Backlit e-Reader, least eye strain, & open most formats?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

You must own an actual Kindle to use the "transfer via USB" option. I don't own a Kindle, and when I chose that I get this message:

"You have selected content that is not compatible with any of your registered devices. Please remove incompatible content from selection for eligible devices to appear."

So as far as I know, aside from using an older version of Kindle for PC, you can not avoid KFX from Amazon. And if they retire the older versions of Kindle For PC (as they have done before) then customers like me will be out of luck.

Call your local give you money for items place and see if they have any kindles (not fires) for sale cheap. Then you will have a kindle for converting.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

firstname's gotta be asking how any of this will help him/her find a good reader.

The OP expressed a preference for an "open" ereader. I am alerting to the danger that the Kindle is the least open ereader on the market. That's fine as long as you can get round it. But it will and is getting harder. Also he needs to be aware that he may no longer be able to jail-break, which he also specified as desire for.

Frankly, I can't imagine why anyone who wants an "open" ereader would get a Kindle. Well, I can, because that's all that is in the stores at least in the USA. But it's a potentially dangerous choice if you want to read epubs and want to jail-break. Kobo is far more "open." But I can see why the OP might prefer a Kindle as long as it can be jail-broken.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

The OP expressed a preference for an "open" ereader. I am alerting to the danger that the Kindle is the least open ereader on the market. That's fine as long as you can get round it. But it will and is getting harder. Also he needs to be aware that he may no longer be able to jail-break, which he also specified as desire for.

Frankly, I can't imagine why anyone who wants an "open" ereader would get a Kindle. Well, I can, because that's all that is in the stores at least in the USA. But it's a potentially dangerous choice if you want to read epubs and want to jail-break. Kobo is far more "open." But I can see why the OP might prefer a Kindle as long as it can be jail-broken.

He also said most of his books were from Amazon. So yes a Kindle and Paul's suggestion is awesome.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

The OP expressed a preference for an "open" ereader. I am alerting to the danger that the Kindle is the least open ereader on the market.

For what it's worth, I agree with you (see my follow-up posts). I just think it's funny when a newbie comes asking for advice how often these threads go into esoteric topics.

You know, if they were more common, e-ink devices running Android would be best for users like the above that buy from multiple sources.

On the other hand, from when I was a newbie myself, I find that before you own an e-reader there are a lot of things that you think will be issues (I want it to handle every format) that become non-issues once you are in the e-book world.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

On the other hand, from when I was a newbie myself, I find that before you own an e-reader there are a lot of things that you think will be issues (I want it to handle every format) that become non-issues once you are in the e-book world.

Agreed. People generally find that it's better to convert all their content into a common format, even if they start off with the view that they want a device that can handle multiple formats.

[firstname]

Okay guys, where to begin, a lot of great advice there, thank you all very much for such in depth responses.

The consensus seems to be to go with a Kindle Paperwhite, once I can get one with a firmware version that is jailbreakable. I can certainly look at converting formats, but most devices I own are jailbroken, phones, consoles, Nvidia Shield, and even my Samsung TV so I can access samba, and Irish and UK on demand services on the same TV - I'm just the kind of geek that jailbreaks and roots for the sake of it! 🤓

I read the light filter on the Kobi Aura One is superior to that of the latest gen Paperwhite, is it really that much better? I often have trouble sleeping, which is in part why I want an e-reader, as reading before bed helps a lot, but if the difference in the quality of the filter is only negligible in the Kobi, I may as well save myself several hundred euros?!

An option for PDFs, which I understand both have, is nice bonus, and would definitely be useful for college, although a lot of our content is Powerpoint. The main purpose of my e-reader will be for reading books at night.

Also, one of the video comparisons between the two brands was a damning indictment against the Aura One, intermittent response issues, slow page refresh, highlighting text, etc. I appreciate these issues may have been ironed out in updates since.

https://youtu.be/jj3di89M9Hs

If going with the latest gen Kindle Paperwhite, can new ones still be bought with jailbreakable firmware, and which version is it safe to get up to? And if I buy the version with ads can these be removed after jailbreaking? An option for white text on black background would be nice, but this is not a deal breaker.

I could save myself ~€30/£30 on a second hand paperwhite, but I would need to get the seller to check the version first, and disable updates somehow, perhaps by turning off the Wi-Fi?

Oh and I have some Amazon books, but mainly from other sources - basically I want a device as open as possible.

Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by firstname

If going with the latest gen Kindle Paperwhite, can new ones still be bought with jailbreakable firmware, and which version is it safe to get up to? And if I buy the version with ads can these be removed after jailbreaking? An option for white text on black background would be nice, but this is not a deal breaker.

