I'm ready to quit Kindle--but for which device?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by cincomay

The tl;dr version of my ereader requirements:

- American fanfic reader with small hands seeks new ereader that supports sideloading from Calibre. E-ink only, under $250
- color-changing front light or no light (or ability to turn light completely off + very large font size)
- sideloading via Calibre
- page turn buttons appreciated! Ability to move between chapters/scan through pages would also be great
- font options (especially size, but also margins and spacing would be appreciated)
- Pocket support not necessary but a huge plus!
- Overdrive compatible would be great but not a dealbreaker
- Expandable memory is nice but not necessary
- Internet/wifi/waterproof features mainly unimportant
- Text-to-speech appreciated but not necessary

What do you think?

Also, I gather that Kobo may be releasing a new Mini in the next few months--is it worth waiting to see if that has a color-changing front light?

Thank you for your thoughts!

May

I'd recommend the first generation Kobo Aura. It's a 6" reader, but in a very small frame. I believe it's one of the smallest 6" readers made. It has Pocket integration and Kobo has the best font/margin/spacing control available on an e-reader. It also has expandable storage.

Things on your list it doesn't have are text-to-speech, buttons and color changing front light.

You can pick them up cheap on eBay ($50-70 price range). Here's the seller I and several other users bought ours from: eBay

Another contender would be the Glowlight 3. The screen is beautiful, it has page turn buttons and color changing front light. No expandable memory, but you have something like 5.5GB available for storage.

On the down side, I don't believe it has Pocket support.

For me personally, the Nook O/S just isn't as nice as Kobo. When you're reading a book, fine. But when browsing your library, searching the device, etc., I prefer Kobo.

People worry about registration if B&N goes down the tubes. I think that point is a little overblown, but I guess they'll all be laughing at me when it happens.

[JSWolf]

Why would anyone want to try such obsolete Kindles as the non-touch models? Plus they don;t have updated firmware. So they aren't as good to use.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why would anyone want to try such obsolete Kindles as the non-touch models? Plus they don;t have updated firmware. So they aren't as good to use.

I think they're great to use. I still prefer reading library books on the Kindle 4 or Keyboard to the Touch or 8th Generation Kindle. The font just seems sharper and I like the page turn buttons and being able to clean the screen as I read without worrying about moving the another page. The Touch (with Constantia isn't far behind, but I can't use Constantia on the Kindle 8 – I have to embed it in Calibre, which is something I don't like to do with library books).

[JSWolf]

Give that the OP wants to try something else, my recommendation still stands.

[ilovejedd]

Fellow fanfic reader here.

Although I've now switched to a Paperwhite (jailbroken), I thought the Sony PRS-350 paired with PRS Plus custom firmware was pretty great. I even had it setup to display hierarchical collections. Alas, lack of built-in light was a pretty big deterrent for my usage. Since you don't need built-in lighting or wi-fi, it could be worth a try if you want something smallish.

[Scarpad]

I agree that older non touch devices had sharper fonts the touch layer definitely detracts from the clarity

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Scarpad

I agree that older non touch devices had sharper fonts the touch layer definitely detracts from the clarity

Except that a lot of the touch devices use IR based touch instead of capacitive. This means no extra layers affecting the screen. Most of the recent devices seem to have changed to capacitive, but the screens in these devices are much better than the older non-touch that it probably isn't comparable.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Except that a lot of the touch devices use IR based touch instead of capacitive. This means no extra layers affecting the screen. Most of the recent devices seem to have changed to capacitive, but the screens in these devices are much better than the older non-touch that it probably isn't comparable.

