Looking for non-kindle device in the 7-9 inch range for epubs.

[Joselin666]

Hi,

Looking for non-kindle device in the 7-9 inch range for epubs.
With good light adjustment

Thanks

[DNSB]

From Kobo, you could look at the 7 inch Libra 2 or the 8 inch Sage. From Pocketbook, you could check out the 7 inch Era or the 7.8 inch Inkpad 4.

If you feel like going wild, you could try the Pocketbook Viva which has an 8 inch Gallery 3 colour display and a $794 Cdn price tag.

[downeaster59]

Kobos are generally fine devices. Just to give you another option, you could look at the Onyx Boox line, ranging from the 7 inch Leaf 2 to the 7.8 inch Nova Air 2 and finally the 7.8 inch Tab Mini C, which gives you color as well. As Boox devices use Android, you can install apps that you might use for reading, like Scribd or Instapaper.

[DNSB]

One note is that if you are looking for a colour ereader such as the Tab Mini C, the Gallery 3 screens give you 65,636 colours while the Kaleido screens give you 4096 colours. Basically, neither is suited for photographic quality images and the lack of speed makes them unsuitable for videos. While I haven't seen many colour ereaders but for the most part, the ones I've seen are not quite ready for prime time.

[cellaris]

This has been a constant in the history of e-readers. I still remember the shortcomings and limitations of my first e-reader (not to mention the prohibitive price). People asked me if I could read well on that device. I was embarrassed to even show it in public. But now I think I was right to buy it and not wait for the year 2023.

I sincerely believe that anyone who is truly interested in a colour e-reader (in my case it's pure whim) is not going to wait until 2035 to buy one, no matter how many limitations and deficiencies it may have at present (and no matter how high the price may seem). And, in my opinion, you would do well to buy it now, just like those who bought the Amazon Kindle in 2007 and did not wait for the Kobo Libra 2 (or the next future marvel).

That said, I think that all the options provided in previous posts (including the Onyx Boox Tab Mini C) seem to me to be adequate.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by cellaris

I sincerely believe that anyone who is truly interested in a colour e-reader (in my case it's pure whim) is not going to wait until 2035 to buy one, no matter how many limitations and deficiencies it may have at present (and no matter how high the price may seem). And, in my opinion, you would do well to buy it now, just like those who bought the Amazon Kindle in 2007 and did not wait for the Kobo Libra 2 (or the next future marvel).

That said, I think that all the options provided in previous posts (including the Onyx Boox Tab Mini C) seem to me to be adequate.

I would agree with much of what you are saying except that, IMNSHO, the value added by colour is not worth the price. The colour with a Kaleido 3 screen is not even at the level of comic books and the colour has 150DPI resolution with it's need for 4 pixels and a colour filter layer and the colour with a Gallery 3 screen while having a better colour gamut and 300DPI resolution needs 1500ms to refresh the screen for the best colour level. Add in the lower contrast of the colour display—the latest eInk B&W screens have a much whiter screen than the Kaleido with it's colour filter layers and a contrast ratio of ~10 or the Gallery 3 which needs to use all three colours for a "black" giving a contrast ratio of 14 (a 40% increase over the Kaleido 3 display).

[cellaris]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I would agree with much of what you are saying except that, IMNSHO, the value added by colour is not worth the price. The colour with a Kaleido 3 screen is not even at the level of comic books and the colour has 150DPI resolution with it's need for 4 pixels and a colour filter layer and the colour with a Gallery 3 screen while having a better colour gamut and 300DPI resolution needs 1500ms to refresh the screen for the best colour level. Add in the lower contrast of the colour display—the latest eInk B&W screens have a much whiter screen than the Kaleido with it's colour filter layers and a contrast ratio of ~10 or the Gallery 3 which needs to use all three colours for a "black" giving a contrast ratio of 14 (a 40% increase over the Kaleido 3 display).

I don't know, I don't know. For me, the direct perception has changed many of the prejudices I had about colour e-readers. Whether it is worth paying extra money is the first question I asked myself when I held it in my hand. And the more I use it, the more I am inclined to think that it is worth it, although it will depend a lot on what each user wants to get out of colour. For me, I certainly don't find colour a burden, but rather a benefit in certain situations. I was reading a comic last night and I didn't dislike the experience. I found it more pleasant than on a black and white screen with better resolution. But that's something that each user has to judge for themselves. And in the specific case of Android, colour is very good for applications that are not adapted to e-ink.

Does normal black-and-white reading penalise the colour screen? To a certain extent. Here, too, I was surprised by the direct view. I didn't notice a substantial difference. Of course if you are not going to use colour for anything, there is no point in a colour e-reader for normal reading. But if you are going to use it for other things, I think it is perfectly compatible.

These are reflections that I am making as I go along because I have not yet formed a definitive opinion. But I think that ruling out a colour e-reader without having tried it beforehand seems too hasty to me now.

