Do you have a favorite ereader brand? - Page 2

Terisa de morgan · 08-19-2023, 04:14 PM

I've tried Booken (my first ereaders, both for 5 and 6 inches), Sony, Nook, Pocketbook (5 and 6 inches), Kindle, Yotaphone, and Kobo. And I prefer Kobo now.

Renate · 08-19-2023, 04:27 PM

I was a die-hard B&N Nook fan, NST, Glow, but then I went to Onyx.
The Poke3 was mostly a fine device but then Onyx started watering it down with the 4L and the 5.
I'd be a sucker for a high-end 6" device with everything (including GPS).

cellaris · 08-19-2023, 05:27 PM

I use several brands of e-readers interchangeably and I don't have a favourite. They all have something that the others don't have. I'm quite eclectic. I tend to focus more on specific devices than on brands.

ZodWallop · 08-19-2023, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

My favorites are the PocketBooks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If I didn't buy a Kobo Aura H2O, I would have tried a Pocketbook Reader back then.

From what I've seen, I don't like the placement of the buttons on Pocketbooks. I would like to try the Pocketbook Era, but it's pricey and every review I have read or view says the screen is sucky (not just the usual 'flush screens are always slightly less sharp').

kandwo · 08-20-2023, 01:24 AM

I was very happy with my Kindle 2. The only things that were missing were a touch screen to be able to use the dictionary look up more efficiently and support for other scripts (Cyrillic, etc).

The Kindle PW3 solved that for me. But after reading on it for a couple of years I really started to miss having page turn buttons, and the lack of good organization possibilities and good dictionaries for certain languages (most notably Russian) had me look elsewhere.

I discovered that Hisense were making e-ink phones and Onyx Boox Android tablets with e-ink. Bought a Nova 3 and an A5 Pro. The Nova 3 has a flush matte screen that reduces contrast considerably, which makes it less than ideal for long reading sessions. The A5 Pro has slightly lower than 300 PPI and needs a matte screen protector as the glass screen of the device itself is glossy. But the big Achilles heel of the Hisense devices (both A5 Pro and the A9 that I later bought) is that there's no reader that supports a full screen refresh on every page turn - which is a must for me. That means I have to press two buttons - one for the page turn and one for the full refresh. Quite annoying on a small device that requires many page turns.

I bought a Libra 2 as I was interested to see the best screen available at the time. It was also available in white (a huge plus in my book) and had page turn buttons. A great device that would be my favourite if only it had better dictionaries. I need morphological dictionaries for at least Spanish and Russian. If it had that I could do 70-80% of my reading on it (I would probably still need the Onyx/Hisense for smaller languages, since I don't expect dictionaries for those to ever appear on regular e-readers).

The best e-reader for me would be a Kobo with better dictionaries for other languages. Or an Onyx Boox with better hardware. Hisense seems to have left the game, but Onyx Boox Palma looks very promising for a portable device: it has an SD card slot and a naturally matte screen without the need for a separate screen protector. Since it's an Onyx Boox it should also support full screen refresh on every page turn. If they make it into a phone I'd buy it instantly and replace my A9 and then it would be my ideal mobile device.

maddz · 08-20-2023, 03:33 AM

There’s a missing choice: I have tried several brands and none are ideal

At the moment Kobo is my preferred go-to brand. I’ve used a couple of Kobos, various branded and unbranded Android devices, and others. Kobos are currently closest to my preferred workflow and specifications.

BionicGecko · 08-20-2023, 06:09 AM

Using only Kindles as I use Whispersync extensively, but am interested in Kobos, especially the Libra 2 whose screen is supposed to be comparable to the one on the Voyage for contrast and clarity.

Quick question for Kobo owners, as I never had the chance to get one physically in my hands: how fast is switching font sizes on the Kobos compared to the Kindles?

I'm asking because when I tried KOReader on my Kindles, the slowness of changing font sizes was a big letdown - it seems KOReader needs to re-render the whole book from the start with the new font size, which can take a long time (30 seconds or more) on large books. I change font sizes often as my eyesight tends to vary from day to day, and this was a big enough concern to stop using KOReader altogether.

