24
votes
Looking for help in purchasing an eReader
I want to start reading more, and I'd also like to start avoiding screens before I sleep, so I'd like to get an e-ink device that I can use for reading.
I've never owned or looked into ereaders before so I'm not entirely sure what the general capabilities are in this space, but heres a list of things that I consider important:
- Absolutely essential:
- I need to be able to put my own files (epubs, pdfs, etc) on the device to read without being forced to go through some marketplace installed on the device (if anything I'd prefer there to not be a marketplace on the device at all, or a removable one, as I would never use it). Files don't need to be added remotely, as long as I can connect it to my (Linux) computer with a USB and mount the storage or pop out the SD/microSD to do that then that's sufficient.
- I need to actually own the device, none of the techno-feudalist bullshit like what plagues the smartphone landscape. I want to be able to remove non-essential components (e.g. marketplace) and it'd be nice if I could also tinker and install third party software freely. If possible I'd prefer a device that's mostly or completely open and FOSS by design, but I'm aware that might be asking too much. As an alternative I would also be willing to hack the device to get it in an open, FOSS state if the process isn't too complicated and it's well documented, it'd be preferable if it was that way by design but as long as I can get there one way or another I'll be content.
- Would very much like to have:
- In addition to regular books, it'd be nice if I could also read manga. These tend to be zip/rar files containing a series of images, so I'd assume support for reading things formatted in that way is probably less widespread if it exists at all on dedicated ereader devices.
- Some kind of lighting so the device is usable in the dark. I don't know how this would compare to the blue light from screens (if anyone knows, please share) but I'll certainly want to use it for more than just before I sleep.
- Some kind of system to add notes as I read might be nice, I was never good at studying and note taking in school so I don't know how much mileage I'd get out of it but in theory it'd definitely be a boon to organize information as I read or add notes to myself to look into things later or whatever.
- Would be nice to have, can live without:
- The ability to load music onto the device and plug in headphones to listen to music while I read. Bluetooth for audio devices isn't really something I care about, but might be desireable in case I get bluetooth headphones in the future (unlikely). Unimportant if it has built in speakers or not, as long as I can plug in headphones.
You've just described the Kobo sage. No registration is necessary (although some minor tweaking via a connected computer is needed to bypass the first time user experience without registering). It has a nice dark mode, has nighttime lighting changes (reduces the blueness to help induce sleepiness), and supports side loading books via calibre painlessly.
Just to chime in on the Kobo 8" (Sage/Forma) here... I've spent the past few days researching this EXACT topic (manga reading on a hackable e-reader) due to my sister thread over here. I'm also an open source manga-reading nerd, so I was reading a lot of random blogs/GitHub repos/HN posts about Kobo e-readers, and I can share some of the findings I came across.
Anyway, here are my notes:
kepubify). From what I can tell, the syncing specifically involves replacing the Kobo Store API URL with a URL from the local Calibre-Web server, which again further minimizes the presence of the Kobo Store on the device.Basically, the Kobo ecosystem is SUPER scratching my itch for hackability, so I highly recommend that OP go down the same rabbit hole as I've been. :3
I just want to add that I have a 2 year old kobo forma and while I would have listed how awesome it is as you did, I'm currently having weird battery issues with it and it's negating all the fun when I pick it up and the battery is suddenly dead when input it down last night and it read full.
I haven't done much trouble shooting yet besides turn off wifi. I read maybe a factory reset but I have yet to try it.
The only modification I did to it was change to the caliber web server for sync, but that is just an ini file change.
Its soured me a bit but otherwise kobos stuff is super great on paper.
Sorry to hear that!! Doing a quick search, though, it looks like Kobo's customer service is pretty good? You may want to try reaching out: https://www.reddit.com/r/kobo/comments/14jors6/very_happy_with_kobos_customer_service/
There's also the possibility of replacing the battery, it seems?EDIT: Reading more closely, it seems like repair is a lot harder than I thought it to be.How is the Sage's battery life when reading manga? There's mixed experiences online so I'm just trying to get more data points. Torn between the Libra 2 and the Sage and I'm worried the Libra 2 would just be too small to read manga comfortably. Then again, my only experience reading manga is the giant Berserk Deluxe editions, so I probably spoiled myself early.
That is the best form factor for an ereader too imo. I have a Kindle Oasis and it’s so natural and comfortable to hold, especially laying on my side for longer reading sessions.
I would recommend the Elipsa, rather than the Sage, for reading manga. From everything I've read from manga readers, they prefer a larger screen rather than a smaller one.
I don't have Calibre, and I side-load books to my Kobo without any problems.
You might be interested in this topic from a few months ago:
Please help me pick an eReader!
Although the device that aligns most with your requirements is the Kobo Sage, I would ask you to consider the Kobo Forma, because though it has been discontinued, has a superior battery. It doesn't have USB-C, only micro USB.
I've had a Forma since 2018, and the use and abuse it has gone through is remarkable. It's always with me, under any weather conditions and in places like swimming pools, beaches, campings... Still works as perfectly as the very first day.
I also own a Remarkable 2, for my studies. While it's amazing for reading PDFs and annotating things, it's far from perfect for reading normal books, or for reading for an extended period of time while holding it. So yes, reading manga in it is awesome, but you give up the comfort factor of any other reading material.
