Quest for a new simple 6-inch reader

[kennyc]

I recently dumped my kindles and went with the Boox Go 6 and loving it. They do have a model with physical buttons. Screen is great and will run android apps so you can use whichever reading software you like for syncing etc.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Quoth

My Libra H2O and Libra2 screens are identical.

I think there is a big variation in Eink Corp's eink screen quality for the same model screen, unlike any other display technology.

And there is as big a variation in frontlight quality (if you use it, of course).

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

And there is as big a variation in frontlight quality (if you use it, of course).

Absolutely. It's even more marked on larger screens, which are more challenging to light evenly from the edges. This is probably why some 10″+ eink screens have no frontlight, not because they are mobius (if they are, which is only to reduce chassis weight).

The light pipe layer also reduces contrast and sharpness, (touch layers also slightly reduce contrast, but little effect on sharpness) which is why some old Pearl screens (no front light) look quite good compared to Carta.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Pocketbook's weakest feature is font handling. There's not way to up the weight of fonts. So if the font you've installed is too light, you are out of luck.

That's why I use the Constantia font on all of my eReaders (except the Nook which doesn't allow side-loaded fonts). But I agree, this is a weakness in the PocketBooks — that and the terrible default dictionary.

I have used its TTS (text to speech) feature a little when my eyes were tired. That's something not found on most eReaders now. (Not really a deal-maker or breaker, though.)

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

And there is as big a variation in frontlight quality (if you use it, of course).

The light quality is good on the PocketBook Touch HD3. Thirteen lights, six amber and seven white. I assume (but don't know for sure) that the PocketBook Verse Pro uses the same front-lighting and screen.

[cellaris]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Absolutely. It's even more marked on larger screens, which are more challenging to light evenly from the edges.

The three 10" e-readers I own, the PocketBook InkPad X, Kindle Scribe and Kobo Elipsa 2e, have virtually flawless lighting. In fact, I bought the Elipsa 2e mainly because of the quality of its lighting. In comparison, I was quite disappointed with the lighting on the Kobo Sage and the Libra Colour (although each specific device may vary significantly). On the other hand, I have seen other 10" e-readers with very uneven lighting. But I can say the same about my smaller e-readers (6", 7" and 8"). I have some with fantastic lighting and others with very poor lighting. So I'm not at all sure that size is a decisive factor in lighting quality. In theory, it should be more difficult to illuminate a larger screen evenly, but my practical experience tells me otherwise.

[Quoth]

Manufacturing quality does seem to be a bigger issue than size.

[crAss]

While I do own many electronic gadgets, ebook readers are the thing I want ultimate simplicity and are by far the devices I keep most around.
I just want to spend a couple of minutes to get an ebook and upload it to my reader. And that is it. I rarely use a dictionary, but if I am not mistaken I believe I have the Oxford one (or something better than default) from the days of my first reader the Bookeen Cybook Gen3 that I could move forward. In any case dictionary I have used less than 10 times the last years, so not so important.
Frontlight I need for sure, since nowadays most of my reading happens on airplanes.
The only comment that got me thinking a bit was the one about Pocketbook's weakest feature is font handling. Given than I can add fonts I hope I will be able to get one that I can set the size and it to be clear enough. I guess that after the first week I will simply turn it on, read, bookmark turn off and when finished add another book and do that all over again and this is the reason I do not really want any other features.

Thank you all! I will most probably get the PocketBook Verse Pro when I get back from holidays.

PS. Sorry for this off-topic comment. But I want to say I love that the aesthetics of mobileread forums have remained the same for so long. It might be years between my posts here, but I always feel at home when coming back to seek advice or share some thoughts.

[kennyc]

Thanks for the follow up!

[crAss]

It's a bit funny. Essentially, I got my new ebook reader just a few days ago, almost one year after I started looking for one. This would be simply irrational for any other electronic device. Given, though, the expected lifetime of ebook readers, it can still work.
To be honest a chip from the bezel was the thing that made me get back to deciding a replacement. For a 700 page book, I just needed to charge once, which was not a huge deal by any means. But the actual bezel starting to chip away was not something to live with.

So, the starting point was PocketBook Verse Pro. But during this year, presbyopia started to kick in. And since I got my first ebook reader I have always loved tiny fonts on the devices I got not to press "next page" all the time. But I need to turn either backlight to full or increase by one step the size of the font to keep it same size as before.

On top of that, the generic cover I got is essentially the same size as a 7 inch reader. So, I started thinking that I could get the same amount on text that I got in the 6 inch reader in a 7 inch with one higher size font. I had already tested the bulk of a 7 inch through that cover.

This size, though, has a plethora of choices. What I knew from start was that by no means wanted an android one. But what about other options. How about a color screen? Would it be possible to read National Geographic or the Economist on a 7 inch reader? MS Surface pro works great but it is big and weighs a lot to hold when in bed before sleeping.

Also, I have tried keeping digital notes on the MS Surface Pro. The pen I very rarely use, just 2-3 times a year since I type faster. But what about a smaller notepad when I cannot bring the laptop out? Most probably I would not really use it. But how about trying it.
How about integration with a cloud storage? While this is not required at all for books, since I use calibre and I am really happy with it, it would make sense for magazines so that I do not have to connect the ebook to the pc.

And then if all of these are implemented don't you go back to the android ebooks which most of the time have awful battery autonomy, because they are tablets with an e-ink screen?

Well, I looked around a lot and decided to get the Kobo Libra Color. I got it a few days ago and I am really really happy.
- Maybe the contrast is not as good as the comparable black/white e-ink panels currently. It is better than the ebook I am coming from, so it is a non-issue.
- I easily paired my ms surface pen with it and started taking notes. On the OCR front with my awful handwriting it understands everything!!! Also, integration via google drive is perfect. I just used CODEX and developed an app running on my pc which takes these notes and saves them in Onenote where I keep my notes! While this is not a guaranty of use, still I like that I have the option to do it if I choose to.
- While English OCR is perfect, there is no support for Greek. I am looking around on how to properly activate it, because the software layer that does the OCR works with Greek as well.
- I loaded one national geographic and one economist magazine in pdf. I copied them from my pc to google drive. They appeared on the ebook and I read half of the national geographic in bed yesterday evening. Yes the photos are not as good as on the laptop/desktop but they are good enough and hugely better than black and white ones. And in landscape I can easily read the text. BIG WIN for me.
- It is nice that it has a browser. It is not the best, but for specific things, it is very good to have.
Now I need to go forward and install KOReader and also see how to activate OCR in Greek.
I hope it is able to operate for a decade as my past 2 e-readers!

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by crAss

As I was going around I found just one ebook reader with all the above, the PocketBook Verse Pro (ok, the pro adds waterproofing not a deal breaker, but since I am buying one such device every ten years I do not care to spend a little more).

The Pro also adds a higher resolution screen, 300 dpi instead of (about) 225 in the non-Pro version. Also has more LEDs for more even lighting. I've got the Verse Pro's predecessor, the Touch HD 3 — it's a very nice eReader.

EDIT: Didn't realize this was an old thread. Sorry.