[rcentros]

I don't mind the faded color I've seen on color eReader reviews. It kind of reminds of early color photos from the 40s or 50s. But about 99.9% of the time I would never see color when reading as I don't read comic books or mangas, nor do I read PDFs on an eReader. So, the expense would definitely not be worth it to me. I also like 300 dpi on an eReader. Fonts are a bit better formed.

[Sirtel]

From the photos, I don't find the color too bad. Of course it's not comparable to paper or to LCD/OLED, but it's not awful either. Personally it would have no value for me, as almost nothing I read has color. No comics, mangas, PDFs, cookbooks etc. But other people might well find it worthwile.

[John F]

For a reference, here is one of the pictures on the Amazon site:

[cellaris]

Indeed, that is the basic issue @Sirtel, @rcentros. For regular reading, colour is not needed because its use is very limited (underlining, links, covers, some images, titles and little else. On Android it is also useful for external applications that are usually used for dictionary, translation, Wikipedia and book organisation). Its usefulness increases for the more or less specialised reading that you have mentioned. And this is where the question arises as to whether current colour technology is valid. My impression is that the new screens have (pleasantly) surprised the sceptics. The reviews point in that direction. And I agree with this assessment. I believe that, even with their current limitations, they are a major departure from the previous generation and can be used with a certain degree of satisfaction by those who need them.

(Speaking of the Tab Mini C, I think the most balanced review, summarising its advantages and disadvantages, is the one posted by Chalid Raqami on his YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/EAyNoLYrxBk ).

[Aktive]

onyx boox products have a lot customization with light adjustments.
and can run apps and web browser.

[Aktive]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I would agree with much of what you are saying except that, IMNSHO, the value added by colour is not worth the price. The colour with a Kaleido 3 screen is not even at the level of comic books and the colour has 150DPI resolution with it's need for 4 pixels and a colour filter layer and the colour with a Gallery 3 screen while having a better colour gamut and 300DPI resolution needs 1500ms to refresh the screen for the best colour level. Add in the lower contrast of the colour display—the latest eInk B&W screens have a much whiter screen than the Kaleido with it's colour filter layers and a contrast ratio of ~10 or the Gallery 3 which needs to use all three colours for a "black" giving a contrast ratio of 14 (a 40% increase over the Kaleido 3 display).

I sent you a direct message / private message :P

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I would agree with much of what you are saying except that, IMNSHO, the value added by colour is not worth the price. The colour with a Kaleido 3 screen is not even at the level of comic books and the colour has 150DPI resolution with it's need for 4 pixels and a colour filter layer and the colour with a Gallery 3 screen while having a better colour gamut and 300DPI resolution needs 1500ms to refresh the screen for the best colour level. Add in the lower contrast of the colour display—the latest eInk B&W screens have a much whiter screen than the Kaleido with it's colour filter layers and a contrast ratio of ~10 or the Gallery 3 which needs to use all three colours for a "black" giving a contrast ratio of 14 (a 40% increase over the Kaleido 3 display).

The contrast percentage remains the same, only the brightness is reduced.
By using the lighting, the brightness is increased and the contrast of Carta 1200 is reached again in values.
In addition, the Boox Tab devices have a multiple screen speed compared to the Galery 3 devices and are also superior to the rest of the "Einks".

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

The contrast percentage remains the same, only the brightness is reduced.

For a reflective display such as an eInk or paper, contrast ratio is the ratio between the reflectance of the lightest white and the darkest black. If the screen's closest approach to white is a mid-grey, it's not going to have the contrast ratio of a screen with a lighter grey white assuming that both have the same black reflectance.

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

By using the lighting, the brightness is increased and the contrast of Carta 1200 is reached again in values.

An interesting theory. Sadly contrary to physical reality. You are getting more light from the frontlight but you would also get more light by holding the screen closer to any light source. This does not affect the ratio between the darkest and lightest parts of the screen.

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

In addition, the Boox Tab devices have a multiple screen speed compared to the Galery 3 devices and are also superior to the rest of the "Einks".

Kaleido 3 is a B&W display with a colour filter array so it can have the same frame rate as any other same generation B&W display. Sadly, the Kaleido 3 has a contrast ration of 10 and a colour gamut of 4096. So basically, muted comic book colours at best. Since Gallery 3 uses 4 colour particles in a single cup, it does take more time to move the cyan, magenta, yellow and white particles into place though when using B&W, the speed is a respectable (for eInk display) 350ms. OTOH, this means that a 300DPI display is a 300DPI colour display in comparison to the Kaleido 3's 150DPI colour.

I sadly was unimpressed by a Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C attempting to display an animation. As near as I could tell, it was using an old mode reverting to black or white for each pixel in comparison to the 16 shades of grey normally used. This results in a massive 8 colours at ~6FPS.