You Should Buy an Android E-Reader

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

So you like a generic every book looks the same view? Any attempt by the publisher to create an ebook with different layout will be sent to the bitbucket?

I actually want my books look the same way too, only I use Calibre for that. And yes, any publisher attempts to create different layouts get removed, without exception. I'm rather OCD in that regard.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pefilix

i think you talking about the very first versions of this android ereaders

for current systems with 1gb ram, 1ghz proceccor, 16 gb storge works 3 or 4 times faster and stabile than my old linux one

Comparing my Kobo Forma to a Samsung 10.1" tablet, the Samsung hardware is much better (8 core compared to 1 core, 2GB of RAM compared to 512MB 32GB storage compared to 8GB) yet the reading experience is better on the Forma. The Forma honours publisher CSS, page turns are not noticeably slower or faster compared to the three apps I tested on the Samsung, battery life is measured in weeks not hours, title, author and series information are accessible and searchable. The Forma also supports fixed layout epubs which 2 of the Android apps sucked at.

I had the Samsung around since my daughter picked it for price and colour for her comics.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I actually want my books look the same way too, only I use Calibre for that. And yes, any publisher attempts to create different layouts get removed, without exception. I'm rather OCD in that regard.

My choice is to use Sigil to edit those epubs that have the sort of layout suggesting that the publisher had an interning high school student create the layout. Given a half decent (in my not so humble opinion) layout, I don't find it compelling to edit the ebook.

One of my test ebooks when I was looking at the apps on the Samsung tablet was a book of poetry. The Pocketbook app was the only one that did a decent job of rendering the mass of indents and un-dents used. With Moon+ even when I enabled publisher CSS, the page layout was, being gentle, a fornicating mess. I will admit that nothing rendered the spiral last line of one poem as it is in the dead book edition. I've attached a sample image to show what I meant by a spiral line (this is a dummy sample from TikZ/TeX).

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by pefilix

Yes the reason why i suggest android is simplicity. Doing patches finding strings on txt files and using 3rd party apps for only set top margin is not simplicity.

I don't use patches (I did at one time on my Kobos, but no more). I don't know what you mean by "finding strings on txt files" (for patching, possibly?). And I don't use 3rd party apps. Wouldn't Moon+ Reader be a "third party app" on your Android eReader? The only thing I do is install my custom fonts. Done.

But that's not really what I'm talking about. By "simplicity" I mean a clean, one use device, where I can download a book and just start reading.

Choice is good. Personally I choose simplicity and affordability (and long battery life). But, for those who want something else, an Android eInk eReader is the choice they make. It's all good. One size doesn't fit all.

[Quoth]

Android makes sense for a phone or tablet. It's a lazy way for a maker to produce a dedicated eink reader as a more standard Linux makes more sense. The reasons for android:
1) The VM for the Apps, which are essentially really Java.
2) The Android GUI
3) The Google Playstore.
4) Almost no expertise required in house.
Items 1 & 2 were why Google bought in Android rather than using Linux.

Sony's switch to Android from Linux did nothing to save their eReader and was likely political, not engineering based. The T1 was buggier than the earlier PRS350. I've not looked at the time line of that vs their Sony Ericsson Android phones.
Sony also switched TVs from their own GUI on Linux to Android TV, which is inferior, possibly simply for the data harvesting to Google, Samba and themselves.

[pefilix]

Originally Posted by DNSB

So you like a generic every book looks the same view? Any attempt by the publisher to create an ebook with different layout will be sent to the bitbucket? One CSS to rule them all is not acceptable to me. One item that I found rather humourous was an ebook that did not display images when used with Moon+ -- evidently, .jpeg was not considered a valid extension for an image file.

You have too many chocie at this point. If you want you can block all layout from css. Or you can use publisher css. Or you can block css parrtially, like block fonts, block pragraph styles, block margins. Or you can make your own different style templates for different kind books. like for fantastic books another template for horror books different template.

Originally Posted by DNSB

So back to the days of CP/M and DOS when it comes to file handling? In my personal experience, I can find books a lot faster on my Kobo ereader using it's search capability compared to browsing for a book by multi-tapping my way through a directory tree. Not to mention the joys of handling a ebook with multiple authors.

My ebook collection near 1000 books and mostly source books about history philosophy mythology etc. Not novels. And i am using e-reader like a researcher. When i need a book about a subject i need to go library quickly and take a look the shelf and sub shelfs which contains my subject. Book name or author name search doesnt work for this. Tagging 1000 books and looking as tags or looking as directory is best solution and you can do both two, as directory view or shelf view with book covers on moon reader.