Sirtel · 08-20-2023, 08:35 AM

The speed of changing font size on a Kobo depends on the format. With kepub it's about a second, with epubs it's about 3 seconds. This doesn't seem to depend on the file size, as I tried with some huge books with several thousand pages or many high-res illustrations.

cfrizz · 08-20-2023, 09:09 AM

I've had two Sonys, and now I have a Kobo. It works.

Cronotokyo · 08-20-2023, 09:31 AM

For me it's Kobo all the way. They fully support the French Canadian language and lending from public libraries. I was kind of "forced" to use tools to remove drms a few years ago when a nasty bug was introduced with ADE that Kobo still refuses to aknowledge (unless it's been resolved and I'm not aware of it).

I've also tried Bookeen for their support of that new drm standard that seemed more convenient than ADE, but almost never used it.

tomsem · 08-20-2023, 04:27 PM

I read on all sorts of devices, and am not partial to eReaders. It's currently about 50-50 tablet v eReader. My focus is on convenience, and a consistent experience no matter what I'm reading on.

I've bought nearly all of my ebooks from Amazon, and they do a good job delivering a consistent experience, so most of my reading is on a Kindle or the Kindle app. I don't need to side load a lot, and 'organizing' is a very low priority (good thing or I'd be very frustrated with Kindle platform).

I'm not looking for the perfect reading device, which screen is better than that screen, etc. I have a lot of reading I want to do, and read on at least 2 different devices every day. I do not have a favorite, because each has its strengths and weaknesses.

That said, I have de-DRMed everything I can de-DRM, and like to kick tires on reading apps and occasionally purchase a non Kindle eReader (last year, a PocketBook Era, which I like to play with, but has never worked itself into regular rotation). So when Amazon gets out of the business, I'm ready.

I am somewhat interested in getting an 8" eReader (by definition not a Kindle unless they come out with a Scribe Mini or 8" Oasis), but it can wait. I have too many devices already.

ottdmk · 08-21-2023, 01:02 AM

Only ever used Kobo. For library loans in Canada, there is no real substitute. Plus, Kobo started as a Canadian company before Rakuten gobbled them up (and they're still based here physically), so there's a bit of patriotic pride involved.

rcentros · 08-21-2023, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

From what I've seen, I don't like the placement of the buttons on Pocketbooks. I would like to try the Pocketbook Era, but it's pricey and every review I have read or view says the screen is sucky (not just the usual 'flush screens are always slightly less sharp').

By what I've read recently on other forums those bad screens might have been an early "teething" problem. I can't personally vouch for (or detract from) Era's screen because I'll probably never see one. I agree that they are pretty expensive.

tomsem · 08-21-2023, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

By what I've read recently on other forums those bad screens might have been an early "teething" problem. I can't personally vouch for (or detract from) Era's screen because I'll probably never see one. I agree that they are pretty expensive.

I generally do not like buttons, but I don't have any issues with Era's. I couldn't get used to Oasis's buttons (lots of accidental page turns) but these are off on the edge so a little thumb roll activates them, while thumb pressure alone does not.

The button functions and tap zones (9 of them) are all configurable.

As for the display, it is not as good as PW5, but it is perfectly fine. A recent update has added Dark mode and improved some UI awkwardness.

Also it is trivial to install KOReader on it. I don't like KOReader at all, but keep it on there for 'reference'. I understand there is a KOReader makeover in the works, so I'm looking forward to reviewing it.

The new InkPad 4 is the 8" (well 7.8") eReader I'm most interested in, should I get the urge. Buttons are on the bottom, which I like (as opposed to asymmetrical Kobo). The forthcoming Nook GlowLight 4 Plus is priced well, but I think I would miss the more flexible PocketBook platform, which is a lot more welcoming of side-loaded content (including AZW3).

shanghaichica · 08-21-2023, 03:37 PM

I have used:

Sony PRS-300
Nook Simple touch
Kobo mini and glow light

Various kindles.

I prefer the kindle. Admittedly I am more invested in the kindle ecosystem and have spent more time with their hardware. Given the number of kindle books be bought over the years I would find it difficult to switch to another e-reader brand. Yes I know there are ways to use kindle books on non kindle devices but it’s not worth the hassle for little gain.

