The not-so-terrible $10 e-reader

[Dopedangel]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

That's the wrong Moto E. Best Buy was selling the 2nd Gen Moto E for $10 and its specs were:

Moto E Specs

• Mfg: Motorola --- Released: Feb 2015 --- Name: Moto E 4G LTE (2nd Gen)
• Carrier: Verizon --- Type: prepaid - no contract --- Price: $9.99 @ Best Buy (Nov 2015)
• OpSys: Android 5.1 (Lollipop) --> will NOT be upgraded to Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
• CPU: 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 410 quad core --- GPU: Adreno 306
• RAM: 1 GB --- Storage: 8 GB (5 GB user avail) --- mSDHC: ≤ 32 GB
• Display: 4.5" - 960x540 - 245 ppi - Gorilla Glass 3
• Rear Cam: 5 MP - no flash --- Front Cam: 0.3 MP VGA
• Speaker: mono - front facing --- Battery: 2390 mAh - not removable
• Features: GPS - FM Radio --- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0 - WiFi b/g/n - 4G LTE
• Dimensions: 5.11" x 2.63" x 0.48" - 5.1 oz --- Warranty: 1 year
• does NOT have: cam flash, compass, gyroscope

I don't get why this is more common in the US that phones don't get upgraded to the latest Android.
Motorola recently announced marshmallow update for moto E will come in all regions apart from US. Even Canada will get it.

[leebase]

I started dreading on the iPhone 3GS. Think I just may pick one of these devices up if for no other reason than do download official apk's that I can transfer to my Amazon Fire 7

[ProDigit]

I got myself an lg 4g for $37 online, new.
Came with android 4.4.2, and was network locked.
But I don't use the call features.
It's a great mini-tablet for the kids, an offline GPS, a media player for music, including my mp4, aac, and ogg collection of file formats,
A portable camera, annotation device, calendar, and with no network on, and wifi turned off, it literally lasts for weeks on a charge.

I did the same with a Nokia Lumia. $27, great camera, and a way to experiment with Windows 10 phone, and their apps.

I don't use them as a reading device, but could.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by leebase

I started dreading on the iPhone 3GS.

Really?

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by leebase

I started dreading on the iPhone 3GS. Think I just may pick one of these devices up if for no other reason than do download official apk's that I can transfer to my Amazon Fire 7

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Really?

I don't know about lee, but I do dread iOS and iTunes. The only i-device I have is a 2nd gen iTouch, which I use only for Audible. At one point, I managed to get a few ebooks loaded on it, I can stand reading on that screen for about as long as it takes the Chinese restaurant to get my take-out order ready.

I find that strange, because I used to read very happily on a Palm Pilot screen. I don't think it's the size at all, I think it's the lack of crispness. Palm fonts were crude, but crisp. The iTouch fonts try to do some type of font hinting that makes them look a bit fuzzy.

I have another 320x480 device, an old LG Sprint phone (mostly retired now) that is a little better, but still best used for audio.

I'm still happy with the Lumia 520 I got for $15 or $20 last year. I use it for ebooks, music and GPS, to take some of the battery drain load off my main phone (Fire).

I'm a bit sad I missed the Moto E deal, but really, do I need any more portable media devices? (there's a few more I haven't mentioned) Still, it's so nice of the NCP carriers to practically give away their previous gen hardware to those of us who'll never spend a dime on their phone service but enjoy the products as readers or media players.

[leebase]

e-reading, not "dreading"

Screen on the 3Gs was more than good enough. On the 6s+ it's fantastic. If I'm home on couch or in bed, I'll read on my iPad. If not, it's the iPhone for me.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by leebase

Think I just may pick one of these devices up if for no other reason than do download official apk's that I can transfer to my Amazon Fire 7

Have you tried this?

http://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/

It works for a lot of people.

[leebase]

Thanks for the tip. Mostly I'm just of the mind to use the Amazon Fire 7" for what it's designed for. I have an iPhone and an iPad. But this $50 fire tablet is a great "take movies and tv shows on the road" device. It has a micro sd card slot and I have more content loaded than I could ever watch on my typical business trips.

The only real thing it lacks is a great ePub reader. And frankly, the ability to sync between iPhone and iPad when reading books will forever lock out android for me (as none of my reader apps is supported on Android). So unless I'm reading an actual kindle book, this device just isn't what I'll use for reading.

And yes, I can notice the lower resolution of this table when reading more than when watching movies. I don't know why that is, but it's true for me.

I frankly just don't want to go through the hassle of sourcing non-Amazon App Store content.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by mbovenka

I started on a Palm Vx, which was 160x160... My first color device was an HTC Wizard, which was both smaller (2.8") and had worse resolution (320x240) than this thing.

Worked fine as an ereader.

That was my first color portable ereader as well.
I still have it, just for sentiment.