Ereaders

[Dngrsone]

I am currently reading my ebooks on a Samsung Galaxy Tab A using the Pocketbook app.

It's okay, but I am seriously considering getting an e-ink reader, hoping it will be easier on my eyes, particularly for night reading.

I don't want to get a Kindle for myriad reasons, and though I was seriously looking at a Kobo (Aura perhaps), I'm now wondering if a Pocketbook Touch Lux 5 or a Boox (though the Nova 3 is twice the prics of the Touch Lux 5).

Anyone have one of these?

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Have you tried FBreader on your Tab? You can make all kinds of adjustments to your reading experience. No relation to Facebook BTW.

 

[ocnbrze]

what about the nook ereader? barnes and noble still sells it, when i worked there, they were pretty decent.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I haven't had a dedicated EReader yet but reading fantasy on a scroll background is kind of cool.

I spelled FBreader wrong. It's FBReader.
No relation to Facebook.

 

[NightAngel79]

Why not a Kindle? You can get a Paperwhite (best thing on the planet) then use Calibre to convert existing books and not buy from Amazon at all.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Can it do parchment @NightAngel79?

 

[NightAngel79]

Can it do parchment @NightAngel79?

yes

 

[dontpanicbobby]

With purple ink?
Not that I could read it like that but just saying.

 

[Dngrsone]

Can it do parchment @NightAngel79?

Pocketbook does parchment; and purple, though I wouldn't recommend... but it only has one predefined custom format and I'd like to have two-- the aforementioned parchment for day reading and a black background/non-white text for night mode. At any rate, I'm thinking e-ink would still be better on my eyes than a backlit LCD regardless of text color/temp

Why not a Kindle? You can get a Paperwhite (best thing on the planet) then use Calibre to convert existing books and not buy from Amazon at all.

Because it's Amazon-- the epitome of excessive Capitalism; a monopolistic walled garden that uses any and all data they can get on you for not only their own nefarious purposes but also for sale to anyone who has money. They also reserve the right to reach into any Kindle and copy, alter or remove any information installed, which has been done in the past, is likely happening now and will probably continue to happen in the future.

Call me crazy, but I like to have a little more control over media I purchase. I like to have backups. I neither need nor want someone looking over my shoulder to see what I choose to read, unless I expressly invite such scrutiny.

what about the nook ereader? barnes and noble still sells it, when i worked there, they were pretty decent.

I considered Nook, but their offerings aren't on par with other brands, and to be honest the Nook doesn't appear to have much of a future. There is also some of the same big-brother issues as Amazon, and for that reason I am also kind of leery about Kobo

 

[Hadron]

Because it's Amazon-- the epitome of excessive Capitalism; a monopolistic walled garden that uses any and all data they can get on you for not only their own nefarious purposes but also for sale to anyone who has money. They also reserve the right to reach into any Kindle and copy, alter or remove any information installed, which has been done in the past, is likely happening now and will probably continue to happen in the future.

To which I say "good luck with that": I have a Kindle, and the WiFi has been turned on precisely once, to activate the device, and never since. Amazon don't know what I have on it, don't know how much time I spend reading anything, and have no access to it to remove stuff. Like NA said, I get ebooks from a range of different sources, convert them using Calibre and then upload from my laptop to the Kindle. In effect it's just a display device with no connection to Amazon's store, and what they would like is of no importance.

Now that said, whether this is an option may depend on the laws where you live. Most commercial ebook stores (not just Amazon) use DRM. Where I am it's legal to remove this from ebooks for your own personal use, e.g. to allow you to read them with the device or software you choose, provided you don't redistribute them. Hence I can buy an ebook from anywhere and read it on the Kindle (after DRM removal and format conversion, which is a one-click operation). But if you are in a place where the law allows no remedy against vendor locks on ebooks then you may be forced to first ask where you plan to buy ebooks from rather than which device you prefer. Of course if you only download from DRM-free sources then there is no problem, you can use any device you want to read them.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

<snip>

I considered Nook, but their offerings aren't on par with other brands, and to be honest the Nook doesn't appear to have much of a future. There is also some of the same big-brother issues as Amazon, and for that reason I am also kind of leery about Kobo

You can get Unzipped Epub/Nook content from baen.com. Do you like Science Fiction & Fantasy titles? Try their free library.
R.I.P James Patrick Baen.

 

[bcrichster]

I use ReadEra.apk on my phones and tablets, has soooooo many options, it's nutz. Might be worth looking into vs buying yet another device.. Lol

 

[Dngrsone]

I got a Pocketbook Touch 3 HD for Christmas, and I like it.

The backlighting can be set fairly warm and I can dial it down to almost nothing when reading at night.

It is slow AF reacting to inputs though, compared to the tablet, but for just reading, that is fairly acceptable.

 

[Dngrsone]

Broke my Pocketbook Touch 3 HD... now I get to shop again.

I could get a replacement of the same model for $129 or so, but is it really the best fit? I am considering the Likebook P6, but it doesn't seem to have the warm lighting I prefer. It *does* have an external memory slot, though, which I very much would like to have. My Touch 3 has more than 8GB of just my ebook TBR; my audiobook archive is larger than that by an order of magnitude.

Any comments or suggestions?

 

[Dngrsone]

I am going to try out the Likebook P78, which should arrive in a couple weeks, Meanwhile, ol' reliable (Galaxy Tab A 7") will fill in until I am set up.

 

[Dngrsone]

Just got my Likebook P78. It's actually larger than I expected, and I was under the impression that it would come with a case, but no such luck.

TBH, the choice of cases is limited to two basic styles, so I may end up making something myself, hah. The reader does (barely) fit into my leg pocket, so I'm still good. Definitely taking it out of my pocket before working, though, hah.

Anyhow, I loaded 1100 books onto the device's internal memory, and I have a 128Gb card coming to handle the audiobooks. Getting Calibre (linux) to recognize the device took a little finesse, but it worked finally. This model, unlike the P6, has both brightness and color adjustments in several modes: Day, Night, Bed, and Custom.

I will miss the ability to show the current book cover on the off screen; I'll have to generate some cover images.

 

[Dngrsone]

So far, things are going okay.

Likes: A hidden personal folder, color and brightness adjustments, tons of memory
Dislikes: Device is slow on the uptake using the touch screen: half the time my touches don't register, and I suspect that some of the button areas are just painfully small. Slow when moving data to the device from my laptop, Pocketbook not loadable (haven't tried importing the apk manually yet) via app store nor built-in browser and damn few items in the app store to begin with. No buttons, but that's kind of minor. Did not get a free case; again minor, but damn the thing is heavy and slippery without one.

Calibre (linux) is inconsistent with finding the device; but then, it has been that way with every one of my devices... my best bet, it appears, is to pull up Calibre right at boot and do my stuff.