Looking for the best premium e-reader

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Ned

This thread has turned amusing now.
Neither side listening to the other, each intent on 'proving' that it is right.
Exactly why debates are a total waste of time.:

I think it's a better example of why asking vague questions will not necessarily yield high quality answers. There's no "best" or "most premium", there are feature sets and user needs and wants. Asking for "the best" will yield you only opinions.

Listing your necessary and desirable criteria is a better way of getting the answers you need.

As one of many examples: for me, the weight of the Android devices mentioned would immediately disqualify them, no matter how "premium" they are marketed as. But for others weight may be completely irrelevant.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by meeera

the weight of the Android devices mentioned would immediately disqualify them, no matter how "premium" they are marketed as.

But the Boox Leaf 2 devices are the lightest 7-inch devices on the market.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

But the Boox Leaf 2 devices are the lightest 7-inch devices on the market.

Leaf wasn't suggested as a 'premium' device, the Tab device was. Leaf appears to be much the same class as the Libra 2.

But yeah, you're nitpicking and perseverating as usual, and my point about different needs/wants and asking specific questions stands.

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by Ned

This thread has turned amusing now.
Neither side listening to the other, each intent on 'proving' that it is right.
Exactly why debates are a total waste of time.

ps I wonder how you make a Libra 2 creak? Perhaps if you could do that, the creaking would become a desirable feature to be sought in all premium ereaders

Here's a reddit thread about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/kobo/commen...el_on_libra_2/

I've also seen people writing about it here.

I have a white Libra 2, which did creak in the beginning when I held it differently. I used the upper page turn button to turn to the next page. When I reverted back to the default settings and held the device differently, it stopped creaking, because pressure was applied elsewhere on the device.

I'm quite happy with it, but that's something to be aware of if the device needs to feel "premium" when held.

The Libra 2 has the flimsiest casing of all the ereaders that I've tried: Kindle 2, PW3, Nova 3, Leaf 2, Hisense A5 Pro/A9, some old Kobo, etc.

I don't know whether the Sage creaks as I've never tried one out.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by meeera

Leaf appears to be much the same class as the Libra 2.

There is some difference.

[Ned]

I don't believe that a device feels truly premium unless there is a refined creaking as you use it (Mark Twain)

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by kandwo

The Libra 2 has the flimsiest casing of all the ereaders that I've tried: Kindle 2, PW3, Nova 3, Leaf 2, Hisense A5 Pro/A9, some old Kobo, etc.

Not in my experience, and I've had many different Kindles, Kobos and a Nook. None of my Kobos has felt flimsier than other brands or creaked.

I have a black Libra 2. It doesn't creak or feel flimsy.

[cellaris]

Actually the Leaf 2 has 2 different versions, with a different construction. The one I have (white) has a flimsier construction than my Tolino Vision 6 (twin brother of the Libra 2), although I deliberately chose it that way for other features (lower weight, higher contrast). The black Leaf 2 has a more robust construction. On the other hand, let's not forget that the initiator of this thread has finally decided to buy the Onyx Boox Page, which could be considered a successor of the black Leaf 2, so it makes quite a lot of sense to talk about this model. Personally I don't consider it "premium", but it's such a vague term that it admits numerous considerations.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by cellaris

Actually the Leaf 2 has 2 different versions, with a different construction. The one I have (white) has a flimsier construction than my Tolino Vision 6 (twin brother of the Libra 2), although I deliberately chose it that way for other features (lower weight, higher contrast). The black Leaf 2 has a more robust construction. On the other hand, let's not forget that the initiator of this thread has finally decided to buy the Onyx Boox Page, which could be considered a successor of the black Leaf 2, so it makes quite a lot of sense to talk about this model. Personally I don't consider it "premium", but it's such a vague term that it admits numerous considerations.

The Libra 2 also has a black and a white version. I have the black one and it's quite sturdy. Perhaps the white version is flimsier; I have no idea.

[Ned]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The Libra 2 also has a black and a white version. I have the black one and it's quite sturdy. Perhaps the white version is flimsier; I have no idea.

I have the white version and to my mind it feels definitely premium and not flimsy.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But I am saying color eInk is lousy regardless of the brand.

If you want true color, this only offers you the view of the original under white light.
Otherwise, colors, even "washed-out" ones, provide significantly more information than grayscale.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

But the Boox Leaf 2 devices are the lightest 7-inch devices on the market.

Lightest is not always the best. I would find a heavier Reader with a better battery to be better.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Lightest is not always the best. I would find a heavier Reader with a better battery to be better.

I can't complain about the runtime - it lasts for about 50 hours of reading.
And I prefer light with 50 hours than heavy with 200.
However, I would be even lighter and 10 hours too little.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

If you want true color, this only offers you the view of the original under white light.
Otherwise, colors, even "washed-out" ones, provide significantly more information than grayscale.

If you want true colour you use LCD or OLED. Also too dim without bright lighting or bright front light and makes text fuzzier.

Also the only flimsy ereader I ever encountered ever was the iRiver Cover Story, where the swelling battery cracked the back of the eink panel.
All the Kobo I've used or passed on seem more sturdy than KK3 and PW3 (Touch version c, original H2O, Nia, Libra, Libra2, Sage, Elipsa). The Kindle DXG and Oasis seem more sturdy than PW3, but no better than Elipsa and Libra or Sage.

[chrisridd]

Talking about swelling batteries cracking eink panels - there are lots of reports of Boox screens spontaneously cracking while flat on a table, nothing touching the screen, etc etc.

I've read several posts suggesting (note I've never seen an in depth technical analysis) that Boox's fast charging circuitry is responsible for swelling batteries and these broken screens. Given the thinness of the devices, batteries wouldn't have to swell much.