Paperwhite alternatives?

[petro1]

I have an old paperwhite but there are a few things I don't like about it and I'm trying to find information about alternatives. The problems I have are:
registration required
no file manager for easily organizing books
can't change default fonts or add new ones
no epub support
disabling syncing doesn't seem to work properly

Are there any ebook readers without these problems?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by petro1

can't change default fonts or add new ones

I can't speak for your other issues, but I believe you can load your personal fonts in all Paperwhites. The original Paperwhite requires the font hack (the same one that's used in the Touch) but the three newer ones have the ability to install fonts built-in. (For several releases back now.)

[Sirtel]

In what way is disabling syncing not working? I very rarely sync my Kindles, keep wifi off most of the time and I have no issues.

Newer Kindles let you add your own fonts. Kobos do too, but for sideloaded fonts to work properly on a Kobo, you'd need to patch it (not difficult to do). Kobo also needs registration. Granted, book organization is better on a Kobo, but again for the best results you'll need to have your metadata correct. Neither Kobos nor Kindles organize by file names, so merely renaming files won't work.

[ps67]

Originally Posted by petro1

I have an old paperwhite but there are a few things I don't like about it and I'm trying to find information about alternatives. The problems I have are:
registration required
no file manager for easily organizing books
can't change default fonts or add new ones
no epub support
disabling syncing doesn't seem to work properly

Are there any ebook readers without these problems?

I speak only about readers I have experienced
With Pocketbook You have many of them:

registration required You can skip registration
no file manager for easily organizing books it has file manager: I did not try it on my PB633 Color but there is (I did not use it for moving or copying files).
can't change default fonts or add new ones You can add new fonts. The only drawback is that, differently from a Kindle or a Kobo, You can't set the sharpness of it so I use the "medium" instead of the "regular" when possible.
no epub support of course it has epub and many other formats support. It also handles directly ACSM files (of course You must have a ADE account and set it on the device) other than the download of a file from ADE with a PC.
disabling syncing doesn't seem to work properly I don't think, but I am not sure because I don't sync too much, that the device will sync without Your explicit call of it. And of course You can always disable wi fii.

IMHO If You want to organize Your books using the file structure the You could use calibre and set a template for downloading books, so no need to move Your file with the file manager of the device or doing it with a PC after the download.

But there are other ways to organize You books instead of a file manager: for example Kobo handles collection from calibre, I find it useful.

And about file manager You can install KOReader on Kobo that is primarily a alternative reader engine but has many other features among these a file manager (also on Pocketbook, jailbroken Kindle and Android device). With Kobo the registration is mandatory but You can give it a fake email without problems, there is also a more complicated system involving the Kobo DB.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by petro1

I have an old paperwhite but there are a few things I don't like about it and I'm trying to find information about alternatives. The problems I have are:
registration required
no file manager for easily organizing books
can't change default fonts or add new ones
no epub support
disabling syncing doesn't seem to work properly

Are there any ebook readers without these problems?

As mentioned, Pocketbook seems to tick your bulletpoints.

With that said (re: Paperwhite)....

registration required
You can totally skip registration and wifi setup for that matter. You just lose the ability to read Kindle ebooks with DRM and features such as collections and syncing. I've got a few Kindles dedicated to fanfics that I use completely unregistered.

no file manager for easily organizing books
Unfortunately true. If you have the first gen Paperwhite though, that's easily jailbreakable. That gives you access to KOReader which does use a folder structure.

can't change default fonts or add new ones
Doable with jailbreak on 1st gen, natively supported on Paperwhite 2-4 with 5.9.6 or higher firmware. Also supported on KOReader.

no epub support
Doable with jailbreak + KOReader

disabling syncing doesn't seem to work properly
Dunno about this one. My registered Kindles, I actually do want to have syncing. My unregistered ones obviously can't sync.

[Quoth]

Kobo Libra.

The last two NEW Kindles I bought did NOT have skipable registration. They absolutely needed a payment card & address, or an existing Amazon account, or the email address someone had sent a US marketplace Amazon gift voucher to, though it wasn't the USA.

You can skip registration on deregistered one.

