E-reader price trend

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by menpe

2 years old technology without any discount. This segment won't see any improvement anymore with one old-ish device in it.

Device development costs a lot - and Likebook Mars recently got the update to android 8.1.
And there is nothing newer - there is no newer display technology in 7.8 inches.
And the other hardware is completely sufficient for this requirement.
Your allegations are absurd.

[bazz2004]

ottischwenk, you always defend Boyue as if they could do no wrong. Is there nothing they need to work on? Support is poor, scheduled updates are usually delayed. Their devices remain buggy and hard to master. You would probably say it's down to covid issues and a failure of buyers to master their devices. For what they and their competitors charge it's reasonable to expect better.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Lots of people on the forum who have tried a 7" Reader have found it a better reading experience to a 6" Reader. While my H2O is only 6.8", it's still better then a 6" Reader. For those people who you say a 6" Reader is enough have not tried 7".

Despite having tried virtually all of the various sizes of ereaders (and still having a good few of them), I prefer reading on my Hisense eink phone. Unless, of course, I am reading a PDF or a manga or sketching/taking notes in which case I prefer the 7.8" or 10.3" screen size of my Onyx devices.

The Hisense A5 and A5 Pro CC just feel so much snappier compared to my other devices. They are certainly more portable. Although I seldom use the camera, it can be convenient for taking a picture of text in a foreign language and then using OCR software to translate it. Although I just tap the screen to turn pages, one could map the physical buttons to do so...

I suspect that if more people were to try an eink phone, then they might become the preferred size for simple reading. There is just so much to recommend them. It might also cut down on the number of devices one has to cart about because it could also be used as a phone for those so inclined.

As for my original Kobo Aura and my KA1, I now only turn them on once in a blue moon to install updates and check on their batteries to keep them healthy.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by bazz2004

ottischwenk, you always defend Boyue as if they could do no wrong. Is there nothing they need to work on? Support is poor, scheduled updates are usually delayed. Their devices remain buggy and hard to master. You would probably say it's down to covid issues and a failure of buyers to master their devices. For what they and their competitors charge it's reasonable to expect better.

It is very simple:
Boyue-Likebook and Onyx-Boox are the only EInk tablet manufacturers, although I prefer Likebook in the 7.8 and 10.3 inch segment, as they are far superior in the file system area.
Of course, there are users who cannot or hardly get along with such devices - but that is not due to the "faulty" device or the "sloppy" manufacturer.
Oh yes, whenever I turned to Boyue-Likebook, an answer came after a maximum of 2 days

[menpe]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Device development costs a lot - and Likebook Mars recently got the update to android 8.1.
And there is nothing newer - there is no newer display technology in 7.8 inches.
And the other hardware is completely sufficient for this requirement.
Your allegations are absurd.

My standards might be flawed but for me technological development means giving a little more for the same price or giving the same for less money as time goes. Giving a little more for more money caused this whole situation where the 8" category went from the €220-€250 to the €330 range in just 2 generations. Widening the gap every year created this exact hole I talk about. I am perfectly aware that the 6" category will fill this by getting more and more expensive each year instead of the basic 8" devices, and that is the reason I vented my thoughts here. It's hard to see that the pinnacle of this segment is a 2018 reader and there is little hope this will change.
I didn't upgrade to the 2018 lineup 2 years ago because I didn't feel like the gains worth the extra purchase compared my older device. Why would I buy the same thing 2 years later? For €150? I might think about it again but without competition in this range the companies are not forced to lower prices even for last-last gen devices. Just bump the release price up again and baam, in 2023, the Nova 5 will start at €450.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What's the minimum version of Android does the app you want to use to read manga need?

The last version of Tachiyomi requires Android 5. Right now I use a tinkered 2018 version of the app where the required sdk level was manually lowered in order to work on Android 4.0.4. It was not an easy task but kinda works right now without the ability to update ongoing titles.
For completes series where the format is CBZ most of the times, Android is not a requirement but for ongoing titles, it's a must. The current trend of v8.1 or v9 upgrades are not that important but having a closed ecosystem is a really hard sell for me.

Originally Posted by Galunid

If you want android on Kobo, you can check out Tolino devices, since the only difference between the two is that Tolino runs android.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check their availability out.
I have a tablet too, 10" Asus which is great for colored pages and webtoon. As I read before bedtime, the difference is very noticeable between LCD and E-ink. The former makes it harder to fall asleep right after the session while the latter is amazing. This is why I don't even consider a new tablet, only e-ink devices are in my scope.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by menpe

Thanks for the tip, I'll check their availability out.

