so are new e-reader devices no longer a thing now?

[pickyaxe]

we haven't had any news from the likes of Kobo for... a good while now. people here seem to have accepted this, since I haven't seem much grumbling here about this indefinite dry spell.

[DNSB]

Given that the last batch of Kobo devices was released in April, 2024, I don't find it very surprising that they have not yet announced any new devices. I admit I do keep browsing any Netronix FCC submissions, just in case. Amazon went from November, 2022 to Oct. 2024 between releases so close to 2 years. The only real surprise in the 2024 releases was the Colorsoft and the deluge of complaints about the screen.

You may have noticed the thread in the News section about mooInk's folding 8" colour ereader with a Gallery 3 screen if you really want to check out the bleeding edge.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Given that the last batch of Kobo devices was released in April, 2024, I don't find it very surprising that they have not yet announced any new devices. I admit I do keep browsing any Netronix FCC submissions, just in case. Amazon went from November, 2022 to Oct. 2024 between releases so close to 2 years. The only real surprise in the 2024 releases was the Colorsoft and the deluge of complaints about the screen.

You may have noticed the thread in the News section about mooInk's folding 8" colour ereader with a Gallery 3 screen if you really want to check out the bleeding edge.

I'm hoping Kobo gets some sense knocked into them and release a Kobo Libra BW.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'm hoping Kobo gets some sense knocked into them and release a Kobo Libra BW.

I'll second that!

Reading on my Libra Colour is perfectly fine in the house. Go outside to cafe a on a sunny day - sitting under an awning, mind you!!! - and I might as well be reading in the dark.

Thank god I have four other B&W ebook readers from both Kobo AND Amazon that perform wonderfully - in any lighting condition.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I'll second that!

Reading on my Libra Colour is perfectly fine in the house. Go outside to cafe a on a sunny day - sitting under an awning, mind you!!! - and I might as well be reading in the dark.

Thank god I have four other B&W ebook readers from both Kobo AND Amazon that perform wonderfully - in any lighting condition.

The dimming of the screen is why I won't buy Reader with a Kaleido 3 overlay. It's a disaster and should never have been released.

[rjwse@aol.com]

I have the very first Kindle, but never really used it and never bought anything else except phone and laptop. Laptop uses Ubuntu 22.04 and I would buy an open source Ubuntu phone if there was one. Why? To run calibre, of course. The calibre reader seems to be better than all the dedicated readers out there. That's an opinion, of course. And I'll admit my opinion is limited since I have not even ever tried using all the things for sale. As a side note: I cannot believe the school-textbook-racket has not been replaced with an el cheapo reader with public domain learning materials. For me, a 'school reader' would be the main use for a dedicated reader.

[Sirtel]

Calibre reader is good, of course, if you want to read on a computer. Many people don't - too big, too heavy, not portable enough, no eink screen (usually, that is). OTOH, not everyone needs or wants those things.

I think the majority reads on tablets and phones, not on computers or dedicated ereaders. They're a kind of compromise between the two.

While I'm a heavy calibre user for most everything to do with ebooks (library managing, convertig, editing), I read ebooks exclusively on dedicated eink readers. They just suit me best. YMMV.

[haertig]

so are new e-reader devices no longer a thing now?

I consider e-readers a pretty mature product. Not much to be done to improve them. The things they're doing these days seem to align more with "change them", not "improve them". New releases of e-reader hardware, and even firmware, are probably going to come less frequently. When's the last time you saw a new release of a hammer? They've pretty much got the design of those things nailed down. No need for new releases. A decade-old hammer is as good as, maybe even better than, a new hammer. e-readers are getting to this point too, IMHO.

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by haertig

I consider e-readers a pretty mature product. Not much to be done to improve them. The things they're doing these days seem to align more with "change them", not "improve them". New releases of e-reader hardware, and even firmware, are probably going to come less frequently. When's the last time you saw a new release of a hammer? They've pretty much got the design of those things nailed down. No need for new releases. A decade-old hammer is as good as, maybe even better than, a new hammer. e-readers are getting to this point too, IMHO.

I disagree, a reader is very far from being a hammer.

And even assuming that ALL an e-reader is is a paper like screen, it still isn't perfected. It's just now started to return to the same levels of sharpness and contrast it had at the time of the first Kindles. Even many/most/all flush e-readers with Carta 1200 are below that level.

The best screen around is still a Kindle Voyage, even if some other readers come close. The next best ones are Onyx Boox Leaf 2 (white), which suffers from low RAM and is prone to screen discoloration (my screen turned yellow twice); the white Palma; the Note Max, which uses Carta 1300 and doesn't have a frontlight, so that the text is really close to the surface with phenomenal contrast (but of course the device is completely spoiled by the horrendous ghosting).

An e-reader is still a compromise. Touch and frontlight layers reduce clarity, but bring functionality most people want.

I want a device that will never happen: a Penstar in metal with Carta 1300 and an SD card slot and better RAM and CPU. Most people would not want that.

And for those of us reading in other languages wanting a good built in dictionary none of the established e-reader companies are good enough. Only the Android readers will do.

Oh, and do you have any preferences regarding the colour of the device? Page turn buttons? No company is going to fill all the boxes.

I'd love a Clara BW in white/gray with page turn buttons. I'd even get a black one if only it had page turn buttons. Could we, please, have page turn buttons? Buttons? No?

I would get a Pocketbook if they upgraded their stone age CPUs and used Carta 1300 screens in their 6" readers.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by haertig

I consider e-readers a pretty mature product. Not much to be done to improve them. The things they're doing these days seem to align more with "change them", not "improve them". New releases of e-reader hardware, and even firmware, are probably going to come less frequently. When's the last time you saw a new release of a hammer? They've pretty much got the design of those things nailed down. No need for new releases. A decade-old hammer is as good as, maybe even better than, a new hammer. e-readers are getting to this point too, IMHO.

I just used my dads old hammer that I played with as a kid in the 1950's
It still bends nails just as fast as a modern one.

[Hellmark]

We just hit a year mark for the latest Kobo devices, a year and a half for the latest nook eInk device (and a year for the LCD one), and we're just 6 months out from the latest Kindle.

eReaders tend to be on a 2 year refresh cycle, and have been that way for well over a decade, so don't be surprised. Most of the big players are also on an even year for those refreshes. The big reason why on that is largely due to changes in display technology. eInk Corporation makes most of the displays, and they don't try to push for a yearly release schedule, and instead do it as they make advancements, which is on a twoish year time frame (sometimes more, sometimes less). The Carta 1300 came out in 2023, and Carta 1200 came out in 2021, and their color Kaleido displays have had similar releases. So, since they've had odd year releases, the others need a bit of time to make their new devices around them, which is part of why it is an even year for ereaders.

[patrik]

Originally Posted by pickyaxe

we haven't had any news....

You may want to check out Onyx. They release new models/versions fairly often.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by kandwo

I would get a Pocketbook if they upgraded their stone age CPUs and used Carta 1300 screens in their 6" readers.

The Onyx Go6 is 6" and Carta 1300. So is Clara BW.
Despite 1300 being incrementally better than 1200 I'm still a fan of it.

[Poppaea]

Boox just came out with a new bw 7" Carta 1300, the Boox Go 7 and new iterations of their colour Go7.

That's more new ereader excitement in a single week, than my heart and my wallet can take. ��

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Boox just came out with a new bw 7" Carta 1300, the Boox Go 7 and new iterations of their colour Go7.

That's more new ereader excitement in a single week, than my heart and my wallet can take. ��

How is the reading software on the boox? Does it support side loaded fonts? If so, can you adjust the weight of the fonts