[pazos]

I agree with FrustratedReader in everything, except for

Originally Posted by FrustratedReader

1) The VM for the Apps, which are essentially really Java.

The apps are built in java. The frameworks used by android are plain C++. the Dalvik/ART machines are very well optimized and comparation with JVM has no sense.

Given that plain "c/c++/whatever fast compiled language" apps run inside the VM using the NativeActivity framework and invokation of native methods is done with JNI, which adds some overhead, there's usually no gain in building "c/c++" apps for android.

Which makes android really bad for single use devices is the kind of services that run everywhere and are intended to abstract certain things for easy development and the constraints Google makes.

Can be workarounded?: yeah. BarnesAndNobles and Rakuten/Tolinos seem to do a good job creating a AOSP based os that's not bloated.

In the end if you start by debloating android you'll end with a plain linux distribution. That and talk to the linux framebuffer directly makes sense for an e-ink reader app. But using the android view hierarchy, with its WindowManager, its SurfaceFlinger and dadada adds little overhead to that.

[pefilix]

and i want to repeat. if you buy kobo you need to spend too much effort doing all of this which i say done easy.

if you want go latest patch thread
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=310315

and try to understand what you need to do for changing only default serif font.

i am getting mad when i see this. year almost 2020. how people accept and praise this really i cant understand.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by pefilix

+Maybe less than linux ones but normal for needs. All we have powerbanks and living in cities. No one needs one month battery life unless living middle of the jungle. 3 days for frequent usage enough.

No thanks. I already have to deal with daily charging of a couple of phones and multiple tablets.

I enjoy the relative simplicity of my e-readers only needing weekly or monthly charging. I also like the convenience of being to pick one up and go straight to reading after a few days on standby. My spare Android phones are usually completely dead and require at least 15 minutes charging before they can even power up.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by pefilix

and i want to repeat. if you buy kobo you need to spend too much effort doing all of this which i say done easy.

if you want go latest patch thread
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=310315

and try to understand what you need to do for changing only default serif font.

i am getting mad when i see this. year almost 2020. how people accept and praise this really i cant understand.

There's no particular effort involved in patching. And I say that as a person new to the Kobo readers, who doesn't have any education in computers or programming. For me patching took only a little more effort than it took to customize MoonReader. With the difference that I couldn't get the MoonReader look exactly the way I liked, no matter how much I tried, whereas my Kobo looks exactly the way I want, with the help of patches and Calibre.

To each their own.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by pefilix

and i want to repeat. if you buy kobo you need to spend too much effort doing all of this which i say done easy.

if you want go latest patch thread
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=310315

and try to understand what you need to do for changing only default serif font.

i am getting mad when i see this. year almost 2020. how people accept and praise this really i cant understand.

Why are you getting mad for the sake of someone else? Some people love tweaking their hardware. I don't tweak eReaders anymore, but I still enjoy writing shell scripts and automating tasks in Linux. There's a satisfaction in having the ability to control the behavior of your device or computer. And that's what the Kobo patching does — gives the user finer control over their hardware. For some people that's a very good thing. It's certainly not a bad thing. Meanwhile, people like me, can still use their Kobos without any patches. Win-win for everyone.

[pefilix]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Why are you getting mad for the sake of someone else?

because first, if there is non logical thing it hurts my logic. second someone's sake effects other ones.

look, charged means either charged an electronic device or paying money for anything else and teher is different words in turkish for this. they use wrong word for their interface translation. think about that they use google translate for translation

they change main screen layout an this is not for improve user experience. they limit the recent books section and add suggestion books section from their book store. because they dont care is main screen useful, they care how many they can sell.

same way, they dont care is user can set easily epub layout margins typography etc. they dont care is pdf readable on device. Because they dont want sideload books, they want sell books from their bookstore with .kobo extension.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by pefilix

because first, if there is non logical thing it hurts my logic. second someone's sake effects other ones.

There's nothing "non-logical" about patching Kobos. Users patch for specific reasons. When you set up Moon+ Reader to taste is that also "non-logical?" Don't you consider worth the effort to get it set up the way you like it?

Originally Posted by pefilix

look, charged means either charged an electronic device or paying money for anything else and teher is different words in turkish for this. they use wrong word for their interface translation. think about that they use google translate for translation

I'm sorry, but I'm not getting your meaning here.

