The Worst ebook Reader You Ever Owned! - Page 8

ZodWallop · 07-30-2023, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HLS

The KOBO that walmart first started to sell. The bargain basement model. Don't remember the name

The Aura 2 or the Nia?

ps67 · 07-30-2023, 04:24 PM

I could say the Pocketbook Color, the first 6" but I knew very well that I was buying a device that used a new technology and the result could not be that good. The Inkpad Color is already a little better. But now that's enough for a while with color ereaders, I expect significant improvements. Otherwise I've loved every ereader I have or have had, even though I hardly use the Kindle PW3 anymore.

Sumanuil · 08-13-2023, 03:37 AM

A Kindle 5 I got at a charity shop, eventually dubbed "The Purple PDF Eater" after the color of the case it came with and the fact that it took chunks out of PDFs when it tried to load them. Thankfully, it turns out it wasn't actually damaging the files, it just refused to display every third page or so.

donnieparker · 08-16-2023, 10:24 AM

This one is easy: The Sony PRS-T1. I bought it to replace my PRS-350 (boy that thing was cute). I'm not sure I've ever been more disappointed in a reader—I changed to a Nook Glowlight after less than a year. The type rendering was awful, the software was spotty, and the ergonomics were bad (the unit is surprisingly sharp at the edges and corners). My favorite reader was the OG Kobo Aura, and I wish they'd bring back that design—flush screens are the BEST.

andyh2000 · 08-16-2023, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnieparker

This one is easy: The Sony PRS-T1. I bought it to replace my PRS-350 (boy that thing was cute). I'm not sure I've ever been more disappointed in a reader—I changed to a Nook Glowlight after less than a year. The type rendering was awful, the software was spotty, and the ergonomics were bad (the unit is surprisingly sharp at the edges and corners). My favorite reader was the OG Kobo Aura, and I wish they'd bring back that design—flush screens are the BEST.

I think the PRS-T1 was when I reluctantly dipped out of Sony's ecosystem and jumped ship to Kindles. It was such a shame - the first one I had (PRS-550?) was built like a tank with a metal case.

Andrew

donnieparker · 08-16-2023, 11:06 AM

The x50 line was AWESOME (although super expensive). I think it was the 350/650/950? They even had styluses for some reason! I would've used mine for longer, but something heavy rested on the screen and destroyed it (even with a case on)

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyh2000

I think the PRS-T1 was when I reluctantly dipped out of Sony's ecosystem and jumped ship to Kindles. It was such a shame - the first one I had (PRS-550?) was built like a tank with a metal case.

Andrew

JSWolf · 08-16-2023, 12:06 PM

The T1 was pretty good for back then. It had good text rendering and worked well.

andyh2000 · 08-16-2023, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donnieparker

The x50 line was AWESOME (although super expensive). I think it was the 350/650/950? They even had styluses for some reason! I would've used mine for longer, but something heavy rested on the screen and destroyed it (even with a case on)

Ah yes I misremembered. It was a PRS-505 I had first before the x50 line appeared.

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/PRS505

Andrew

ausGeoff · 08-16-2023, 04:29 PM

I've only owned two. My current Libra 2 and my first H2o.

The H2o was never a great reader from day one. It had a great screen display as such, but was plagued with "touch" problems. When waking it up it'd occasionally open at the last page, sometimes the home page, and sometimes even reboot.

I contacted Kobo customer support, and we went through the usual processes of trying to reset and fix the reader, but all to no avail. Eventually, Kobo offered to send me a replacement "refurbished" reader at around half the RRP. Which I refused of course, as I wasn't prepared to send the faulty one back at my postage cost.

I'm not sure how other folks here have found Kobo customer service to be, but I was very disappointed that they didn't truly stand by their product after the warranty period had expired.

At the end of the day, they just basically said we can't and/or won't do any more to help you, thank you and goodbye! Hopefully my new Libra 2 stand the test of time a little better.

Quoth · 08-16-2023, 05:10 PM

The original H2O was IR touch so affected by any mix of:
Dirt on screen
Dirt at bezel; the IR light came out of black edge.
Bezel was held on with double sided tape and if out of place the IR light pipes would not line up with IR LEDs and phototransistors and then faulty touch.

hobnail · 08-16-2023, 09:08 PM

The first 10 inch Onyx Boox. Ignoring the problems with Android on a 16 levels of gray screen, nothing I did would get it to properly display ragged right text. It always justified it, which I hate.

Android on a grayscale screen is a mistake in my opinion. A lot of the colors they use work reasonably well on a color screen but when converted to 16 levels of gray you can get a light gray on a just slightly lighter/darker gray making things hard to discern.

Because it wasn't a licensed copy of Android you had to download and install the standard Android apps, which includes the Play store. I spent a lot of time going in circles trying to do that due to the above grayscale problem; there was a button I didn't see. And then when I did, trying different ebook readers was very disappointing (grayscale problems again), although koreader was a definite viable candidate. But by then I was so discouraged I gave up and went back to my Kobo Forma.

JSWolf · 08-17-2023, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ausGeoff

I've only owned two. My current Libra 2 and my first H2o.

The H2o was never a great reader from day one. It had a great screen display as such, but was plagued with "touch" problems. When waking it up it'd occasionally open at the last page, sometimes the home page, and sometimes even reboot.

I used the original H2O for about 6 years and never did I have any of your problems.