View Poll Results: Do you have a favorite ereader brand?
I have only ever used one brand and am not interested in any others	19	13.10%
I have only ever used one brand, but will probably try others in the future	15	10.34%
I have tried several brands and prefer one of them	62	42.76%
I have tried several brands and have more than one favorite	29	20.00%
I have tried several brands and my favorites change constantly	6	4.14%
I use several brands and have no favorite among them	10	6.90%
I don't use eink, never been interested	0	0%
I don't use eink, tried it and didn't like it	3	2.07%
I don't use eink, but will probably try it someday	1	0.69%
I prefer paper books over ebooks	0	0%
Voters: 145. You may not vote on this poll

08-19-2023, 04:14 PM	#16
Terisa de morgan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,235 Karma: 11768331 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2	I've tried Booken (my first ereaders, both for 5 and 6 inches), Sony, Nook, Pocketbook (5 and 6 inches), Kindle, Yotaphone, and Kobo. And I prefer Kobo now. Last edited by Terisa de morgan; 08-19-2023 at 04:23 PM.

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08-19-2023, 04:27 PM	#17
Renate Wizard Posts: 2,319 Karma: 9999999 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5	I was a die-hard B&N Nook fan, NST, Glow, but then I went to Onyx. The Poke3 was mostly a fine device but then Onyx started watering it down with the 4L and the 5. I'd be a sucker for a high-end 6" device with everything (including GPS).

08-19-2023, 05:27 PM	#18
cellaris Addict Posts: 301 Karma: 1827325 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Spain Device: Kindle, Kobo, PocketBook, Tolino, Bookeen, Onyx Boox, Boyue.	I use several brands of e-readers interchangeably and I don't have a favourite. They all have something that the others don't have. I'm quite eclectic. I tend to focus more on specific devices than on brands.

08-20-2023, 01:24 AM	#20
kandwo Addict Posts: 357 Karma: 10703708 Join Date: Dec 2020 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3	I was very happy with my Kindle 2. The only things that were missing were a touch screen to be able to use the dictionary look up more efficiently and support for other scripts (Cyrillic, etc). The Kindle PW3 solved that for me. But after reading on it for a couple of years I really started to miss having page turn buttons, and the lack of good organization possibilities and good dictionaries for certain languages (most notably Russian) had me look elsewhere. I discovered that Hisense were making e-ink phones and Onyx Boox Android tablets with e-ink. Bought a Nova 3 and an A5 Pro. The Nova 3 has a flush matte screen that reduces contrast considerably, which makes it less than ideal for long reading sessions. The A5 Pro has slightly lower than 300 PPI and needs a matte screen protector as the glass screen of the device itself is glossy. But the big Achilles heel of the Hisense devices (both A5 Pro and the A9 that I later bought) is that there's no reader that supports a full screen refresh on every page turn - which is a must for me. That means I have to press two buttons - one for the page turn and one for the full refresh. Quite annoying on a small device that requires many page turns. I bought a Libra 2 as I was interested to see the best screen available at the time. It was also available in white (a huge plus in my book) and had page turn buttons. A great device that would be my favourite if only it had better dictionaries. I need morphological dictionaries for at least Spanish and Russian. If it had that I could do 70-80% of my reading on it (I would probably still need the Onyx/Hisense for smaller languages, since I don't expect dictionaries for those to ever appear on regular e-readers). The best e-reader for me would be a Kobo with better dictionaries for other languages. Or an Onyx Boox with better hardware. Hisense seems to have left the game, but Onyx Boox Palma looks very promising for a portable device: it has an SD card slot and a naturally matte screen without the need for a separate screen protector. Since it's an Onyx Boox it should also support full screen refresh on every page turn. If they make it into a phone I'd buy it instantly and replace my A9 and then it would be my ideal mobile device.

08-20-2023, 03:33 AM	#21
maddz Wizard Posts: 1,273 Karma: 28630044 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: UK Device: Kobo Forma, Icarus, iPad Mini 2, Kobo Touch, Google Nexus 7	There’s a missing choice: I have tried several brands and none are ideal At the moment Kobo is my preferred go-to brand. I’ve used a couple of Kobos, various branded and unbranded Android devices, and others. Kobos are currently closest to my preferred workflow and specifications.

