Cheapest ebook for comfy reading manga

[Shadow_Galecross]

Good morning fellow readers. I once tried to buy a cheap Kobo Aura Edition II on Ebay but got scammed(The price was maybe too low)
I gave up on reading on my phone because it melts my eyes and disrupts my sleep pattern so could you recommend me a budget(somewhere between 20~60€) ereader for ocasional reading?
Requirements: Being able to load some Jpeg´s and EPUBS
E-Ink screen
Would be cool if it has Android/Possibility of loading custom apps
like in Kobo
I live in Spain btw
Thank you in advance

[JSWolf]

I'm not sure you can get a Reader good enough for manga for that price. Plus, you want a large a screen as possible. My suggestion is the Kobo Libra H20.Granted, it's above your budget and you may have to save for one.

[ilovejedd]

You’ll want something at least ~6” + 300 ppi or ~7” 260 ppi.

The Kobo Libra H2O is super nice for manga albeit it’s a lot higher than your budget.

Personally, I use a Libra H2O, and jailbroken 32GB PW3 and PW4 with KOReader for reading manga (CBZ format). All of them work pretty great although the Libra is obviously the best (alas, small storage).

Don’t get a Kindle unless you can jailbreak it, though. PW3 with firmware 5.9.6.1 or lower and PW4 on any firmware is jailbreakable. In the US, we’ve had occasional deals on those dropping the price of the 32GB version to as low as US$80 (from a trusted seller: Amazon, Woot, Best Buy, etc).

If the Libra H2O is just too out of reach, the Clara HD 6” 300 ppi is Kobo’s competitor to the PW4. It doesn’t require jailbreak to read EPUB and CBZ (although I find KOReader much better for CBZ). There are no options for higher capacity but I believe it’s possible to perform some minor surgery and replace the internal microSD card with a bigger one.

Here are other good alternatives you might be able to get refurb or used for a decent price.

Kobo Aura HD 6.8” 265 ppi
Kobo Glo HD 6” 300 ppi

[Blas]

I was also looking for an e-reader for comics. The Kobo Aura HD looked decent(not perfect)for the screen size and sdcard slot. Unfortunately I still found it a bit overpriced. So in the end I'm just using an old tablet.

btw AliExpress has some refurbished options



Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

You’ll want something at least ~6” + 300 ppi or ~7” 260 ppi.

At least 7".

The Kobo Libra H2O is super nice for manga albeit it’s a lot higher than your budget.

I cannot find a Reader for the OPs price range that's going to be good for Manga.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

At least 7".

This is definitely YMMV.

The Aura Edition II is 6” 212 ppi, iirc, so I’m guessing the size is fine for the OP. I’ve seen people who read manga full page on even smaller smartphones (with very high pixel density).

I can read manga just fine on a 6” 300 ppi e-ink reader. On the 7.9” iPad mini, I actually read manga in double-page landscape mode (so around 1024 x 1536 pixels per page at 2:3 AR).

[Shadow_Galecross]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

You’ll want something at least ~6” + 300 ppi or ~7” 260 ppi.

The Kobo Libra H2O is super nice for manga albeit it’s a lot higher than your budget.

Personally, I use a Libra H2O, and jailbroken 32GB PW3 and PW4 with KOReader for reading manga (CBZ format). All of them work pretty great although the Libra is obviously the best (alas, small storage).

Don’t get a Kindle unless you can jailbreak it, though. PW3 with firmware 5.9.6.1 or lower and PW4 on any firmware is jailbreakable. In the US, we’ve had occasional deals on those dropping the price of the 32GB version to as low as US$80 (from a trusted seller: Amazon, Woot, Best Buy, etc).

If the Libra H2O is just too out of reach, the Clara HD 6” 300 ppi is Kobo’s competitor to the PW4. It doesn’t require jailbreak to read EPUB and CBZ (although I find KOReader much better for CBZ). There are no options for higher capacity but I believe it’s possible to perform some minor surgery and replace the internal microSD card with a bigger one.

Here are other good alternatives you might be able to get refurb or used for a decent price.

Kobo Aura HD 6.8” 265 ppi
Kobo Glo HD 6” 300 ppi

Thank you all for the info , I´m actually reading manga on a 5" screen smartphone using zoom always so almost anything will be better. How can I difference a PW model from another?