Mostly speaking from the Kindle world, I can tell you that the Kindle Keyboard and NT4 have darker, sharper fonts than the Kindle Touch and the Basic 7 & 8. (I used to own a 7, I currently own an 8). I know they all use Infrared, so there was some other design decision involved. The first Kindle I bought (and gave away to my brother) was a Kindle Touch. I didn't like it because the fonts were lighter than the Nook Simple Touch I already owned. (I was frustrated because the ads were nice and dark, so it wasn't an issue eInk screen, it was design decision.) The next Kindle I bought I was an NT4 -- which quickly became my "go-to" reader. I only started to regularly use a Touch (another one I bought) AFTER I discovered I could install the Constantia font on it using an easy hack. That's the only font I use on it but it's still not as sharp as the NT4 (or the fonts on the Keyboards). The Sony 350, 650 and 950, using the Constantia font embedded with Calibre, come very close to matching the NT4 and Keyboards for font darkness and sharpness. They're better than the Touch or Nook Simple Touch or the Kobo Touches. The Sonys, in general (even the older ones like the 300 and 505) have very clear, sharp screens (except for the those with the terrible touchscreen layer (the 600, 700 and 900). Obviously I'm not able to speak for anything more modern with a front-lit screen and higher resolution than 600x800.

[mobama]

Among Pocketbooks, Touch HD 2 and Inkpad 3 have tinted frontlight called Smartlight. However, to the listed price you are supposed to add EUR 40 shipping costs, so Inkpad 3 would bust your budget.

They have a very functional inbuilt reader app for pdf files (good for epubs too, naturally). They don't nag for wifi, unless you hit the browser app. What others call "sideloading" is just "loading" or "transferring" for Pocketbook. And there's a folder ready on the device for your custom fonts.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Scarpad

I agree that older non touch devices had sharper fonts the touch layer definitely detracts from the clarity

This is not correct. Hi-res Carta eInk screens are sharper and clearer than the old 800x600 Pearl screens. I've compared my H2O with a T1 and the H2O is much sharper and clearer.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That is a total fabrication of the truth. Hi-res Carta eInk screens are sharper and clearer than the old 800x600 Pearl screens. I've compared my H2O with a T1 and the H2O is much sharper and clearer.

These are people's opinions. Please, tamp those flames down a bit.

[DaleDe]

Sometimes the 300 dpi can make text less dark only because the lines are thinner. You can fix this by choosing a different heavier font which uses thicker lines. I think John Wolf has a custom font that excels at this.

Dale

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Sometimes the 300 dpi can make text less dark only because the lines are thinner. You can fix this by choosing a different heavier font which uses thicker lines. I think John Wolf has a custom font that excels at this.

Dale

Yes, I do and it is a modified Charis SIL called ChareInk. It does look good on a hi-res eInk screen and pretty good on a low-res Pearl screen. I've not tried it on a low-res Vizplex screen.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=184056

[cincomay]

Thank you so much, everyone--and my apologies for the very late reply. I had a lot of research to do!!!

I bought the Sony Pocket PRS-350 that rcentros linked--thank you!!! I figure it's worth a shot for just $25. I may also try a Kobo Aura, a Nook Glowlight 3 (I'm going to go check them out in store later this week), or a Kobo Aura H2O 2 if the 350 and I don't get along (and if we do, I may also investigate the 650 and T1 models!). I've also decided to try attacking the night reading issue from another angle and bought a $10 "warm" colored reading light. Hopefully that will relieve some eyestrain issues and allow me to keep using unlit readers.

Many, many thanks to rcentros, JSWolf, Hemmi, Barbara1955, kcladyz, Richwood, ZodWallop, and everyone else for their insightful comments!

Also, just to clarify my feelings about Kindle, I was very happy with my Kindle Keyboard models but I had three that all died within a couple of months of the end of their warranties. I don't want to buy used ones and be bracing myself for their eventual deaths! I think the brand is gearing their readers for a very different type of reader than I am, and I'm excited to explore other possibilities.

Thank you again, and now I'm off to research custom firmware and all the other intriguing options folks have mentioned!


May

[Hemmi]

If you go for any of the Sony T models, make it a T2 or T3. I find the T1 to be quite buggy sometimes and the shiny plastic around the screen, couldn't take that. My current favorite reader is my T2 with the T3 a close second.