My main concern is avoiding DRM and proprietary book stores

[Mummelpuffin]

So... yeah. I want an e-reader that doesn't rely on a specific store. I want to be able to have a bunch of books stored on a USB or whetever and transfer them onto it rather than not actually owning the stuff that I buy, or having it exclusively out in "the cloud". Apparently you can jailbreak the Kindle, but can you transfer files to it easily, and I doubt you can *really* avoid Amazon tracking your activity in any case. I like that Kobo supports libraries, but again, seems like you're kind of stuck with the books they sell, right?The PocketBook Basic 3 seems like a decent choice, but it also seems like it wasn't neccisarily built for the US market so I doubt I could get one cheap enough to be worth it.

[Sirtel]

Any reader can do that. All the books on my Kindles, my Nook and my Kobo are sideloaded via USB. You just have to convert your books to the appropriate format for your reader. There's no lock-in with any modern reader.

[Sirtel]

As to the Amazon, B&N or Kobo tracking your activity, there's a very simple way to avoid that. Just don't connect your reader to the internet. Keep it in airplane mode and no one can see what you do with it. It doesn't matter which model it is.

[ilovejedd]

Amazon doesn't require registration or even wi-fi setup. You can use it purely sideloading with Calibre over USB without ever connecting it to the internet. Caveat, no collections support unless you jailbreak which may not be available on one's device or firmware.

Kobo requires signing in with an account. Same goes for Nook, I believe.

I think there's a way to skip the Kobo sign-in. I couldn't access USB storage before initial setup and login though, so short of physically dismantling the Kobo to take out the microSD, I don't know how one would be able to do it.

My primary readers are jailbroken PW3 and PW4. I like the rounded corners and the fact that they're relatively cheap to acquire in the US due to frequent sales. I use both the native reader (better text search) and KOReader (epub and cbz support) on my Kindles.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

My primary readers are jailbroken PW3 and PW4. I like the rounded corners and the fact that they're relatively cheap to acquire in the US due to frequent sales. I use both the native reader (better text search) and KOReader (epub and cbz support) on my Kindles.

Please note that the newer Kindle firmware is currently not jailbreakable (is that a word?).

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Please note that the newer Kindle firmware is currently not jailbreakable (is that a word?).

Hence this comment:

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Caveat, no collections support unless you jailbreak which may not be available on one's device or firmware.

Basic Kindle and Oasis 3, sure, no new JB methods yet for latest FW. PW4, I have a workaround.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Amazon doesn't require registration or even wi-fi setup. You can use it purely sideloading with Calibre over USB without ever connecting it to the internet. Caveat, no collections support unless you jailbreak which may not be available on one's device or firmware.

Kobo requires signing in with an account. Same goes for Nook, I believe.

I think there's a way to skip the Kobo sign-in. I couldn't access USB storage before initial setup and login though, so short of physically dismantling the Kobo to take out the microSD, I don't know how one would be able to do it.

My primary readers are jailbroken PW3 and PW4. I like the rounded corners and the fact that they're relatively cheap to acquire in the US due to frequent sales. I use both the native reader (better text search) and KOReader (epub and cbz support) on my Kindles.

As to registration, one can always make an account with a throwaway e-mail address, register, disconnect from wifi and never connect again. I've never understood why people who complain about registering don't just do that. What information would it give to Amazon or Kobo or whoever? Hell, you can even use a fake name and address with the account. Unless you order physical items, no one would ever come to check that.

[meeera]

What Sirtel said - buy from anywhere with no or removable DRM (which is almost everywhere), strip it and convert it to whatever format the device of your choice uses, and you're not locked in to anything at all.

That dispensed with, what other features are you after and what country do you live in?

[BookCat]

For DRM, google Apprentice Alf.
For conversions, download Calibre.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Mummelpuffin

So... yeah. I want an e-reader that doesn't rely on a specific store. I want to be able to have a bunch of books stored on a USB or whetever and transfer them onto it rather than not actually owning the stuff that I buy, or having it exclusively out in "the cloud". Apparently you can jailbreak the Kindle, but can you transfer files to it easily, and I doubt you can *really* avoid Amazon tracking your activity in any case. I like that Kobo supports libraries, but again, seems like you're kind of stuck with the books they sell, right?The PocketBook Basic 3 seems like a decent choice, but it also seems like it wasn't neccisarily built for the US market so I doubt I could get one cheap enough to be worth it.

No, you cannot jailbreak the latest Kindles. The firmware has the holes closed. You can get a Kobo and patch it to customize it to your liking. Plus you get a better firmware.

You can't get away from DRM. It's a fact of life. But if you want, you can remove the DRM. Go to https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/...6-6-3-released and download the software needed and read how to use it and you can read the comments and ask for help there.

Then as long as you only buy eBooks without DRM and eBook s with DRM that you an remove, you'll be good to go.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

No, you cannot jailbreak the latest Kindles. The firmware has the holes closed. You can get a Kobo and patch it to customize it to your liking. Plus you get a better firmware.

You can't get away from DRM. It's a fact of life. But if you want, you can remove the DRM. Go to https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/...6-6-3-released and download the software needed and read how to use it and you can read the comments and ask for help there.

Then as long as you only buy eBooks without DRM and eBook s with DRM that you an remove, you'll be good to go.

You can still sideload your books to non-jailbroken Kindles via USB. No problems with that and no need to use the Amazon store, if you don't want to do that.

But yes, Kobo has more customization options.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

You can still sideload your books to non-jailbroken Kindles via USB. No problems with that and no need to use the Amazon store, if you don't want to do that.

But yes, Kobo has more customization options.

He tends to oversell Kobo and denigrate anything else.

But depending on your needs, Kobo does work the best for sideloaders. You can still have collections based on Caliber tags and series, even on sideloaded books. I don't think either of these is possible with Kindle or Nook (I'm assuming the buyer is US based).

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Mummelpuffin

So... yeah. I want an e-reader that doesn't rely on a specific store. I want to be able to have a bunch of books stored on a USB or whetever and transfer them onto it rather than not actually owning the stuff that I buy, or having it exclusively out in "the cloud". Apparently you can jailbreak the Kindle, but can you transfer files to it easily, and I doubt you can *really* avoid Amazon tracking your activity in any case. I like that Kobo supports libraries, but again, seems like you're kind of stuck with the books they sell, right?The PocketBook Basic 3 seems like a decent choice, but it also seems like it wasn't neccisarily built for the US market so I doubt I could get one cheap enough to be worth it.

Buy any ereader that looks good to you.

Download and install Calibre. Buy your books from wherever you like and learn to import them with Calibre and the Apprentice Alf add-on to remove DRM. Sideload your purchased books from Calibre to your reader.

One caveat: to borrow from the library, I believe you do have to use WiFi.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Buy any ereader that looks good to you.

Download and install Calibre. Buy your books from wherever you like and learn to import them with Calibre and the Apprentice Alf add-on to remove DRM. Sideload your purchased books from Calibre to your reader.

One caveat: to borrow from the library, I believe you do have to use WiFi.

Overdrive epub library books can be sideloaded to a Kobo via Adobe Digital Editions.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

You can still sideload your books to non-jailbroken Kindles via USB. No problems with that and no need to use the Amazon store, if you don't want to do that.

But yes, Kobo has more customization options.

But you have to use some store or library in order to read something that's not public domain or creative commons. So you have to give your details or forget reading anything but old books or creative common.

This rash of privacy concerns are rubbish (IMHO). If you don't want anyone to know anything about you, get off the Internet and give up reading eBooks.