Desertway · 08-17-2023, 04:35 PM

I read novels from Fictionwise / Peanut Press on my Palm Pilot in the late nineties and loved it. My first dedicated ereader was the Aluratek Libre (still for sale!) and that was a miserable experience. It was replaced by the wonderful Kindle Keyboard. I still have that awful Aluratek, but it won't hold a charge for more than a few minutes.

Sweetpea · 08-28-2023, 02:29 AM

I once bought an e-ink device from Aldi. That was the worst device ever. It had a battery life of about 6 hours! In the end it didn't even work as a recipe book in the kitchen as it was always empty when you needed it. Even if it was turned off.

ZodWallop · 08-29-2023, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I once bought an e-ink device from Aldi. That was the worst device ever. It had a battery life of about 6 hours! In the end it didn't even work as a recipe book in the kitchen as it was always empty when you needed it. Even if it was turned off.

Okay. I was super curious about an Aldi ereader and went looking. Was it this one: Aldi Bauhn

08-16-2023, 09:08 PM	#116
hobnail Running with scissors Posts: 1,587 Karma: 14328510 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	The first 10 inch Onyx Boox. Ignoring the problems with Android on a 16 levels of gray screen, nothing I did would get it to properly display ragged right text. It always justified it, which I hate. Android on a grayscale screen is a mistake in my opinion. A lot of the colors they use work reasonably well on a color screen but when converted to 16 levels of gray you can get a light gray on a just slightly lighter/darker gray making things hard to discern. Because it wasn't a licensed copy of Android you had to download and install the standard Android apps, which includes the Play store. I spent a lot of time going in circles trying to do that due to the above grayscale problem; there was a button I didn't see. And then when I did, trying different ebook readers was very disappointing (grayscale problems again), although koreader was a definite viable candidate. But by then I was so discouraged I gave up and went back to my Kobo Forma. Last edited by hobnail; 08-16-2023 at 09:12 PM.

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07-30-2023, 04:24 PM	#107
ps67 Guru Posts: 755 Karma: 7025494 Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Italy Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Elipsa, Pocketbook Inkpad 4, Inkpad Color	I could say the Pocketbook Color, the first 6" but I knew very well that I was buying a device that used a new technology and the result could not be that good. The Inkpad Color is already a little better. But now that's enough for a while with color ereaders, I expect significant improvements. Otherwise I've loved every ereader I have or have had, even though I hardly use the Kindle PW3 anymore.

08-13-2023, 03:37 AM	#108
Sumanuil Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 92524 Join Date: Jun 2023 Location: USA Device: Kindle (10th Generation)	A Kindle 5 I got at a charity shop, eventually dubbed "The Purple PDF Eater" after the color of the case it came with and the fact that it took chunks out of PDFs when it tried to load them. Thankfully, it turns out it wasn't actually damaging the files, it just refused to display every third page or so.

08-16-2023, 10:24 AM	#109
donnieparker Member Posts: 23 Karma: 422 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Aura	This one is easy: The Sony PRS-T1. I bought it to replace my PRS-350 (boy that thing was cute). I'm not sure I've ever been more disappointed in a reader—I changed to a Nook Glowlight after less than a year. The type rendering was awful, the software was spotty, and the ergonomics were bad (the unit is surprisingly sharp at the edges and corners). My favorite reader was the OG Kobo Aura, and I wish they'd bring back that design—flush screens are the BEST.

08-16-2023, 12:06 PM	#112
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,786 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	The T1 was pretty good for back then. It had good text rendering and worked well.

08-16-2023, 04:29 PM	#114
ausGeoff Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2023 Device: Kobo Libra 2	I've only owned two. My current Libra 2 and my first H2o. The H2o was never a great reader from day one. It had a great screen display as such, but was plagued with "touch" problems. When waking it up it'd occasionally open at the last page, sometimes the home page, and sometimes even reboot. I contacted Kobo customer support, and we went through the usual processes of trying to reset and fix the reader, but all to no avail. Eventually, Kobo offered to send me a replacement "refurbished" reader at around half the RRP. Which I refused of course, as I wasn't prepared to send the faulty one back at my postage cost. I'm not sure how other folks here have found Kobo customer service to be, but I was very disappointed that they didn't truly stand by their product after the warranty period had expired. At the end of the day, they just basically said we can't and/or won't do any more to help you, thank you and goodbye! Hopefully my new Libra 2 stand the test of time a little better.

08-16-2023, 05:10 PM	#115
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,098 Karma: 105211945 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	The original H2O was IR touch so affected by any mix of: Dirt on screen Dirt at bezel; the IR light came out of black edge. Bezel was held on with double sided tape and if out of place the IR light pipes would not line up with IR LEDs and phototransistors and then faulty touch.

08-17-2023, 04:35 PM	#118
Desertway Addict Posts: 336 Karma: 1701842 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kindle Oasis 3	I read novels from Fictionwise / Peanut Press on my Palm Pilot in the late nineties and loved it. My first dedicated ereader was the Aluratek Libre (still for sale!) and that was a miserable experience. It was replaced by the wonderful Kindle Keyboard. I still have that awful Aluratek, but it won't hold a charge for more than a few minutes.

08-28-2023, 02:29 AM	#119
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	I once bought an e-ink device from Aldi. That was the worst device ever. It had a battery life of about 6 hours! In the end it didn't even work as a recipe book in the kitchen as it was always empty when you needed it. Even if it was turned off.

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