Hey /g/eeks, socia/lit/e here wanting to host a small e-reader thread.
Physical books are wonderful, but they're also a bitch to store and don't hold their value very well. I've been getting into digital books, but I really don't like sitting down at my desktop and staring into a lightbulb for hours at a time. So I've been looking into e-readers, specifically the Kobo Aura and the Kindle Paperwhite. I like the idea of reobtaining my personal library in digital form and sticking it all onto a frontlit slate that I can use for a week or two without charging.
A tablet's also an option. I actually started thinking about this after hearing about the 4/20 Kindle Fire HD 7 sale. A friend got one for $60 with that drone shipping thing and I kind of regret not jumping on that. But I know that tablets have shit battery life, and then I'll have the "staring into a lightbulb" issue again. But it could be a better investment than a single-purpose piece of tech that is still making large leaps in usability. I've even been thinking about throwing out my desktop altogether and buying a Surface 2 to kill two birds with one stone if I go down that path, though by the time I scrape together that much money I could probably get a Surface 3.
I guess what I want is for people to talk about their e-readers and tablets, what's shit, what works really well for them, thoughts about the industry, etc. They're a piece of technology that I really don't hear much about these days, even though they seem to be getting better every year.
I'd recommend a paper white. They're good and cheap. I just a kindle 3 keyboard and it's great.
>>47771938
The Nook was alright for its time
The thing about books was price fixing and DRM
With publishers dealing with Amazon
And when Apple had that whole thing
>>47771938
Can you import and read any pdf file on a kindle?
The brightness on Android tablets can be turned down. My nexus 10 on lowest light level is good for reading for long periods of time (> hour). You can also get apps that darken the screen even further. Battery life is OK. You can also get good reading apps for android and just use a converter software if the format of the book you want to read isn't supported.
I still use an original Kobo Touch.
The software is slow and is prone to crashing, but the file support is excellent, and works really well once you're reading. It's also SSHable so you can hack around with it.
I'd get a used kobo glo. Cheap and works well.
Kobo Glo is very good. Reading PDF's in any ebook reader is not really confortable. Kindles are too closed for my taste.
I like my kobo glo, but the firmware just randomly resets a lot.
Sometimes I can use it for a few months, but it's had periods where it would reset every day.
Other than that, if it works, it's pretty good
>>47771938
I have a Nexus 7 FHD and a Kindle 3.
I only use the Kindle for when I'm backpacking and the battery life is phenomenal when you aren't close to an outlet. Otherwise, I'm on my Nexus because in addition to reading novels, I can navigate PDFs without lagging, I can read mangas and korean comics, and do other things. As long as you get one with a good screen (like the Nexus 7 FHD has) and set it to adjust brightness automatically, you won't have any eye strain.
If you don't need three week battery life and can handle charging it every-so-often, get a good tablet. You'll have more uses for it.
>>47771938
Rooted Nook Simple Touch MicroSD edition.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWBcvWuWw_w
>>47772351
Multiple refresh modes and different applications.
1. FastMode + APV / EBOOKA / EZPDF [+ text reflow ] (in that order)
2. Standard refresh mode
3. Partial refresh mode
4. NoRefresh Mode
>>47772103
I've been told that you can sideload them. In general, it seems like Kindle is better for Amazon-purchased books whereas Kobo is better for sideloaded books of all types, especially the models with expandable storage.
I have an old Kindle 2011 version and its certainly superior to my Nexus 7 when reading text.
If I were to get a new one ereader it would be Kobo aura no question
Am I missing something or would a netbook with an e-paper display be really awesome? It's not like you'd do anything really graphically intensive on a netbook anyways, a lot of those aren't even powerful enough to handle bloated modern websites.
If I could use one outside and it would last for days at a time on a charge that'd actually make a netbook seem worth buying to me.
>>47772444
Mirasol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfDwwrz6sNI
Also, you can use Nook Simple Touch as a display for Raspberry Pi so, hooking it up to something bigger shouldn't be a huge problem.
IMHO, backlight is a must. I have a very old kindle without it which sucks.
Touch screen is not really a necessity, do touch screen version have buttons on side to flip pages? Or you have to swipe? If you have to, it must sucks to. Those buttons are great. And how is battery life for those?
>>47772351
Seriously, this. It's the easiest to load up, and compatible with the most filetypes.
>tfw kindle 4 has no backlight and is mostly useless at night lest I use a lamp
I just wanted to read in bed without turning the room into a fucking lighthouse.