08-20-2023, 06:09 AM	#22
BionicGecko Addict Posts: 204 Karma: 1500001 Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Czech Republic Device: Kindle Voyage, Oasis 3 and Scribe	Using only Kindles as I use Whispersync extensively, but am interested in Kobos, especially the Libra 2 whose screen is supposed to be comparable to the one on the Voyage for contrast and clarity. Quick question for Kobo owners, as I never had the chance to get one physically in my hands: how fast is switching font sizes on the Kobos compared to the Kindles? I'm asking because when I tried KOReader on my Kindles, the slowness of changing font sizes was a big letdown - it seems KOReader needs to re-render the whole book from the start with the new font size, which can take a long time (30 seconds or more) on large books. I change font sizes often as my eyesight tends to vary from day to day, and this was a big enough concern to stop using KOReader altogether.

08-20-2023, 08:35 AM	#23
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,154 Karma: 224760044 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	The speed of changing font size on a Kobo depends on the format. With kepub it's about a second, with epubs it's about 3 seconds. This doesn't seem to depend on the file size, as I tried with some huge books with several thousand pages or many high-res illustrations.

08-20-2023, 09:09 AM	#24
cfrizz Wizard Posts: 1,531 Karma: 34583358 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Quincy, MA Device: Samsung 54A, Kobo Libra H2O, Samsung S6 Lite	I've had two Sonys, and now I have a Kobo. It works.

08-20-2023, 09:31 AM	#25
Cronotokyo Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2022 Device: Bookeen Diva HD, Kobo sage	For me it's Kobo all the way. They fully support the French Canadian language and lending from public libraries. I was kind of "forced" to use tools to remove drms a few years ago when a nasty bug was introduced with ADE that Kobo still refuses to aknowledge (unless it's been resolved and I'm not aware of it). I've also tried Bookeen for their support of that new drm standard that seemed more convenient than ADE, but almost never used it.

08-20-2023, 04:27 PM	#26
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,480 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I read on all sorts of devices, and am not partial to eReaders. It's currently about 50-50 tablet v eReader. My focus is on convenience, and a consistent experience no matter what I'm reading on. I've bought nearly all of my ebooks from Amazon, and they do a good job delivering a consistent experience, so most of my reading is on a Kindle or the Kindle app. I don't need to side load a lot, and 'organizing' is a very low priority (good thing or I'd be very frustrated with Kindle platform). I'm not looking for the perfect reading device, which screen is better than that screen, etc. I have a lot of reading I want to do, and read on at least 2 different devices every day. I do not have a favorite, because each has its strengths and weaknesses. That said, I have de-DRMed everything I can de-DRM, and like to kick tires on reading apps and occasionally purchase a non Kindle eReader (last year, a PocketBook Era, which I like to play with, but has never worked itself into regular rotation). So when Amazon gets out of the business, I'm ready. I am somewhat interested in getting an 8" eReader (by definition not a Kindle unless they come out with a Scribe Mini or 8" Oasis), but it can wait. I have too many devices already.

08-21-2023, 01:02 AM	#27
ottdmk Wizard Posts: 1,196 Karma: 3765734 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Libra 2, Lenovo Tab M10 FHD Plus, Lenovo Tab M8 HD	Only ever used Kobo. For library loans in Canada, there is no real substitute. Plus, Kobo started as a Canadian company before Rakuten gobbled them up (and they're still based here physically), so there's a bit of patriotic pride involved.

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08-21-2023, 03:37 PM	#30
shanghaichica Guru Posts: 989 Karma: 5782970 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Scribe,Kindle Oasis 3, iPad Pro 11, iPhone 13 Pro Max,iPad mini 6, PW5	I have used: Sony PRS-300 Nook Simple touch Kobo mini and glow light Various kindles. I prefer the kindle. Admittedly I am more invested in the kindle ecosystem and have spent more time with their hardware. Given the number of kindle books be bought over the years I would find it difficult to switch to another e-reader brand. Yes I know there are ways to use kindle books on non kindle devices but it’s not worth the hassle for little gain.