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Old 02-09-2017, 04:27 AM   #1
king_ben
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Question Good alternative to Paperwhite?

Hi all!

I am currently using a Kindle 4, which has been serving me well, but I feel that some buttons (page flipping on the right side, power button) are showing signs of wear.

Now I am looking for a possible replacement, ideally with a higher contrast HD screen. I just want to read with the device. So far I have mostly bought books at Amazon, but I would be interested in using public libraries as well.

The most obvious choice seems the Kindle Paperwhite (EUR 99 right now), as it has most features I want. However, I was wondering if there are alternatives that offer the same features for a lower price or more features at roughly the same price, e.g.:

-A bigger screen
-Support for borrowing ebooks, e.g. via Overdrive
-Water-proofing
-Additional hard keys
-Cover art on lock screen
-...

While I love my Android devices, I am not really sure if a full-blown Android system on an ereader is of much value to me, especially as I guess that most apps do not work very well on them. Just gReader could be interesting.

I do not need to shop for books on the reader and am not afraid to use Calibre.

Cheers
Ben
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Old 02-09-2017, 06:12 AM   #2
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In Europe, at anywhere near that price with an 300dpi screen, the only reader that comes to mind is the Cybook Muse HD. However, if I was happy using a Kindle I don't think I would chose the Cybook in preference to the Paperwhite.
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Old 02-09-2017, 07:44 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by king_ben View Post
Hi all!

I am currently using a Kindle 4, which has been serving me well, but I feel that some buttons (page flipping on the right side, power button) are showing signs of wear.

Now I am looking for a possible replacement, ideally with a higher contrast HD screen. I just want to read with the device. So far I have mostly bought books at Amazon, but I would be interested in using public libraries as well.

The most obvious choice seems the Kindle Paperwhite (EUR 99 right now), as it has most features I want. However, I was wondering if there are alternatives that offer the same features for a lower price or more features at roughly the same price, e.g.:

-A bigger screen
-Support for borrowing ebooks, e.g. via Overdrive
-Water-proofing
-Additional hard keys
-Cover art on lock screen
-...
Bigger screen, water-proofing and cover art on lock screen = Kobo H2O of Aura One. But they're both more expensive than €99.

I don't have any experience with Overdrive, but with the One you can use it on the device (don't ask me how, I have absolutely no idea, as I don't have any place to borrow books from)

What you could try, is look at the second-hand market for an H2O as that one does tick a lot of your boxes (only no hardware keys, they seem to think nobody uses those anymore...)
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Old 02-09-2017, 08:17 AM   #4
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Thanks for your replies. It is interesting to see that there is not much in terms of competition, even from China, at the lower end of the market. I guess that means that Amazon must be subsidizing the Kindle hardware quite a bit?
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Old 02-09-2017, 09:18 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by king_ben View Post
Thanks for your replies. It is interesting to see that there is not much in terms of competition, even from China, at the lower end of the market. I guess that means that Amazon must be subsidizing the Kindle hardware quite a bit?
The boyue and onyx are available from China but they are open android and do not suit everyone.
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Old 02-09-2017, 10:07 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by king_ben View Post
Thanks for your replies. It is interesting to see that there is not much in terms of competition, even from China, at the lower end of the market. I guess that means that Amazon must be subsidizing the Kindle hardware quite a bit?
There are a few budget devices left, but you should compare those to the $69 Kindle: without any modern things (like a high DP or even frontlight)

(and to be honest, most even look like time has stood still 5 years...)
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Old 02-09-2017, 10:20 AM   #7
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Okay. I read a bit about the Android devices, but it seems like a few too many compromises to get a bit of everything, but nothing perfectly.

I guess I'll go for the PW or see if I can get a Tolino Vision 3 HD somewhere on sale.
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Old 02-09-2017, 01:07 PM   #8
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Okay. I read a bit about the Android devices, but it seems like a few too many compromises to get a bit of everything, but nothing perfectly.