>>47772103
0 problems whatsoever, mine has never been hooked into amazon and I have near complete control over it. Literally drag and drop, i recommend calibre for muh metadata.
>>47772667
Why go through all that hassle? Why not just get calibre and whatever hardware suits you best? Also, with #bookz you won't ever have to worry about not finding a book in a certain format.
>>47772752
Because my nook opens every format. I don't have to convert anything.
>>47772752
>#bookz
Wasn't #bookz dead?
>>47772579
its not a backlight you dumbfuck the font of the screen is lit, its a FRONT FUCKING LIGHT
>>47772752
Using a rooted nook simpletouch is faster than using calibre.
>open opera mini with libgen as home page
>search and download
>read
You get the convenience of using any ebook source, whenever, along with most of the rest of the android app library if you really need it, all on a beautiful eink screen, all for about 40 bucks max.
>>47772804
I still don't get it. I either buy a book from Amazon or I illegally download the book in a suitable format. There's really no extra work involved. With calibre you can easily remove drm too...
>>47772579
You just tap on the right or left side of the screen to turn a page. Touchscreens are also nice for marking passages and translating words for non-native readers.
>>47772897
>I buy a book
>>47772897
Using callibre is a pain in the ass when you have tons of books. Keeping multiple folders on HDD works better for me. Putting books in callibre forces you to use Callibre forever.
>>47772913
Yeah, sometimes I do. Mostly if it's an old classic I had yet to read. You don't have to buy a book of course.
>>47772883
OK, I guess that is nice for when you're on the go and have no access to a PC or something.
>want to get an e-reader for manga
>most have a 1024x758 screen
>the ones with actually good screens are shit, expensive or sold out
>>47772883
Opera Mini doesn't work properly on Nook.
Use Opera Mobile 12.
>>47772579
It's funny how the original had hardware page flipping, they sold the touch versions on not having that and the Voyage is now being sold on the promise of having hardware flipping.
>>47772951
Kobo Aura H2O.
1430 x 1080 resolution.
>>47772913
Some books are hard to pirate, and others haven't been ripped yet with integrated appendixes and whatnot.
I'm probably going to get Amazon Unlimited if I can figure out how to rip from the Kindle.
>>47773154
Too expensive here (~200€)
>>47771938
Got a Paperwhite 2, it's a nice little gadget, works great and if you want you can use it in the dark.
Really nice.
>>47773178
Maybe the Kobo Glo HD then? It has no expandable storage which blows.
The Kindle Paperwhite is also good.
I hear the e-ink displays in the very latest kindles are fucking fantastic, does anyone own one who can confirm?
Is the same tech available in any of the Kobo readers?
>>47774974
The Kobo Aura H20 and the Glo HD both use the exact same new e-ink technology as the hew Paperwhite and the Voyage. They have bigger screens than the Kindles, but lower PPI, so that balances out more or less when it comes to reading.
>>47774943
You really don't need expandable storage for a dedicated ebook reader, to be honest.Books are some of the smallest media files one can get.
Hey anons, I'm trying to decide between a Kobo Aura and the new Glo HD. Any opinions?
>>47775266
The Glo HD has a better screen than even the Aura HD and comparable battery life, so I'd go with the Glo HD unless you're either willing to spring an extra $40 for the H2O or you're willing to sacrifice screen quality for expandable storage. The Glo HD doesn't allow for MicroSD expansion, which is like its only downside.
>>47772951
Unless your eyes strain on tablets, I don't suggest getting one unless you can consistently get good scans. The one on the left is a scan, the one on the right is a digital rip.
>>47774943
You can expand the internal storage to 32GB by opening it. Problem is, size is slightly more important than resolution when reading manga on an ereader
>>47775399
I use a Nexus 7 2013. It's smaller than a paper manga, as you can see, however the 1920x1200 screen still makes it plenty readable.
>>47773162
Pirated books have such variable quality too, some are difficult to read to the point where buying a well-laid out version would be less irritating
I find that when I download books (either buy or pirate or just download free ones) they almost never do footnotes well. Is there something wrong with epub/mobi/whatever that makes footnotes hard to do or something?
>>47775479
I jumped from Glo to H2O and the size difference really helps. The H2O is slightly smaller than your Nexus though.
>>47775647
Epub2 doesn't have a standard way to display footnotes. Epub3 has that but it'll take a while for it to replace Epub2.
>>47772816
I used it just a couple months ago, so, no.
