Undecided on first ereader (Kobo H2O, PocketBook Touch HD, and others)

[the_need_to_read]

Hi,

I've never had an ereader before nor did I knew much about them. Did some reading on the forum and also checked some youtube videos. But I'm still undecided as it looks my "ideal" ereader doesn't exist.


So this is my list of requirements:

**implicit** (AFAIK this is standard with all ereaders, just making sure I don't get surprises)
- be able to read under direct sunlight
- frontlight

**required**
- 01) able to highlight and annotate ePub and PDFs, and either 1) export those notes to txt/html/json or 2) save them in the ebook file itself (which would then be extracted). This should work well. On some ereaders (eg: InkBook Prime) you are unable to adjust the start and end points, it's a get it right or try again thing. Ideally the highlight should be an highlight, not an underline (eg: Kobo H2O). If the device is an Android I guess that would offer an instant fix to this.
- 02) access to internal storage. Either 1) via USB, but ideally 2) via telnet/ssh (which I suspect would be a lot faster than USB 2 and more convenient). Less of problem if it has support for external SD card.
- 03) portable enough to fit in my shoulder bag, so under 7''

**highly desirable**
- 04) audio with 3.5 headphone jack (bluetooth would be the alternative, but not ideal). I'd be able to listen to some ambience music or the audiobook while reading the book.
- 05) water and sand proof, as I will be doing some reading on the beach. But this is a bit subjective, I mean, people still use their phones on the beach and by the pool. Although it's true you can get unlucky and some feet dumps a load of sand on the ereader ;( Apparently Jeff Bezos uses a [ziplock bag](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/ma...6fob-q4-t.html), but I guess this would require physical buttons to work. And I'm unsure of how it would affect the reading experience, both for page turning and eye sight.
- 06) SD card
- 07) support for koreader, so this means a Kobo, PocketBook, or Android based device. Unless the ereader has a very good reader app.
- 08) physical buttons for page turning, unless the reader is responsive. I've seen videos where reaction time to touch is really slow.
- 09) allow ebook organization and access via folders (I'd expect this to be standard, but it looks some ereaders force you to browser by author first name).

**cherry on top**
- 10) Android, as it would give a lot of flexibility, especially on PDF reading apps; dual-boot would be an option
- 11) TTS (text-to-speech)
- 12) smart cover is available to buy


Contenders

Kobo H2O (265 dpi)
1, ?, 3, -, 5, 6, 7, -, ?, -, -, 12
refresh: https://youtu.be/Qsx1zEXdOiA?t=3m38s ; refresh with koreader on PDF: https://youtu.be/rsJizVAMpDQ?t=22m2s . There are annoying flashes during refresh.
Bonus points on the additional screen estate and screen quality

InkBook Prime (212 dpi)
1, ?, 3, 4b, -, 6, 7, 8, ?, 10, -, ?

refresh: https://youtu.be/LTvFWuyOQDQ?t=1m26s
just perfect, no flashes

PocketBook Touch HD (300 dpi)
-, ?, 3, 4j, -, 6, 7, 8, ?, ?, 11, ?
It seems annotations aren't working properly
We confirm that export of notes is currently unavailable for Pocketbook Touch HD. This function will be added in the software version 5.18.
But I guess koreader would solve this issue completely.

Onyx Boox C67ML Carta 2 (300 dpi)
1, ?, 3, -, -, 6, 7, 8, ?, 10, -, ?


I love just how fast the InkBook Prime refreshes the screen, the additional screen estate from the H2O and that it's water and sand proof, and the fact the Touch HD supports audio. Just a shame there isn't a device with all of that.

I'm torn between the H2O and the Touch HD.
If the H2O had audio that would close the deal for me. I'll probably go with it anyway. Just a shame Kobo lost the opportunity to add value to the H2O2, things like audio.

Any comments or suggestions?
Do I have any wrong ideas about anything I posted above?
And can anyone please clarify those points represented as `?` for the Kobo and PocketBook?

Thanks

PS: what about ebook stores? Can I buy the book and download it to my laptop and then copy it? Or does my device limits from where I can buy?

PS2: if it matters, I'm a Linux user. So I'd be unable to install any software on my computer, if that is required.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by the_need_to_read

I love just how fast the InkBook Prime refreshes the screen, the additional screen estate from the H2O and that it's water and sand proof, and the fact the Touch HD supports audio. Just a shame there isn't a device with all of that.

Any eInk device is going to flash during the refresh. Removing the ghosting is done by a writing the entire screen white-black-white. eInk Carta displays can use Regal waveform refresh to reduce the need for screen refreshes. How long between refreshes is personal, some people are less bothered by ghosting than others.

Originally Posted by the_need_to_read

I'm torn between the H2O and the Touch HD. If the H2O had audio that would close the deal for me. I'll probably go with it anyway. Just a shame Kobo lost the opportunity to add value to the H2O2, things like audio.

Given that Amazon used to offer audio on their ereaders and dropped it for 5 years until they started offering external adapters for the Paperwhite 3, Oasis and Voyage, it appears that audio is not a "we need this" feature for most people using ebook readers.

Originally Posted by the_need_to_read

Any comments or suggestions?

The H2O2 does not use folders in the user interface to access ebooks. OTOH, the builtin search function lets me find ebooks with fewer keystrokes than browsing down through the folder structure I used to maintain on my PC.

For PDF files, I would suggest going with Koreader though no small screen eInk device is going to give an optimal PDF experience.

Originally Posted by the_need_to_read

PS: what about ebook stores? Can I buy the book and download it to my laptop and then copy it? Or does my device limits from where I can buy?

For my Kobos, I purchase books from where I want. Most stores use epub as a supported format so download, import into Calibre and then send to the ereader. For purchases from Amazon, I import into Calibre, convert to epub and then send to the ereader.

Originally Posted by the_need_to_read

PS2: if it matters, I'm a Linux user. So I'd be unable to install any software on my computer, if that is required.

Calibre and Sigil are available for Linux. Calibre allows managing your library, editing metadata, etc. It also has a ebook editing capability but I prefer to use Sigil for epubs. Calibre is pretty much a must have for me.

You can check the Calibre and Sigil forums on Mobileread for more information.