I guess I'll go for the PW or see if I can get a Tolino Vision 3 HD somewhere on sale.
I have a Tolino Vision 3HD and you will have done very well if you can find it for 99EUR. I think it is a lovely little reader with an excellent screen, but surprisingly I have found my daily reader has remained my 212dpi Energy Sistem Pro HD even though its display is not as good. I guess for me, some of the undoubted compromises of using Android are outweighed by some of the benefits (Calibre Companion and a better reading app - AlReader or JCoolreader).
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Old 02-09-2017, 01:12 PM   #9
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Hm... I mostly use the kindle when traveling. In terms of reading app, I just need to switch from one page to the next without too much delay. Oh, and the Kindle's dictionary works pretty well for me... Not sure what else I could need (or want) in the reader app itself.

The Vision HD is a bit more expensive most of the time, but sometimes the price may drop to about EUR 125. The water-proofing might be worth the few euros more to me.
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Old 02-09-2017, 02:00 PM   #10
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I have a Tolino Vision 3HD and you will have done very well if you can find it for 99EUR. I think it is a lovely little reader with an excellent screen, but surprisingly I have found my daily reader has remained my 212dpi Energy Sistem Pro HD even though its display is not as good. I guess for me, some of the undoubted compromises of using Android are outweighed by some of the benefits (Calibre Companion and a better reading app - AlReader or JCoolreader).
Yeah I'm using an old Boyue T62 with a pearl screen, and it's great. But I had to do stuff to make it work right. Not for everyone. But I love it.
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Old 02-09-2017, 02:09 PM   #11
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Hm... I mostly use the kindle when traveling. In terms of reading app, I just need to switch from one page to the next without too much delay. Oh, and the Kindle's dictionary works pretty well for me... Not sure what else I could need (or want) in the reader app itself.

The Vision HD is a bit more expensive most of the time, but sometimes the price may drop to about EUR 125. The water-proofing might be worth the few euros more to me.
I guess it is a personal thing, but I do like; full integration with Calibre Collections, page numbers, pages in chapter, own fonts, detailed control of margins, font weight, line spacing, permanent display of a clock.

Mind you, the Kindle dictionary is the best I have ever used.
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Old 02-10-2017, 05:53 AM   #12
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How is battery life on the Android readers? I would guess it is significantly less as the system and hardware are probably more power-hungry? And which 300 dpi, 6" Android device is priced at or below EUR 150? Would a T63 or C67ML offer a similar responsive reading experience (with which app?) compared to a Paperwhite or Vision 3 HD?

More features are great (my K4 is jail broken and my tablet runs Lineage 14), but as a sporadic user, I guess I would not benefit too much. In that case, a simple reader that does few things but those rather well (open a book and let me flip through pages without annoying delays) would seem like the best option.
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Old 02-10-2017, 05:59 AM   #13
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It is interesting to see that there is not much in terms of competition, even from China, at the lower end of the market. I guess that means that Amazon must be subsidizing the Kindle hardware quite a bit?
I don't think Amazon are selling Kindles at a loss. I just think they have a much higher volume than everyone else.
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Old 02-10-2017, 06:50 AM   #14
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How is battery life on the Android readers? I would guess it is significantly less as the system and hardware are probably more power-hungry? And which 300 dpi, 6" Android device is priced at or below EUR 150? Would a T63 or C67ML offer a similar responsive reading experience (with which app?) compared to a Paperwhite or Vision 3 HD?

More features are great (my K4 is jail broken and my tablet runs Lineage 14), but as a sporadic user, I guess I would not benefit too much. In that case, a simple reader that does few things but those rather well (open a book and let me flip through pages without annoying delays) would seem like the best option.
If you are a sporadic user, I reckon your initial thoughts of going for the Paperwhite are spot on. Certainly, in the UK it is the cheapest 300dpi reader that I know of at present.

Battery life on my Pro HD is about 3 weeks (reading about 3 hours per day with wifi off), which is pretty much the same as my Tolino Vision 3HD.

On Android I rate both AlReader, and Jotas's version of CoolReader (jCoolReader) as they are both optimised for e-ink.

I cannot suggest a 300dpi Android e-ink reader for you, because I cannot source one in the UK for 150EUR or less.
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Old 02-28-2017, 08:13 PM   #15
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I cannot suggest a 300dpi Android e-ink reader for you, because I cannot source one in the UK for 150EUR or less.
I was also trying to find it under 150, impossible.
Any suggestions? But it has to be 300dpi
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