Edit: RM2 technically reads .epub files, but it struggles a lot with them
I've heard very good things about the Remarkable e-ink writing tablet and it can read drm-free ePubs and pdfs so it could be a good choice if you don't mind using something like Calibre to convert books. Pretty expensive though.
You may want to consider the Moon+ Reader Pro app though or other similar options too if you're on android as it has features that let you dial in it's theme to exactly whatever look/brightness you're looking for and has text to speech if you really want to avoid screens. I tried the amazon kindle a while back and honestly it was just a chore and the e-ink's slowness made it frustrating to use.
Thanks for the mention of reMarkable, hadn't heard of it before now but the Linux base and the ability to SSH into it makes it a tempting option, especially if I can somehow justify the price by dual-purposing it for work meetings...
A quick read on the hackability of the reMarkable shows me that the hardware is spacious, the software is Linux based with a couple interaction API languages available, but it's definitely not meant to be a workhorse, and only has 8GB storage so it's never going to hold your entire library. If you're not scared of some soldering it seems somewhat repairable though. Someone else has already done a tutorial on adding a microSD card slot to the reMarkable, which definitely seems interesting.
Will throw in a vote for Boox. I've had their Nova 3 for several years now and it's great. It's android so while it's default reader can do most formats, if there's an app on the Play Store it can read that too. Was only vaguely interested in the pen/notepad aspect but it works really well. I also like that the backlighting you can tune the color of with some sliders.
They have some newer versions with color e-ink that I've been curious about but my current one isn't dead yet so no huge reason to upgrade.
I have almost the same criteria as you and I took the Kobo Clara 2E.
It reads epubs (and kepubs). In theory, it reads PDF but the screen size is not appropriate. I don’t have a specific model to recommend but I would recommend you to look into their other models.
Kobos are super easy to hack so you have a good chance of finding a way to bend it to suit your needs.
I have used a Kobo Elipsa 2E for all of these things, with the exception of audio. It does have bluetooth audio capabilities, but I use Plex for hosting all of my audiobooks and the Prologue app on iOS instead.
Your two "essential" criteria eliminate Kindles, but align with Kobos.
Your "like to have" criteria lean towards the more advanced/expensive models of Kobos.
Reading manga generally calls for a larger screen, so you'll want a bigger e-reader.
All Kobos released in the past 5 years include some form of side-lighting (they call it "backlight", but it comes from the frame at the sides of the screen).
Among the current Kobo models, the Sage and the Elipsa both have pen technology, for writing notes.
The Elipsa has a larger screen than the Sage. You might want to check it out: https://us.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-elipsa
You can listen to audiobooks on the Elipsa, so it utilises headphone technology, but I don't know if it allows you to load music to the device.
Do you think the 7 inch screen of the Libra 2 would be good enough for manga? As nice as the notes would be, I'm not sure the extra $100-200 justifies it. the Elipsa 2E is also 227 ppi instead of 300 like the others. Libra 2 seems like the best middle ground (among Kobo devices, at least, which is what everyone else is also recommending).
As an aside, do you (or anyone else reading this) have any experience with replacing the internal SD card of Kobo devices? I read that it's doable but it's not officially supported so I'm curious on exactly how hard it would be and if it could potentially cause issues even when done correctly. I kind of like the idea of putting an offline copy of Wikipedia on there and that'd definitely be doable with a larger SD card.
I've read plenty of manga on my libra (and before on my 6" kindle voyage), and I think it's fine, but it's kind of a personal preference thing, you'd have to see if you like it.
I tried once with a Kobo Glo HD but ended up bricking it. I'd be really careful with this. You don't really need it though, since 32GB on the Libra 2 is enough for like 50-100 volumes of manga.
Might be tricky since I think you'd need someone to develop an application to read the Wikipedia database compression format, not sure if anyone has made that for the Kobo.
How often do you have to zoom to read things? As long as it's clearly legible without zooming in most of the time then that's fine by me, would just get annoying having to zoom all the time (especially on an e-ink device).
Good point, didn't consider that. In any case not something I'm too attached to, I'll look into it probably much later on if I do get a Kobo (which seems pretty likely at this point).
I never really zoom in, although two-page panels can be weird.
I have the Pocketbook Era and while the brand is lesser known in the USA (I believe) it's definitely the most open of everything I compared. It's just Linux, installing Koreader was literally as simple as copy pasting files. I like the Dropbox integration for transferring epubs. Kobo is also quite open, but installing Koreader has more caveats and the Pocketbook let's me just replace the default reader app with it, which is awesome. I don't think Kobo can do that.
I would put in a vote for the Supernote, except that it does not have built-in backlighting (a design choice supposedly meant to reduce the pen-to-screen distance so as to minimize the effect of parallax on the writing experience). The Supernote should fit your essential criteria, though AFAIK it is not open source. But it will be a device that you own, and not one where certain features are locked behind subscriptions.
There are some drawbacks like the hardware being slightly outdated and the lack of 3rd party apps (although I believe you can sideload if you care enough). The biggest plus is the company's ethos, which is against planned obsolescence and is very much focused on continued development and support on the software side. They have a public roadmap for planned features. I'd check out their subreddit for more information as well as for the general sentiment from users.