I could save myself ~€30/£30 on a second hand paperwhite, but I would need to get the seller to check the version first, and disable updates somehow, perhaps by turning off the Wi-Fi?

Oh and I have some Amazon books, but mainly from other sources - basically I want a device as open as possible.

Yes, you can still get the old FW, but be quick...If it's the new version, make sure you can return it. Do not expect to see the new FW hacked any time soon. Without jailbreak you will have the most closed e-reader in the market.

The Kobo is wide-open, but there is less developer work done on it. But it does have a tool for white text on black background. Also the front-light on Kobo are generally recognized to better than on the Kindles, but the Kindle front-light should be acceptable. The Kobo One is new, has a larger screen, so you might expect more issues with the light. But the colored light is nice...Personally I'm not mad about Kobo, but I would never get an un-jailbreraked Kindle ever. Way too restrictive.

[barryem]

I have a feeling that most of this blue-light filter stuff is hype. We live in a fast paced world and a lot of people have problems sleeping and maybe blue light really does affect that but nobody knows for sure. Anyway most of the research on that has involved tablets, not ereaders. Tablets and ereaders have very different lighting situations and on an ereader you're much less affected because there's much less light.

My guess is that a blue light filter on an ereader means nothing. I have no evidence whatever for that but neither does anyone on either side of this discussion.

For what it's worth I read my Kindle in bed almost every night until I'm sleepy and then I go to sleep. I sleep pretty well most of the time. Of course a sample of one means very little but it's the only evidence there is.

Barry

[robko]

None of the Kindles have any type of "night lighting" which the Kobo does. Having said that, the normal lighting of the Aura One is very even, but as soon as you start to crank the night lighting up you may run into some unevenness and blotchiness. Personally I use just enough to take the harshness out of the light and that works for me. If you want full on reddish night lighting you may not have perfect evenness. I'm like Barry in that I'm not sure there's enough research to be conclusive on the blue light factor.
If you want to do a lot of highlighting, the Kindle will probably handle it better.
I can't say I have huge issues with responsiveness. It is not as good as the older IR screens on the older Kobo's, but it's good enough. The page turns faster than I can get my eyes back to the top of the screen so no issues there for me.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by firstname

Okay guys, where to begin, a lot of great advice there, thank you all very much for such in depth responses.

The consensus seems to be to go with a Kindle Paperwhite, once I can get one with a firmware version that is jailbreakable. I can certainly look at converting formats, but most devices I own are jailbroken, phones, consoles, Nvidia Shield, and even my Samsung TV so I can access samba, and Irish and UK on demand services on the same TV - I'm just the kind of geek that jailbreaks and roots for the sake of it! 🤓

I read the light filter on the Kobi Aura One is superior to that of the latest gen Paperwhite, is it really that much better? I often have trouble sleeping, which is in part why I want an e-reader, as reading before bed helps a lot, but if the difference in the quality of the filter is only negligible in the Kobi, I may as well save myself several hundred euros?!

An option for PDFs, which I understand both have, is nice bonus, and would definitely be useful for college, although a lot of our content is Powerpoint. The main purpose of my e-reader will be for reading books at night.

Also, one of the video comparisons between the two brands was a damning indictment against the Aura One, intermittent response issues, slow page refresh, highlighting text, etc. I appreciate these issues may have been ironed out in updates since.

https://youtu.be/jj3di89M9Hs

If going with the latest gen Kindle Paperwhite, can new ones still be bought with jailbreakable firmware, and which version is it safe to get up to? And if I buy the version with ads can these be removed after jailbreaking? An option for white text on black background would be nice, but this is not a deal breaker.

I could save myself ~€30/£30 on a second hand paperwhite, but I would need to get the seller to check the version first, and disable updates somehow, perhaps by turning off the Wi-Fi?

Oh and I have some Amazon books, but mainly from other sources - basically I want a device as open as possible.

Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

That entire post screams 'get a Kobo!'

Kindles are very good devices. I'm not going to hate on them. But Kobo seems to fit your style more.

[firstname]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

Yes, you can still get the old FW, but be quick...If it's the new version, make sure you can return it. Do not expect to see the new FW hacked any time soon. Without jailbreak you will have the most closed e-reader in the market.

From the thread Software Jailbreak for PW2, PW3, PW3W, KT2, KV, KOA and KT3
it would seem I want a Kindle Paperwhite with a firmware version no higher than 5.8.7.0.1. Can you confirm this is the version new PW3s are shipping with? I would not be ordering until next Friday 28/04. Am I also correct it will not work with Wi-Fi only if the capacity is 32GB? I really would not like the 4G version - or to pay for it. Amazon does not should the exact capacity of the PW3, it just shows storage as 'Holds thousands of books'

Is it the case that all current firmwares are jailbreakable, but you expect an update soon?

