New member and new to e-book readers here, what should I buy during Black Friday?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by abbynormal52

This looks good, but such a low price?? It's only 6". Mine I have now is a 7 inch reader (kindle) bought a few years ago now.

It's eink. Your device is a tablet.

[cherries]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Kobo Libra 2 is ok, but it has no PDF reflow and may be a bit too small for PDF. No expandable storage, either, but the built-in storage is 32GB. Easily moddable and customizable.

thank you! are there other options as well? such as the PocketBook Era?

[Frogm4n]

Originally Posted by abbynormal52

Ohhhhhh man, they changed them!! Thanks so much for the heads-up, they used to be called Kindle Fires, I'm behind the times, nothing new about that

The change was back when they released the 4th gen in 2014. A whole lot of people have never really paid attention to it.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by cherries

thank you! are there other options as well? such as the PocketBook Era?

Pocketbook Era is similar to the Libra 2 in terms of the features you want.

[JSWolf]

The problem is that the a 7" eInk screen is too small for most PDF.

[jackm8]

Originally Posted by cherries

Hello!
I'm currently looking for a good e-book reader at around 150 USD/~4 million VND (as I'm from Vietnam). And, before you ask, no, I can't go any higher, sorry! I'm also not too open to used/second-hand options.
What I need from an e-book reader are:
- screen is big enough to read PDFs without having to zoom in and out too often (as I read a lot of textbooks, coursebooks, etc), so probably around 6-8 inches?
- easily moddable/customizable (so easy jailbreaking/rooting)
What I want from an e-book reader are:
- expandable storage (via microSD)
- full Linux ports (I think?) (like what Kindles get with their Alpine port)
thank you for reading my post!

Search your local stores for 10' Android Tablets. That's by far your best option in your budget range if you're so keen on pdf. Battery life will be worse compared to e-ink readers, but you'll get 10' screen. That will make a huge difference compared to 6' 8' e-eink readers, even if you manage to source one at your budget range. 6' and 7' is near unless, 8' is useful in case of large font pdf. If you want a screen for general use pdf, 10' is almost a minimum.


I'd also look for tablets that are in more of a square ratio, not wide like 16:9. When reading in portrait mode, 4:3 is preferable.

[cherries]

Originally Posted by jackm8

Search your local stores for 10' Android Tablets. That's by far your best option in your budget range if you're so keen on pdf. Battery life will be worse compared to e-ink readers, but you'll get 10' screen. That will make a huge difference compared to 6' 8' e-eink readers, even if you manage to source one at your budget range. 6' and 7' is near unless, 8' is useful in case of large font pdf. If you want a screen for general use pdf, 10' is almost a minimum.


I'd also look for tablets that are in more of a square ratio, not wide like 16:9. When reading in portrait mode, 4:3 is preferable.

I should have clarified in the original post, but: I would rather have an e-ink screen. Plus, I already have an Android tablet, it's just that I want e-ink because my eyes cannot withstand the light from LCD.

[ableal]

Originally Posted by cherries

I should have clarified in the original post, but: I would rather have an e-ink screen. Plus, I already have an Android tablet, it's just that I want e-ink because my eyes cannot withstand the light from LCD.

You're in for a disappointment, in my humble opinion.

I tried with an expensive Kindle DX back in 2010, and it wasn't very good at PDFs - you either squinted at the small print (at 200 dpi) in portrait mode, or you went into landscape mode and had to pan the pages.

15 years later, the e-ink picture is not much better. Perhaps you can get an expensive 300 dpi 10+ inch device, but the choice is still the same - small print or pan around.

Personally I gave up on e-ink for full-page PDFs/comics, and got myself a 14" TCL Nxtpaper (as wisely advised here, thank you). For regular fiction a 7" BW e-ink Kobo Libra2 is my favorite.

[nana77]

Originally Posted by cherries

I should have clarified in the original post, but: I would rather have an e-ink screen. Plus, I already have an Android tablet, it's just that I want e-ink because my eyes cannot withstand the light from LCD.

Just to put a note, tablets that use OLED instead LCD displays might use lower backlight, despite blue color emissions are eye-straining anyway, them can have filters, too.
(The e-ink would be better for the eyes).
But if you want to give it a look: https://asgeyehospital.com/blog/whic...es-oled-or-lcd
https://thetradable.com/opinions/ole...er-on-the-eyes
I mean, if you want to search for second hands, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsun...y_Tab_S_series
Ps: battery expectations are different too, from e-ink to LCD, OLEDs...

[Sirtel]

The PDF format was created for printing, not for reading on handheld devices. Reading them on small screens (anything less than 12" qualifies as small in this sense) is and always will be a lousy experience, IMO. Yes, some people do it, but I doubt even they find it all that pleasant.

Personally I'd use a tablet for PDF.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The PDF format was created for printing, not for reading on handheld devices. ...

The "P" stands for "portable" not "printing". Personally, I seldom print them.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by John F

The "P" stands for "portable" not "printing". Personally, I seldom print them.

I don't either, but neither do I read them on my Kobos. I read them on a computer or a tablet.

But a few decades ago printing was a lot more common than it is now.

[PeterT]

I sense that the Portable referred to the ability to view the document on another desktop computer without the original app installed (or even all the fonts present); not the ability to view it on a handheld device.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I sense that the Portable referred to the ability to view the document on another desktop computer without the original app installed (or even all the fonts present); not the ability to view it on a handheld device.

Yeah. I don't think there were too many handheld devices in existence back then (if any).

[Quoth]

Portable in PDF means the same everywhere. It is designed for print, but "portable" to any system with WYSIWYG.

In the 1950s most portable TVs and tape recorders only ran on mains.

A 1981 portable computer, 10.7kg and mains only.
https://collection.sciencemuseumgrou...table-computer

A 1955 portable tape recorder, 29kg and mains only.
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/emi_po...der_tr50b.html
Used by BBC.

Portable on PDF doesn't mean for ereaders, portable devices, nor is a PDF an ebook. It's an electronic document that will match the printed one and portable in the sense of moving to a different system.

For years the MS Word for Windows documents were NOT portable as the exact formatting depended on the printer selected! Also by default the fonts were not included. A PDF by default included the fonts.

The PDF was released in 1993 and based on Postscript (1992).

There were electronic book formats and portable devices using mini CD from 1991. There were portable gadgets you could read on by mid 1980s.

PDAs were the first usable portable devices for reading, (Palm, Newton, Windows CE) and the first true ebook ereader you'd recognise, using the precursor to epub2 was in 1998. It had a modem so no PC needed. LCD obviously.

Sony eink was 2005 and Kindle 2007. Neither used epub, though Sony did adopt it later.

PDF has never ever been good for portable devices, though PalmOS, Windows CE and Symbian had viewers. You had to pan and zoom lots.

Really a 13+ inch tablet is the minimum for PDFs. I've had two eink 10.3″ and not good enough. The 10.9″ Nxtpaper 11 isn't quite good enough, but the 14.25″ Nxtpaper 14 is.

The 1920 x 1080 in landscape only just does Letter and not good enough for A4. The 1600 x 1200 and 1920 x 1200 are only just good enough for A4. Really for desktop you need QHD minimum and ideally 4K on a display just big enough (23″ or more) to be able to turn off Retina/HiDPI mode.