Originally Posted by pefilix

they change main screen layout an this is not for improve user experience. they limit the recent books section and add suggestion books section from their book store. because they dont care is main screen useful, they care how many they can sell.

It's not a big deal to me. Just like a Kindle, you're one tap away from your library (where only your books exist). And most of the time I'm reading a book anyhow, so there's not even that tap most of the time. I just open the cover and start reading. Simple.

Originally Posted by pefilix

same way, they dont care is user can set easily epub layout margins typography etc. they dont care is pdf readable on device. Because they dont want sideload books, they want sell books from their bookstore with .kobo extension.

By "they" I'm guessing (in this case) you mean me and, speaking for myself, you're basically right. I don't read PDFs on an eReader (not even on my 7.8" one, it's just not "comfortable"). I don't like PDFs on tablets or computers either. As far as I'm concerned the PDF format was designed for printing to paper, not reading on a screen.

That leaves me with ePub or Mobi books (basically novels). All I care about is that I have a dark font and good margins. And all my eReaders can provide me with that. So I'm good with what I have. Again, dedicated eReaders have advantages over a more general purpose eInk Android tablet. If you like your eInk Android tablet, I'm happy for you. I'm happy with my Tolinos, Kobos, Kindles, etc. To each their own. Should I be angry that you don't choose the way I choose?

Again there's no "one size fits all" in eReaders.

[Pajamaman]

Open Android e-readers more customizable than a conventional single-UI e-readers (be it Linux or android-based). Plus you can do a lot of other things with open Android reader. The down-side is the battery. Also if you're locked into one retailer, the native UI cannot be beaten in a conventional e-reader.

Each to their own. I see the value in and own both types. For example, I use a Nook glowlight 3, but the Nook UI doesn't allow collections and doesn't offer an inverted night-mode screen. So I run Koreader under Android. The downside is the battery life. If I travel, I take a PW2, though it's jailbreaked and runs Koreader.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by pefilix

because first, if there is non logical thing it hurts my logic. second someone's sake effects other ones.

look, charged means either charged an electronic device or paying money for anything else and teher is different words in turkish for this. they use wrong word for their interface translation. think about that they use google translate for translation

If Kobo have mistranslated something, please tell them. They do fix things. And generally, fixing a translation issue is simple. Especially if someone tells them exactly what is wrong and why. Hell, post it here somewhere as well so it is visible to more people.

But, I am a little surprised that there is an issue with the Turkish translation. My understanding was that it was added when they did a deal with a Turkish ebook store. I would have expected they were involved in the translation.

they change main screen layout an this is not for improve user experience. they limit the recent books section and add suggestion books section from their book store. because they dont care is main screen useful, they care how many they can sell.

Of course they care how many the sell. They are a business and it is the responsibility of any business to make a profit. Or at least keep selling to pay their bills and employees and keep going.

But, the latest version of the Kobo home screen is in response to the customers complaints. While lots of people, including me, loved the previous home screen, a lot of people found it confusing. And, just like the previous one, it responds to you usage. I haven't seen the recommendations on the home screen since about 10 minutes after updating to this version of the home screen. And, if I compare what is on the current home screen to what was on the previous one, I saw a lot more "ads" on the previous one.

same way, they dont care is user can set easily epub layout margins typography etc. they dont care is pdf readable on device. Because they dont want sideload books, they want sell books from their bookstore with .kobo extension.

Again, I disagree. Kobo support sideloaded books very well. And as far as I can see, they are the best for supporting the code in epubs. They don't allow as much on-device tweaking of book, but, the devices and apps that do, tend to get as many complaints because they ignore the books styles. There is an argument either way, I'd prefer the styles in the book to be used, because when they are completely overridden, you can lose information.

For PDFs, I believe that Kobo does an excellent job of rendering them. Performance is crap, but, that's because the devices are deliberately low-spec. Navigation, if you need to zoom is terrible as well. I'm never try to deny that, and I accept that a low-powered device is going to be bad. And yes, I don't think Kobo have any real priority on PDF handling as they recognise that epub and similar are much better on devices like that. Though they did put some changes in the last firmware release to improve PDF performance. No idea how much it helps as I am just not interested in reading PDFs.

Kobo have also spent a lot of time advertising their devices as "open". They pointed out you could get books from a lot of places and put them on their devices. They don't place as much emphasis on this now, but, sideloading books is still well supported.


And in response to the first post: One size does not fit all. For any job, you should choose tool that fits you and the job the best. For some, this is a big tablet, for others, a simple dedicated ebook reader.