Also, if I order the version with ads, can they be removed with the jailbreak?

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

The Kobo is wide-open, but there is less developer work done on it. But it does have a tool for white text on black background. Also the front-light on Kobo are generally recognized to better than on the Kindles, but the Kindle front-light should be acceptable. The Kobo One is new, has a larger screen, so you might expect more issues with the light. But the colored light is nice...Personally I'm not mad about Kobo, but I would never get an un-jailbreraked Kindle ever. Way too restrictive.

I am leaning towards the PW3.

Originally Posted by barryem

I have a feeling that most of this blue-light filter stuff is hype. We live in a fast paced world and a lot of people have problems sleeping and maybe blue light really does affect that but nobody knows for sure. Anyway most of the research on that has involved tablets, not ereaders. Tablets and ereaders have very different lighting situations and on an ereader you're much less affected because there's much less light.

My guess is that a blue light filter on an ereader means nothing. I have no evidence whatever for that but neither does anyone on either side of this discussion.

For what it's worth I read my Kindle in bed almost every night until I'm sleepy and then I go to sleep. I sleep pretty well most of the time. Of course a sample of one means very little but it's the only evidence there is.

Good to know, I would just rather err on the side of caution, the PW3 seems to be the way to go.

Originally Posted by robko

None of the Kindles have any type of "night lighting" which the Kobo does. Having said that, the normal lighting of the Aura One is very even, but as soon as you start to crank the night lighting up you may run into some unevenness and blotchiness. Personally I use just enough to take the harshness out of the light and that works for me. If you want full on reddish night lighting you may not have perfect evenness. I'm like Barry in that I'm not sure there's enough research to be conclusive on the blue light factor.
If you want to do a lot of highlighting, the Kindle will probably handle it better.
I can't say I have huge issues with responsiveness. It is not as good as the older IR screens on the older Kobo's, but it's good enough. The page turns faster than I can get my eyes back to the top of the screen so no issues there for me.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

That entire post screams 'get a Kobo!'

Kindles are very good devices. I'm not going to hate on them. But Kobo seems to fit your style more.

The price is a big factor for me, and it does seem I can do everything on a PW3, once jailbroken at least...

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by firstname

Also, if I order the version with ads, can they be removed with the jailbreak?

The presence or absence of a jailbreak does not affect the ability to pay Amazon the appropriate fee to remove the ads. It would, though, be easier to simply buy the ad-free device up-front.

[firstname]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The presence or absence of a jailbreak does not affect the ability to pay Amazon the appropriate fee to remove the ads. It would, though, be easier to simply buy the ad-free device up-front.

I have no qualms about saving myself £10 rather than giving it to Amazon, if once jailbroken removing the ads is do-able. Although the presence or absence of a jailbreak does affect the ability to pay, it does however affect whether or not I have to pay.

[Cinisajoy]

Couple of quick answers.
Yes, the firmware has to be 5.8.7.0.1 or lower in order to jailbreak.
Second, you cannot get rid of the special offers with the jailbreak.
Third if you have special offers, you cannot use the screensaver hacks.
Yes, you can have them removed by Amazon later but it is easier to do it before jailbreaking.

Personally if you just want to jailbreak for other formats, my suggestion would be convert with Calibre instead.

*Make sure if you decide to jailbreak that you read ALL (including the spoilers) the instructions and understand them before starting.
*Do not attempt to remove the special offers yourself unless you want a $100+ paperweight.

[firstname]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Couple of quick answers.
Yes, the firmware has to be 5.8.7.0.1 or lower in order to jailbreak.
Second, you cannot get rid of the special offers with the jailbreak.
Third if you have special offers, you cannot use the screensaver hacks.
Yes, you can have them removed by Amazon later but it is easier to do it before jailbreaking.

Personally if you just want to jailbreak for other formats, my suggestion would be convert with Calibre instead.

*Make sure if you decide to jailbreak that you read ALL (including the spoilers) the instructions and understand them before starting.
*Do not attempt to remove the special offers yourself unless you want a $100+ paperweight.

I have just read about people getting onto Amazon customer service, and asking them to remove the ads, and the Amazon agents doing this for free, but warning it is an exception. So perhaps I could order one with special offers, see if I can get ads removed for free, if not pay the cost, and only then jailbreak? Any drawback to this?

Also, is 5.8.7.0.1 the current firmware version a new PW will come with?