Need a Durable Ereader (something better than Kobo)

[lsale]

Hey guys,

I once had a Sony Ereader PRST3, and it was fantastic! It was durable enough to survive many trips on planes and buses, however not durable enough to survive the wrath of my bored dog one evening.

Since they no longer sell Sony Ereaders I replaced it with a Kobo Touch, and literally 3 weeks after I bought it, it slid off the side of my bed and the screen stopped working. I was HUGELY disappointed, why have a mobile electronic that cant even survive a 2 foot fall onto carpet?

Unfortunately, my options are very slim now. I can either go with another Kobo, but I'm not happy with their product. or a Kindle, that dosen't support epub files and I would have to convert everything (which I don't want to do)

Anyone have any suggestions?

[lsale]

I should also point out, I don't need any extra features. I just want it to read epubs and be able to travel with me without me having to worry about how fragile it is.

So something under $100 would be ideal.

[Dr. Drib]

Did you buy a cover to protect your ebook reader?

If so, I'm quite surprised that this damage occurred unless, of course, it landed right on the screen. Even a cover won't protect that type of fall, unfortunately.

[patrickt]

I'm thinking you might be better off with hard cover books.

[frogette]

Now that was really bad luck. My beloved Aura HD has suffered a few bad falls (I have butter hands + the design of the case is reaaaally stupid IMO) and is still in perfect working order. I do have a cover, though.

[robko]

That sounds like bad luck on the breakage. Having said that, how are you transporting it outside the home? Flexing of the device can cause it to crack over time and the fall on the carpet may have just been the trigger for it to finally let go. I have dropped several of my Kobo's onto hardwood floor (one on the corner and it deformed the plastic of the case) and have yet to have a screen issue (no case on any of them and no interest in using one, but I do have a wooden case that I use for travel purposes to keep it from flexing). Reality is that no e-ink is immune to breakage.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Sounds like you were very unlucky, especially since your reader landed on carpet. My Kobo eReaders have taken multiple falls (including my HD from chair seat level onto concrete, unprotected) and I've never had any problems. I would advise picking up a Kobo Aura using the $40 off coupon.

[Jmirko]

Originally Posted by lsale

Hey guys,

I once had a Sony Ereader PRST3, and it was fantastic! It was durable enough to survive many trips on planes and buses, however not durable enough to survive the wrath of my bored dog one evening.

Since they no longer sell Sony Ereaders I replaced it with a Kobo Touch, and literally 3 weeks after I bought it, it slid off the side of my bed and the screen stopped working. I was HUGELY disappointed, why have a mobile electronic that cant even survive a 2 foot fall onto carpet?

Unfortunately, my options are very slim now. I can either go with another Kobo, but I'm not happy with their product. or a Kindle, that dosen't support epub files and I would have to convert everything (which I don't want to do)

Anyone have any suggestions?

There are 3 models I can recommend for durability:

1. The Onyx Boox X60 was designed to withstand drops from waist height, this is demonstrated in this video (at 1:30):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8JJLoMnu8w
You can buy it (used) on the MobileRead Flea Market.

2. The Wexler FlexOne has a glass-less, "flexible" screen. It is extremely light and you can literally play frisbee with it without breaking it.
Available periodically on eBay (used or new).

3. The Boyue C61 is another 6-inch reader with a flexible screen.
You can buy it on Aliexpress.

I have owned the first two, they work fine with epubs, the Onyx has much more functionality than the Wexler. I have not tried the Boyue.

I hope this helps!

