

If something goes wrong with the product such as dead on arrival or whatever... I suspect I'm in for a lot of headaches. Not really worth it especially for products in this price range.

As to Onyx Boox, I wasn't aware of their existence... and the only site I found that sells them has the prices in euros... So same difference with Kobo.. and some, probably.

As to the remainder of your post, it confirms opinions I'd read in the past from frequent e-book readers who were very happy with the Nexus 7.2 (2013). Another gentleman (Harry) also recommends it in this same thread.

As a result... I have just ordered one - only $200 with tax & next-day delivery.

I was a little hesitant switching from an e-reader to a tablet but what possibly tipped the scales in favor of this particular model and made me place the order without further ado was the aspect ratio of the screen. I might have been tempted by their newer and considerably pricier Nexus 6 (a phone rather than a tablet) ... but its 16:9 ratio with projected use in vertical portrait mode (especially with such a small screen) is a no-no where I am concerned.

Since I only plan to use the device as a night time bedside companion I am not concerned with battery life... I have to charge my old Kobo every night anyway. I am more worried about the battery dying out on me before the device become obsolete.

The only aspects I am unsure about are the quality of the fonts (the Chrome web browser does a horrible job of font rasterization - on linux at least) ... and the availability of good quality foreign language dictionaries. I suspect that the huge size of the Android market makes it more likely that such dictionaries are available... even if I have to pay extra...

Generally speaking the current popularity of Android should guarantee I'll be able to find answers to most problems I run into more easily than would be the case with other, more exotic environments.

Forgive me for not replying individually to all useful & positive answers..

Thanks to all for your replies!

CJ

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Chris Jones

As to the remainder of your post, it confirms opinions I'd read in the past from frequent e-book readers who were very happy with the Nexus 7.2 (2013). Another gentleman (Harry) also recommends it in this same thread.

As a result... I have just ordered one - only $200 with tax & next-day delivery.

I was a little hesitant switching from an e-reader to a tablet but what possibly tipped the scales in favor of this particular model and made me place the order without further ado was the aspect ratio of the screen. I might have been tempted by their newer and considerably pricier Nexus 6 (a phone rather than a tablet) ... but its 16:9 ratio with projected use in vertical portrait mode (especially with such a small screen) is a no-no where I am concerned.

I hope you'll be happy with the Nexus 7. I like mine a lot, although I don't use it much as a reader. Permit me to point out, though, that like most Android tablets, the N7 has a 16:10 aspect ratio screen. It's not 4:3, like the iPad and most eInk devices are.

[cybmole]

That's actually closer to paperback ratio 7:4 if I recall correctly. Looked it up during an old debate on real book aspect ratios

[Chris Jones]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I hope you'll be happy with the Nexus 7. I like mine a lot, although I don't use it much as a reader. Permit me to point out, though, that like most Android tablets, the N7 has a 16:10 aspect ratio screen. It's not 4:3, like the iPad and most eInk devices are.

All the same a 16:10 screen does allow you to display a 4:3 page that's roughly 23-24% larger than the "same size" (1920x1200 vs. 1920x1080, e.g.) 16:9 screen.

A quick way to visualize the experience beforehand is to use the Gimp or other to create 1200x1920 canvas with a black background and a 1200x1600 canvas with a white background... copy paste the latter on top of the former... repeat with 1080x1920 & 1080x1440 canvasses & compare.

The difference is quite significant.

Of course, I have no idea if an android application will let me adjust the page size to my 4:3 or thereabout preferences. But if it does not... I would still rather be looking at 10:16 than 9:16 pages.

I just measured a Foundation novel paperback published by Bantam Books that looks a bit "on the narrow side".. and it turns out it's roughly 10x17 centimeters...

Come to think of it... one thing that does bother me now is antialiasing. Hopefully with a 300+ ppi resolution, the Nexus does not use that stuff... or if it does... there is a way to disable it for text displayed at small (8pts or so) font sizes. On a linux desktop it's a 3-line rule that I add to my ~/.fontconfig file... If it's not... well... sounds like I've just thrown two hundred bucks out the window...

CJ

[Raijin]

I'm kinda in a similar situation. I'm not sold on e-ink readers. But i dont like lcd screens either. Then I read that oled screens have better black and conserves energy better, but e-ink batteries still lasts longer. So an oled tablet with 4:3 aspect ratio would be perfect for me. But then oled screen tablets are rare and 4:3 doesn't even exist.

Right now I have an oled tablet in 16:10. In batterie saving mode and only reading, it lasts me about a week. And I put an anti glare protection, so it almost rivals an e-ink reader with more flexibility. It just needs to be in 4:3.

[cybmole]

With LCD and reader apps, you can select non white backgrounds that are easy on the eyes, and can dim screen as needed. I read comfortably on kindle fire, with a sepia page colour . Some folks use white on black for night time reading.
You don't get any anti aliasing issues 300 pip retina display quality text!

[cybmole]

Ps you can set horizontal and vertical margins in some reader apps in order to emulate preferred aspect ratio for text areas

[Raijin]

I recommend Nokia N1, 4:3 ratio display, weight 318g, 32 GB, 324 ppi, Android 5, same build quality like Ipad.
It will cost about 300$ when it is released, they only released in China for 250.

Another good one seems Jolla tablet. Also 4:3, 384g, 32gb+sd card slot, 330ppi, 64bit, runs it's own Linux based os Sailfish but can also run Android. Can be preordered for only 250$, since it is a Kickstarter project.

Or Xiaomi mi pad which was released last summer. Tegra k1 fastest processor, 4:3, 360g, 16/64gb+sd card, 324 ppi, 6700mAh best batterie life for mid sized tablets, but has a cheap plastic backcover. Around 200-300 depending storage and only imported it seems.

They all have same size, screen quality like Ipad mini. My favourite would be the Nokia N1. It's the lightest, great build and still better price than Ipad. But you can't buy it yet

There are other noname Chinese tablets which have similar specs and cheaper. But they all seem unreliable, like poor batterie, slow data transfer, random crash, bad support.