Cheapest 300 dpi reader?

[Hotaru]

This might seem like a silly question, but what's the closest thing you can get to a "budget" reader with a 300 dpi screen? I'm a miser and all I want is something with a high-resolution screen that can display cbr/cbz files. I feel like there should be some obscure Chinese company doing this.

I have absolutely no other requirements. No frontlight, no online store, no nothing.

I just trashed the screen on my Glo HD and I need a replacement. I get the feeling that the answer to my question is going to be "another Glo HD" though.

[kyôdai]

I believe there is no such thing, because an ebook-reader with just a 300ppi display and nothing else does not make a lot of sense. The "chinese companies" mostly concentrate on android based devices, which are often a bit more expensive actually.

Also the price is not necessarily dictated by the included hardware. Cheapest option should be the Paperwhite (4), because Amazon often sells them at a loss (or without profit).

Or you could try to get a used one. Maybe an older model, like your Glo HD or a Paperwhite 3.

[ilovejedd]

I remember looking at Chinese-brand Android e-ink readers before and they were in the $150 range. With firmware seemingly problematic as well, I went with the Paperwhite and installed KOReader. Unfortunately, harder to jailbreak Kindles now.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by kyôdai

I believe there is no such thing, because an ebook-reader with just a 300ppi display and nothing else does not make a lot of sense. The "chinese companies" mostly concentrate on android based devices, which are often a bit more expensive actually.

Also the price is not necessarily dictated by the included hardware. Cheapest option should be the Paperwhite (4), because Amazon often sells them at a loss (or without profit).

Or you could try to get a used one. Maybe an older model, like your Glo HD or a Paperwhite 3.

Given the OP's wish to read cbz/cbr comics, I suspect a 300 PPI Kindle will not meet his needs without using KCC or similar given that jailbreaking most new Kindles is problematic at best.

The Kobo Clara HD would be my choice. It has a 6", 300 PPI screen and will display cbz/cbr out of the box.

No rooting, jailbreaking, etc. needed.

[Hotaru]

Thank you, that's what I'd feared.

If companies can make budget book readers, I don't see why they necessarily shouldn't make a budget manga reader though. With its own manga store, it might be able to find a market niche (perhaps). Obviously big companies won't do it because it would undercut their own premium readers.

I just find it infuriating that when all I want is the same hardware I bought new for $100 in 2016, the price today hasn't come down at all and has in some cases actually gone up. Instead of lowering the price they just add more mostly useless features (lights, waterproof, storage space for more books than you could ever possibly read even if you spent every day reading for the rest of your life, etc).

I'll try and get another Glo HD second hand.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Hotaru

If companies can make budget book readers, I don't see why they necessarily shouldn't make a budget manga reader though. With its own manga store, it might be able to find a market niche (perhaps). Obviously big companies won't do it because it would undercut their own premium readers.

It's easy to say that, but, the reality is completely different. And if it was truly possible, they device you want would be available.

I just find it infuriating that when all I want is the same hardware I bought new for $100 in 2016, the price today hasn't come down at all and has in some cases actually gone up.

You stated in another thread that the replacement device for the Glo HD, the Clara HD, was released at a higher price than the Glo HD. It wasn't. It was released at exactly the same price as the Glo HD.

Instead of lowering the price they just add more mostly useless features (lights, waterproof, storage space for more books than you could ever possibly read even if you spent every day reading for the rest of your life, etc).

Useless to you maybe. But, the biggest complaint about the Clara HD was that it wasn't waterproof. Very few people think that the light is useless. As to space, it depends on what you read. As you mention manga, I would expect that meant you read manga. If so, I'm surprised you think that the 4GB in you Glo HD. And one of the common posters here loves to mention the cookbooks he has that is several hundred MB in size.

I'll try and get another Glo HD second hand.

For your stated needs, that is probably the best.

[Michal Jancik]

Originally Posted by Hotaru

This might seem like a silly question, but what's the closest thing you can get to a "budget" reader with a 300 dpi screen?