[Bertolt]

Sorry to hear about your loss. IMHO the question "Which ereader should I buy?" is the wrong question. I too bought a Kobo to start with and followed that with a Pocket book Lux 623. The Kobo (bought from Ebay UK) clunked after 18 months. The Pocketbook is an excellent machine with all the extras which you really don't need but the way it sorted my books into Files (fiction, non fiction, travel etc) did not work for me.
The better question to ask is "Where is it best for me to buy my books from?". And the answer is "Amazon", because they have the best selection of books by a mile (or two) and the price is usually cheaper. I buy all my books from Amazon and there are also over a million free ones on offer from them, so it makes sense to buy a Kindle. The Kindle is the Volkswagen of ereaders: it just works very well and is very durable. And it's not expensive. The basic Kindle is excellent value at 59 GBP in the UK and even the Paperwhite is only 99 GBP at the moment - the prices have just dropped! They're probably even cheaper in the USA.
Many of my books cost 99p and some less (some free). All of my books are cheaper than the paper editions. I often buy the Kindle Daily Deal books.
It is a pain to have to change from epub to Kindle format but in reality I am not going to reread the novels I had on the Kobo and there are just a few reference works which I will read on my PC or my tablet. Reference books work better on a tablet anyway. I share all my books with my partner. We have 6 reading devices in total including our PCs and tablets. Amazon allow you to download on up to 6 devices. If you have a tablet or PC , get the Kindle app, which is free, and start reading now. Make your mind up about the ereader later.

[Jmirko]

Originally Posted by Bertolt

Sorry to hear about your loss. IMHO the question "Which ereader should I buy?" is the wrong question. I too bought a Kobo to start with and followed that with a Pocket book Lux 623. The Kobo (bought from Ebay UK) clunked after 18 months. The Pocketbook is an excellent machine with all the extras which you really don't need but the way it sorted my books into Files (fiction, non fiction, travel etc) did not work for me.
The better question to ask is "Where is it best for me to buy my books from?". And the answer is "Amazon", because they have the best selection of books by a mile (or two) and the price is usually cheaper. I buy all my books from Amazon and there are also over a million free ones on offer from them, so it makes sense to buy a Kindle. The Kindle is the Volkswagen of ereaders: it just works very well and is very durable. And it's not expensive. The basic Kindle is excellent value at 59 GBP in the UK and even the Paperwhite is only 99 GBP at the moment - the prices have just dropped! They're probably even cheaper in the USA.
Many of my books cost 99p and some less (some free). All of my books are cheaper than the paper editions. I often buy the Kindle Daily Deal books.
It is a pain to have to change from epub to Kindle format but in reality I am not going to reread the novels I had on the Kobo and there are just a few reference works which I will read on my PC or my tablet. Reference books work better on a tablet anyway. I share all my books with my partner. We have 6 reading devices in total including our PCs and tablets. Amazon allow you to download on up to 6 devices. If you have a tablet or PC , get the Kindle app, which is free, and start reading now. Make your mind up about the ereader later.

The Kindle may be a good choice for a lot of people, but the OP wants a durable reader that supports epub. Kindle is well known for not supporting epub, and it isn't especially tough either. So your advice is not really relevant to the question IMO.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Jmirko

The Kindle may be a good choice for a lot of people, but the OP wants a durable reader that supports epub. Kindle is well known for not supporting epub, and it isn't especially tough either. So your advice is not really relevant to the question IMO.

The answer to the durability issue is to buy a decent case.

[Jmirko]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The answer to the durability issue is to buy a decent case.

That's one of the answers, to be exact :-)

[JSWolf]

Another case of a naked reader breaking. A good case would probably have stopped the Kobo from being broken.

I'll say it again because it needs being said...

A naked Reader is a reader waiting to be broken. Get a good case for it.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by lsale

I once had a Sony Ereader PRST3, and it was fantastic! It was durable enough to survive many trips on planes and buses, however not durable enough to survive the wrath of my bored dog one evening.

Have you considered buying another Sony PRST3? New ones are still available on eBay (for Canada and the U.S. anyhow.) Here's one, new in the box (the seller has more than one), from Canada for $120 (includes shipping).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-SONY-Dig...item462b5e2226

[Chi Cygni]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Even a cover won't protect that type of fall, unfortunately.

I saw both my Opus and PW1 fly out of my hands and land with a thud on the screen from +/-1.5 m height (Opus on pavement, PW1 on tram floor) and nothing happened. Luckily they were both in thick covers. So, for me the covers did protect them from that type of fall. Both ereaders are working today (3 years and 6 months after, respectively) But, of course, I was really worried when I picked them up.