Android + Playstore without rooting + Physical page buttons?

[JawadLeLogeur]

Are there any models that have all three of these features and no major design flaws?

best wishes

[gimble]

Have you considered the Onyx Boox readers? I believe most of their current models have physical page turn buttons and all of them use android OS. I can personally confirm that both their 9.7" N96 and 13.3" Max2 support Google play store by default.

The cheapest one with your requirements would be Onyx Boox C67ML - its other specs (6", 300 ppi carta screen, front light) are comparable to the kindle paperwhite.

A point to consider is that only their late 2017 models (Max2, Note) come with android 6.0, the other models have android 4.2. This seems to be the norm with other android eink readers as well - i.e. most support 4.2 only.

Another manufacturer of android eink readers is Boyue, but I don't have much experience with their lineup.

You should also keep in mind that just because these devices have android, it does not imply they can function just as well as tablets when it comes to anything other than reading (or writing as the case may be). The app experience will vary.

[JawadLeLogeur]

Good stuff, cheers

[mobama]

Onyx is an obvious choice when you want Android, but I consider the lack of a physical home button (and overall lack of configuration options for the physical buttons) a major design flaw. In Onyx you have to keep pressing the Back button if you want to get out of the app and back to the home page, and depending on the app it may be very many presses. There is a Home button on the screen though (not always).

Another thing that comes close to a design flaw with Onyx is that it starts up slowish and needs to re-index the whole library at startup. If you are ready to spend at least a minute from startup until you get into a book on the device, then it's okay.

Every device has its quirks and Onyx has quirks like this. Otherwise very good to have Android and try different apps on Playstore, and the inbuilt reading app is wonderfully functional too, so I am getting along quite well with the Onyx I have.

[JawadLeLogeur]

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually had an Inkbook Obsidian before this. It took its last breath yesterday after an encounter with the floor. I did like it overall but I had trouble looking past some of its flaws so I am going to look for another brand.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JawadLeLogeur

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually had an Inkbook Obsidian before this. It took its last breath yesterday after an encounter with the floor. I did like it overall but I had trouble looking past some of its flaws so I am going to look for another brand.

Since the InkBook Classic 2 and Prime are subjects in another thread, is it possible to list a few of InkBook's flaws? I figure there must be some, or the InkBooks (considering their prices) would probably be more popular now than they appear to be.

[JawadLeLogeur]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Since the InkBook Classic 2 and Prime are subjects in another thread, is it possible to list a few of InkBook's flaws? I figure there must be some, or the InkBooks (considering their prices) would probably be more popular now than they appear to be.

I inexplicably misread mobama's post and thought he was talking about the Inkbook and not the Onyx. So I will indeed look at the Onyx suggestions.

Since you asked, the main flaws I've had with the Obsidian were the following: slow to boot, unreliable battery indicator, more fragile than other e-readers, useless app and book store (unless you are a fluent Polish speaker, powodzenia! haha). It was fairly easy to root and install the playstore but actually using other apps and my own launcher was not a fun experience. Before its untimely death I still hadn't found a way to install my own fonts. It would also crash once in a while.

On the positive side, it looks good, the page buttons work well, and of course, the price is low enough that it's still a good buy despite everything I've mentioned. I don't know if the other models you've cited have the same flaws. The inkbook prime doesn't seem too bad actually judging from a few reviews.

Edit: Other things I failed to mention are the frustrating experience when selecting text to highlight, and the lack of a working dictionary feature. They use Quickdic but it crashes when you try to install non-Polish dictionaries.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JawadLeLogeur

Since you asked, the main flaws I've had with the Obsidian were the following: slow to boot, unreliable battery indicator, more fragile than other e-readers, useless app and book store (unless you are a fluent Polish speaker, powodzenia! haha). It was fairly easy to root and install the playstore but actually using other apps and my own launcher was not a fun experience. Before its untimely death I still hadn't found a way to install my own fonts. It would also crash once in a while.

I know it's nothing like what you asked for, but have you ever tried a Kobo?

It seems like on an e-ink reader the primary need for the Play Store is to install better reading apps. Even the best e-reader with Play Store installed won't run Android apps particularly well.

Kobo's Nickle is pretty good out of the box and can be patched and hacked to do different things. Installing your own custom fonts is a breeze. No buttons. But you can't have everything, I guess.

[JawadLeLogeur]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I know it's nothing like what you asked for, but have you ever tried a Kobo?

It seems like on an e-ink reader the primary need for the Play Store is to install better reading apps. Even the best e-reader with Play Store installed won't run Android apps particularly well.

Kobo's Nickle is pretty good out of the box and can be patched and hacked to do different things. Installing your own custom fonts is a breeze. No buttons. But you can't have everything, I guess.

good suggestion cheers