- I just wanted to ask why such a need to have a device with 300dpi?
- Think on a 6 inch device you'll see a difference between 220 or 300dpi?
*I had to use the Zoomx20 magnifier to test the e-paper NOTE (10 inch) to see the difference 220dpi vs 300 in the font. I doubt the eye to see the difference

- The cheapest 6 inch eReader with physical buttons are (80$, 88$) :
*Doubtful quality
• WOXTER - E-book Scriba
• DENVER - eBook Ebo-620


But in my opinion, the 6-inch CBR / CBZ reader is KBO Clara HD and Pocketbook Touch Lux 4 / PocketBook e-Book Basic Lux 2 .
* New Firmware for Pocketbook 5.20 brings CBR / CBZ support.

I just trashed the screen on my Glo HD and I need a replacement. I get the feeling that the answer to my question is going to be "another Glo HD" though.

Just replace the screen. You'll find it cheaper than a new book reader.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Hotaru

If companies can make budget book readers, I don't see why they necessarily shouldn't make a budget manga reader though. With its own manga store, it might be able to find a market niche (perhaps). Obviously big companies won't do it because it would undercut their own premium readers.

I just find it infuriating that when all I want is the same hardware I bought new for $100 in 2016, the price today hasn't come down at all and has in some cases actually gone up. Instead of lowering the price they just add more mostly useless features (lights, waterproof, storage space for more books than you could ever possibly read even if you spent every day reading for the rest of your life, etc).

I'll try and get another Glo HD second hand.

If you can wait for a sale, the Clara HD has dropped to $100 on several occasions.

I've actually been able to get the latest 8GB and 32GB Paperwhite direct from Amazon for $72 and $96 respectively during one of their sales (Mother's Day discount plus 20% cashback offer for Prime cardholders). Of course, this was back when the PW4 was still jailbreakable and one could run KOReader for epub and cbz support.

I believe top storage on ereaders is just 32GB. For manga, that's very easy to fill and it certainly won't take a lifetime to read. It won't even take a year.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

But in my opinion, the 6-inch CBR / CBZ reader is KBO Clara HD and Pocketbook Touch Lux 4 / PocketBook e-Book Basic Lux 2 .
* New Firmware for Pocketbook 5.20 brings CBR / CBZ support.

Nice to see an out of box alternative for cbr/cbz support.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

- I just wanted to ask why such a need to have a device with 300dpi?
- Think on a 6 inch device you'll see a difference between 220 or 300dpi?

As someone who owns both Paperwhite 2 (212 ppi) and Paperwhite 3 (300 ppi), I'd say it's quite noticeable reading manga (fine lines/details, very small text).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Given the OP's wish to read cbz/cbr comics, I suspect a 300 PPI Kindle will not meet his needs without using KCC or similar given that jailbreaking most new Kindles is problematic at best.

The Kobo Clara HD would be my choice. It has a 6", 300 PPI screen and will display cbz/cbr out of the box.

No rooting, jailbreaking, etc. needed.

I have to disagree. For reading CBZ/CBR, a screen 7" or larger is better. I know the Kobo with a larger screen will be more expensive, but it's worth it if you plan on reading something that can be too small on a 6" screen.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by Hotaru

I just find it infuriating that when all I want is the same hardware I bought new for $100 in 2016, the price today hasn't come down at all and has in some cases actually gone up. Instead of lowering the price they just add more mostly useless features (lights, waterproof, storage space for more books than you could ever possibly read even if you spent every day reading for the rest of your life, etc).

I'll try and get another Glo HD second hand.

TVs are the same. Price now stays the same but they add features many people don't want or need. They NEED the lower price.

[HDGuy]

You can pick up a used/refurbished Nook Glowlight Plus (2015) for ~$30-$40 if you look a bit. B&N still updates the firmware/software regularly and it's not a bad little reader considering it's 4yrs old. Waterproof too. It's easy to sideload apps into it, so you can load whatever reader you want.