Forget Tolino.
The 8 inch device is more expensive than the likebook Mars, has 512 MB / 8 GB memory with a 1 GHz single core CPU and the operating system is based on Android 4.4.2, but has a Mobius screen.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by menpe

A new 8" device is well north of €300 where the cut-down 10" devices sat in the past.
I hope something will change in the future but right now as Onyx is kinda the only mainstream manufacturer, the chances are low for a competitive market again.

I did pay over 800 Euro for an 8 inch Iliad e-reader in 2006. I don't think they were getting any more expensive. So you can be glad to be able to buy one for 200 up to 300 Euro.

[menpe]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Forget Tolino.
The 8 inch device is more expensive than the likebook Mars, has 512 MB / 8 GB memory with a 1 GHz single core CPU and the operating system is based on Android 4.4.2, but has a Mobius screen.

Yeah, the Epos 2 is more expensive here than a Nova 2 -.-

Originally Posted by joblack

I did pay over 800 Euro for an 8 inch Iliad e-reader in 2006. I don't think they were getting any more expensive. So you can be glad to be able to buy one for 200 up to 300 Euro.

The early adopter's fee shouldn't be a thing after 14 years. There are zero cutting edge parts in today's units.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by menpe

Yeah, the Epos 2 is more expensive here than a Nova 2 -.-

This EInk screen is much more expensive - it weighs less and it is pretty unbreakable.
I read in bed with it.

[salamanderjuice]

They are adding features though. Useful ones. Wacom layers aren't cheap. Whether you don't need it is another thing, but some people want that and others are willing to pay the price for the rest of the package.

Maybe try hunting for deals on a Nova 2 or Pro now that 3 is on the way? Or get the Likebook Mars now that it has 8.1. The Nova 3 is exactly the same price as the Nova 2, at least in USD.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

They are adding features though. Useful ones. Wacom layers aren't cheap. Whether you don't need it is another thing, but some people want that and others are willing to pay the price for the rest of the package.

Although I would always much rather pay less for a product, after having finally used my Note Pro in several Teams meetings to share its screen, I am even happier with my investment than I initially was.

It worked flawlessly. I had been expecting some glitches like in several of my practice sessions, but that thankfully didn't happen.

As it looks like online teaching is here to stay for the foreseeable future, I will be getting much more use out of my Note Pro than I had originally expected.

[Markismus]

@questionmark Did you use the app Team Meeting or another?

[menpe]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

They are adding features though. Useful ones. Wacom layers aren't cheap. Whether you don't need it is another thing, but some people want that and others are willing to pay the price for the rest of the package.

Maybe try hunting for deals on a Nova 2 or Pro now that 3 is on the way? Or get the Likebook Mars now that it has 8.1. The Nova 3 is exactly the same price as the Nova 2, at least in USD.

Luckily I'm not in dire need to upgrade.

It might have been ambiguous, but my topic starter post was about the pricing trajectory the market rides right now. This problem will be amplified when the color products'll hit the production lines. I anticipated a €100-€150 extra fee for the updated Nova whatever modell number it will be, so around the €400 mark. As things are progressing now, the final cost will be over €500 which makes me sad.

Wacom layer is great and all but if those are really a serious production cost for the companies then they should separate the note taking and the reader lineups completely (I'm still talking about mostly Onyx and Boyue, the Android bros.). What is the situation now? 6" equals reader category, everything else is for "note taking". I'm not against this technology if I have the option to not purchase it. Imagine having only entry level CPUs and the usual heavily marked up server chips. Wouldn't be fun to get a new computer.
Strangely the Russian market gets their own product lineup separately without Wacom. Those devices could hit the international market without any extra R&D costs.

[jago25_98]

Goodness, yes!
It's crazy how the whole world is ignoring eInk right now... except China. They're the only ones willing to just make stuff like the HiSense devices.

I've found a phone factor device here in China for $40 but sadly it's only got 1GB of RAM. Still... might give it a go....

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Despite having tried virtually all of the various sizes of ereaders (and still having a good few of them), I prefer reading on my Hisense eink phone. Unless, of course, I am reading a PDF or a manga or sketching/taking notes in which case I prefer the 7.8" or 10.3" screen size of my Onyx devices.

The Hisense A5 and A5 Pro CC just feel so much snappier compared to my other devices. They are certainly more portable. Although I seldom use the camera, it can be convenient for taking a picture of text in a foreign language and then using OCR software to translate it. Although I just tap the screen to turn pages, one could map the physical buttons to do so...

I suspect that if more people were to try an eink phone, then they might become the preferred size for simple reading. There is just so much to recommend them. It might also cut down on the number of devices one has to cart about because it could also be used as a phone for those so inclined.

As for my original Kobo Aura and my KA1, I now only turn them on once in a blue moon to install updates and check on their batteries to keep them healthy.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by Markismus

@questionmark Did you use the app Team Meeting or another?

Microsoft Teams from the Google Play Store.