The kobo doesn't need a valid email address or payment details.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Kobo Libra.

The last two NEW Kindles I bought did NOT have skipable registration. They absolutely needed a payment card & address, or an existing Amazon account, or the email address someone had sent a US marketplace Amazon gift voucher to, though it wasn't the USA.

You can skip registration on deregistered one.

The kobo doesn't need a valid email address or payment details.

There's no reason not to do a proper registration. It's pure paranoia not to register. I have registered with Sony, Kobo, and Amazon and I've never had a single issue becusee of being registered. Not one, not ever.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The last two NEW Kindles I bought did NOT have skipable registration. They absolutely needed a payment card & address, or an existing Amazon account, or the email address someone had sent a US marketplace Amazon gift voucher to, though it wasn't the USA.

On Kindles, I always skip initial wifi setup (CONNECT TO WI-FI -> X (cancel) -> SETUP KINDLE LATER). Still works on PW4 FW 5.13.2.

No wifi, no registration.

[Pajamaman]

Maybe a Kobo and install Koreader would suit you best. The combo ticks most of your boxes. You have to register, but it's just an email address. Don't know about syncing. I know Koreader has syncing options. Be warned, it involves installing patches and add on programs to your Kobo. I have Koreader on a Kindle and it works very well, but it's a lot more complicated than a Kindle.

[petro1]

Thanks for all the replies (:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

In what way is disabling syncing not working? I very rarely sync my Kindles, keep wifi off most of the time and I have no issues.

It won't stop syncing collections. Maybe that's how it's intended to work, but it's not what I expected and it annoyed me. I'd like to be able to turn on Wi-Fi temporarily without any information going to amazon/whoever.

I'm vaguely aware that I could do more with jailbreaking but I'm afraid of doing it wrong.

It's good to know that newer kindle models are less restrictive, but I think I want to try something else anyway. So I guess I should look at pocketbook options, and maybe kobo? Are there any disadvantages to either?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by petro1

Thanks for all the replies (:



It won't stop syncing collections. Maybe that's how it's intended to work, but it's not what I expected and it annoyed me. I'd like to be able to turn on Wi-Fi temporarily without any information going to amazon/whoever.

I'm vaguely aware that I could do more with jailbreaking but I'm afraid of doing it wrong.

It's good to know that newer kindle models are less restrictive, but I think I want to try something else anyway. So I guess I should look at pocketbook options, and maybe kobo? Are there any disadvantages to either?

As I don't own a Pocketbook,I cannot say if there are any disadvantages.But as for Kobo, there are no disadvantages. I think you would like a Kobo much better then your Kindle.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by petro1

It's good to know that newer kindle models are less restrictive, but I think I want to try something else anyway. So I guess I should look at pocketbook options, and maybe kobo? Are there any disadvantages to either?

Kobos work best with Calibre. You can't get the series info for sideloaded books to your Kobo without using Calibre, for example. If you're not a Calibre user, then I'm not sure that a Kobo would be much better for you than a Kindle. Besides reading epubs without converting, of course.

Never used a Pocketbook, so I don't know about them.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Kobos work best with Calibre. You can't get the series info for sideloaded books to your Kobo without using Calibre, for example. If you're not a Calibre user, then I'm not sure that a Kobo would be much better for you than a Kindle. Besides reading epubs without converting, of course.

Never used a Pocketbook, so I don't know about them.

Ummm... check into geek1011's utilities. Nickelseries will copy the series metadata either from epub3 metadata or calibre's metadata in an epub2 (since epub2 does not implement series metadata). It will also add subtitles from the same two sources.

[Winkelschraube]

Originally Posted by petro1

I have an old paperwhite but there are a few things I don't like about it and I'm trying to find information about alternatives. The problems I have are:
registration required
no file manager for easily organizing books
can't change default fonts or add new ones
no epub support
disabling syncing doesn't seem to work properly

Are there any ebook readers without these problems?

You can solve all Problems with Jailbreaking and KOReader.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Winkelschraube

You can solve all Problems with Jailbreaking and KOReader.

Jailbreak possibility depends on the firmware version!