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Galecross

Thank you all for the info , I´m actually reading manga on a 5" screen smartphone using zoom always so almost anything will be better. How can I difference a PW model from another?

I'd like to point out again, for your stated usage (manga not purchased from Amazon), Kindle is BAD unless you can jailbreak and install KOReader. The reason I mentioned them is because they're pretty popular and are likely easier to find compared to other models.

PW3: make sure it has 5.9.6.1 firmware or lower only
2015, Kindle Paperwhite 7th generation, raised bezels, black Kindle logo on bottom front bezel

PW4: any firmware OK
2018, Kindle Paperwhite 10th generation, waterproof, flush bezels, white Kindle logo on bottom front bezel

[Shadow_Galecross]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

I'd like to point out again, for your stated usage (manga not purchased from Amazon), Kindle is BAD unless you can jailbreak and install KOReader. The reason I mentioned them is because they're pretty popular and are likely easier to find compared to other models.

PW3: make sure it has 5.9.6.1 firmware or lower only
2015, Kindle Paperwhite 7th generation, raised bezels, black Kindle logo on bottom front bezel

PW4: any firmware OK
2018, Kindle Paperwhite 10th generation, waterproof, flush bezels, white Kindle logo on bottom front bezel

Well I´m a bit tech savvy so I´m not afraid of some hacking but I get the point of it being too risky. I will save for a kobo model with nice dpi

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Galecross

Well I´m a bit tech savvy so I´m not afraid of some hacking but I get the point of it being too risky. I will save for a kobo model with nice dpi

It’s not that it’s risky at all. The software JB method is pretty safe. It’s the fact that JB is basically impossible once you go past a certain firmware version on most Kindle models.

At this point in time, the chances of finding a jailbreakable 212-300 ppi Kindle that’s not a PW4 is very low. Well, PW1 is a guaranteed JB but it’s really old, lighting is super uneven and it only has around 1-1.3GB usable storage.

You could do a hardware serial jailbreak on the PW3 but then you’d be spending extra on the USB-serial adapter (may cost a pretty penny if you need to import overseas). Serial jailbreak is also a lot more difficult to do.

TL;DR
Kindles are fine as long as you make sure the one you buy is jailbreakable.

[Quoth]

Or they are also fine if even if you don't jail break them. I did JB on the DXG purely to have a "current read" book cover as "sleep screen".
I actually now read most of my Kindle ebooks on a Kobo Libra via Calibre and I don't feel the need to JB the Kobo or my Kindle Keyboard or Kindle PW3 (I also have an Original H2O 6.8" and did have a Kobo touch till the screen failed). I have the Kindle DXG (B009), Kindle Keyboard (B008) and a PW3 bought just after the PW4 was released, to replace one I gave to the Wife.

I use Calibre (and sometimes even Calibre->RTF->LO Writer->.docx->epub->azw) if the Published eBook is annoying in format/layout.
I avoid the evil KFX, that adds DRM even if Publisher requested DRM free, by simply never using "whispernet" via 3G or WiFi, but "Download to PC and transfer via USB option".

The Kobo Libra 7" is better than a 6" Kindle PW4 (both 300 dpi) and if the Kindle is bought without so called "special offers" (=Advert Spam) there is little difference in price in Ireland.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Or they are also fine if even if you don't jail break them. I did JB on the DXG purely to have a "current read" book cover as "sleep screen".

Not if one plans on using the Kindle for non-Amazon purchased manga. Calibre doesn’t really convert those properly.

For manga conversion, Kindle Comic Converter is best. That said, this one’s pretty time consuming. Also, keeping multiple formats for manga takes up tons of storage unlike most ebooks. I’ve found the converted manga is often bigger than the original CBZ file.

As for price, reckon that’s quite variable. In the US, the PW4 often goes on sale for 1/2 the price of the Libra or even less. I think cheapest one I got was $65 brand new after Mother’s Day discount and 20% Amazon Prime cash back. There’s also likely more supply of inexpensive used PW3s and PW4s than used Kobos.

That said, Forma, Libra H2O, Aura ONE, Aura H2O and Aura HD are much better options if one can afford them (and find them in the case of older models).

[Quoth]

Certainly an original H2O 6.8" with SD card slot has more storage.