First E-reader, help me choose

[Cherwell]

Hello everybody,

I finally decided to switch from reading on mobile phone and computer screen to dedicated E-reader.
After some research, I narrowed my choice to Kobo Libra H20 and Pocketbook Touch HD3.
Looking for recommendations, pros, cons, experiences with one or both of them...

Also open to other suggestions within the price range of those two.

[JSWolf]

First thing is where do you live? Pocketbook is not easy to get and support is non-existent in the US (for example). If you are in the US, the Kobo is your better choice.

[Cherwell]

Europe. Both are available almost instantly.

[Sirtel]

If you want a somewhat larger screen (7'' vs 6''), get the Kobo. The Kobo Libra is an excellent reader without any major bugs. I've used mine about half a year. Very satisfied.

If you want audio, get the Pocketbook. I have no personal experience with any Pocketbook reader, so I'll leave that part to others.

[stumped]

Originally Posted by Cherwell

Europe. Both are available almost instantly.

from online stores maybe.
there are no actual physical stores in Europe who sell and support pocketbook AFAIK,

so good luck with any warranty if it ever goes bad.

unless you don't mind shipping it to China at your expense. & it probably has to be shipped - on a boat - you cant airmail to/from china nowadays

Kobo don't have the greatest customer service reputation either but it's the better option, unless you feel lucky

as I check, I went here
https://www.pocketbook-int.com/int/s...ervice-centers
I click on service centres near you ( I am in UK) i get a blank
so I click on all service centres, I still get a blank
just an email address that I can write to

either they don't have any, or they have a broken web site

does not inspire confidence

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by stumped

from online stores maybe.
there are no actual physical stores in Europe who sell and support pocketbook AFAIK,

so good luck with any warranty if it ever goes bad.

unless you don't mind shipping it to China at your expense. & it probably has to be shipped - on a boat - you cant airmail to/from china nowadays

Kobo don't have the greatest customer service reputation either but it's the better option, unless you feel lucky

as I check, I went here
https://www.pocketbook-int.com/int/s...ervice-centers
I click on service centres near you ( I am in UK) i get a blank
so I click on all service centres, I still get a blank
just an email address that I can write to

either they don't have any, or they have a broken web site

does not inspire confidence

I've ordered all my ereaders online since my first in 2011. For the simple reason there are no physical stores selling them in my country, except for Kobos, and they are much more expensive here than in foreign stores. Not once in all those years have I needed to take my ereader physically somewhere for repair or return. If I decided to buy only from a real physical store near me, I would not be able to buy any ereaders at all, besides a Kobo for an exorbitant price. People in smaller countries have to take risks, buying various things online.

[Cherwell]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

If you want a somewhat larger screen (7'' vs 6''), get the Kobo. The Kobo Libra is an excellent reader without any major bugs. I've used mine about half a year. Very satisfied.

If you want audio, get the Pocketbook. I have no personal experience with any Pocketbook reader, so I'll leave that part to others.

I don't need audio. But I am not sure if slightly larger screen is worth the price difference.

Originally Posted by stumped

from online stores maybe.
there are no actual physical stores in Europe who sell and support pocketbook AFAIK,

so good luck with any warranty if it ever goes bad.

Actually, there are. Mediamarkt, for example. Seen both of those couple of days ago.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Cherwell

I don't need audio. But I am not sure if slightly larger screen is worth the price difference.

That's something only you can decide. Do you want your ereader portable and easily taken along with you when you go outside? Or will you use your reader mostly at home?

For me personally, a 7'' screen is easily worth the price difference over a 6'' screen. But that's me. Your mileage may vary.

[stumped]

Depends where in Europe the OPis. I am in uk. I bought kobo from John Lewis on line but they have excellent warranty and customer service, UK based. I could alternatively have gone to an actual pc world or Argos shop.
And I buy other stuff from Amazon whose customer service is amazing.

I don't have any stats on e ink reader failures. I know that screens are fragile, and I did once have a Sony one break. But never a kindle or kobo. I broke a fire tablet once but that was my own fault, I dropped it while trying to take a photo.
I see reports here on pocketbook failures but that is biased. The happy customers have no need to post.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by stumped

from online stores maybe.
there are no actual physical stores in Europe who sell and support pocketbook AFAIK,

You are in UK, so do not speak for the rest of Europe.
I have personally visited a few stores here in continental Europe where PocketBooks are displayed and sold.
Even if he buys from an online store in his country, consumer protection here in Europe is excellent and customers will not have a problem claiming warranty for all 24 months. Big online stores have good reputation and pick-up "stores" in bigger towns here, so you can go in and return faulty product personally.

[stumped]

Originally Posted by kacir

You are in UK, so do not speak for the rest of Europe.

Yes, we are leaving , apparently. Not something I voted for.

But we had the best tabloid headlines. "Fog in channel, Europe cut off". The times

The bigger risk is in buying from eBay or similar, especially if seller is not in your country.

How do you explain the broken pocketbook support website. Does that work in your country?

[Darqref]

Originally Posted by Cherwell

Hello everybody,

I finally decided to switch from reading on mobile phone and computer screen to dedicated E-reader.
After some research, I narrowed my choice to Kobo Libra H20 and Pocketbook Touch HD3.
Looking for recommendations, pros, cons, experiences with one or both of them...

Also open to other suggestions within the price range of those two.

Unlike all the other respondents, I'd like to offer different advice. Go to the store and HOLD each of them. Preferably without a security cord that will unbalance them. Which feels better in your hands? Move them around. Try them at different angles from the available light. Are you going to be reading on this device only at home, or will you take it with you? Does it fit easily in however you want to carry it?

I've owned 4 different readers, and the biggest difference to me, was how comfortable each was to hold, and turn pages. Ergonomics above everything.

[HolyAura]

I find the buttons on the Libra are placed at a better position when i hold it with my fingers.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That's something only you can decide. Do you want your ereader portable and easily taken along with you when you go outside? Or will you use your reader mostly at home?

For me personally, a 7'' screen is easily worth the price difference over a 6'' screen. But that's me. Your mileage may vary.

I find my Kobo Aura H2O with a 6.8" screen to be very portable. So I don't see why the Libra would not be just as portable.

[Quoth]

The libra needs an extra 10mm, less than 1/2", of width.

I have the Libra and the Original H2O.
In smallest, cheapest, simplest sleep covers at fattest points:
H2O: 135 x 181 x 17 mm (tapered to 15 mm at both sides)
Libra: 149 x 161 x 14 mm (mostly 13mm, but twists at one edge)

You'd not want to have them without a cover as the replacement screen for the H2O is about x2 the price of 7" LCD Tablet.

So the Libra 300 dpi 7" wider model is about 2mm slimmer, 15mm wider, 20mm shorter than the original H2O 265 dpi 6.8" model, replaced by Mk1 and Mk2 revised versions with no SD card slot.

In ambient light:
The original H2O is about the brightest white of any ereader I've seen. The Libra is almost identical to the PW3 in screen whiteness and sharpness, but 7" rather than 6" with nice page buttons you can ignore.
The buttons are not really why the Libra is wider, the electronics is at the side so the thickness is limited by the aluminium cast chassis (to protect screen) and the thickness of the lithium cell. No doubt the screen whiteness is highest on the original H2O as there is no touch layer. The PW3 and Libra have a capacitive touch layer.