• figaro@lemdro.id
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    2 years ago

    I’ve used the Boox color e-reader. It’s fine. My one complaint is that the white background of the screen is not as white as the background in traditional e-readers. Like I saw somewhere that the Kindle’s white background is somewhere near 85% white, and the Boox color screen is 65ish% white. It was noticable when I used it, to the point that I sent it back and got a non color e-reader.

    I ended up getting the Boox Nova Air 2. it is fantastic. https://onyxboox.com/boox_novaair2

    • Patches@sh.itjust.works
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      2 years ago

      I don’t understand why everything by Onyx is so much more money than anything else on the market. I want to try one because Kobo Software is ‘meh’ but I can’t justify double the price for… ???

      • iheartneopets@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        I know nothing about this topic, but was thinking of grabbing a Kobo. What about the software would you say is meh?

        • Patches@sh.itjust.works
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          2 years ago

          My last Kobo was bought 4 years ago so it may be different but it was very slow compared to a Kindle bought at the same time. Searching for books took a very long time. Looking through your library was click next, wait 10s, click next, wait 10s.

          Once you were in a book it was perfect.

          I only use Calibre to push books on to the device so I can’t speak to their store. With that modifier - Kindle can’t do that well at all so it’s a non-starter.

          • iheartneopets@lemm.ee
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            2 years ago

            I wonder if that will be at all improved with the new model coming out? I do like that Kobo doesn’t have ads on its home screen, as well; I’d probably be willing to put up with less optimal performance if that stays the case. Anyway, thank you for the response! It’s definitely given me stuff to consider before buying an e reader myself

            • Patches@sh.itjust.works
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              2 years ago

              Calibre is a fantastic Ebook organizer and it can handle all sorts of file conversions and removing DRM from books. Whichever book reader you get I would recommend it.

              It’s like the iTunes for your iPod but it’s FOSS.

              Here are 5,000 books available for free forever as part of Project Gutenburg. https://www.gutenberg.org/. That’s download, and click Sync within Calibre. It handles all file conversions (if necessary).


              Separately given the price differential. Whichever you get - get one with a backlight/front light. Ebook readers are as difficult, if not more, to read as books are without bright light.

              The ebook lights point into the screen instead of at your face - it’s much different than a phone and much easier on the eyes.

              I don’t know how much time I have spent reading in bed with-backlight-on not bothering my wife but it’s a lot. It’s where I do the majority of my reading. Not possible with a real book - she’s a light sleeper and any light bright enough to read would keep her up.

  • Wahots@pawb.social
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    2 years ago

    I like my Kobo, but wish it had a bit better of a storefront. I want to get my books from more than just the kobo store. Overdrive support is nice. It sometimes loses my page just like a real book, ironically.

    Still, I find myself still letting it collect dust due to it’s limited storefront and long book checkout times at the library. Physical books and newspapers are a bit bigger and stable software-wise.

    I really wish epaper displays were more common. It’s a really cool technology. I’d love an inexpensive epaper monitor or maybe an alarm clock?

    • Adm_Drummer@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Install Calibre on a computer and use that. Browse online sailing forums for your favourite books and new releases. Then support the authors financially by buying their paper books directly from them or their publishers.

      If you buy your books from them digitally use a DRM remover (Like the plugin available on Calibre) so you can forever own your books and move them to any device you want in any format you want. Forever.

      • turmacar@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        Have a few ebooks and audiobooks in calibre that have been removed from Amazon/Audible. Nothing dramatic drama wise as far as I can tell other than the license expiring/moving.

        It’s nice not having to worry about it.

  • Vlyn@lemmy.zip
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    2 years ago

    Both use E Ink’s latest Kaleido color screen technology, which has subtle, pastel-like hues and drops from a 300ppi grayscale resolution to 150ppi when you view content in color.

    I had to check just how bad 150ppi would be when dropping down the resolution for color.

    A 24" Full HD monitor has a PPI of 92. So it’s actually okay.

    I’m still using my old Kobo Aura HD (now roughly 11 years old) and the battery still lasts over a month. The screen was already decent back then, but a bit sluggish. I just checked, the old one has 265 ppi. Maybe it’s not time for an upgrade yet :)

    • Laurel Raven@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 years ago

      A PPI of 92, but that screen is going to probably be between 2 and 3 feet from your face, vs the 150 PPI sitting 6 inches to a foot away… Doesn’t mean it isn’t good enough by any means, but it’s certainly not a conclusive comparison

        • Laurel Raven@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          2 years ago

          Yeah, 6 inches is about the furthest something can be for me to see it with any clarity at all without glasses, regardless of size and resolution, but still often read without them on my phone just to relax my eyes (and also, nothing looks clearer to me than something a few inches from my face with my glasses off)

          But i did say “6 inches to a foot” which I’m at least assuming is not that atypical a range that people hold their devices at, but I’m not that great at judging distance overall… At the very least, my point is you’re holding the small device much closer than the bigger screen will be so needs higher PPI to still look as crisp

      • HauntedCupcake@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        I have a Boox Ultra C. It has the same screen, I can confidently say the colours are utter shite for any kind of colour sensitive work or media. However, they’re more than good enough for conveying information, like different coloured lines on a chart.

        The colours also look sharp as fuck, as the grey scale is still used for brightness, and the colour just tints it. Meaning it looks a lot sharper than 150ppi and almost indistinguishable from 300ppi

        • Laurel Raven@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          2 years ago

          How is your boox, BTW? Would you recommend them?

          I’m in the market and they look interesting to me but the price is a bit of a shocker

          • HauntedCupcake@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            I would get a Galaxy Tab if the E-Ink isn’t vital for you. But otherwise it’s a very capable E-Int tablet, and it running Android means you can do anything on it you can an Android tablet.

            The real killer is the latency though, for most things it’s pretty bad, except in Boox’s own apps where it’s so damn quick it feels like writing on paper.

            I wouldn’t recommend it unless you know it’s exactly what you’re looking for, but if it is what you want then it’s easily best in class

      • Vlyn@lemmy.zip
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        2 years ago

        Of course, but it’s mostly for reading. The color will probably be used for notes and the occasional image, for which it’s easily good enough. When I read it’s usually a foot away, while I keep my monitor at 2 feet.

        Black and white content (text) has 300 dpi atleast, so for that it’s perfect.

        E-Ink is fantastic for lots of reading and battery life, for everything else an actual screen is leagues ahead. The response time is awful too.

  • Clementineowo@thelemmy.club
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    5 months ago

    I love Kobo ereaders but I’m fed up with the DRM encryption on their ebooks, quite inconvenient. I followed this Kobo DRM removal tutorial and tried out these three methods. They’re actually pretty good. Especially BookFab Kobo Converter – unlike the other two methods, it doesn’t require you to install so many plugins or input any code. You can directly convert your ebooks to DRM-free EPUB format. It also has a built-in browser that can directly access the official Kobo website, so you don’t have to switch back and forth between different software. If you’ve been dealing with the same headache, give the method I mentioned a shot!

  • Sam_Bass@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    Kinda surprised they even still exist. Bought one for my mom years ago. She used it a lot but thought 10-15 bucks for an ebook was too much. So i had to download a bunch of public domain stuff for her. Kept her occupied for a good while

    • twig@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 years ago

      You can also sideload epubs, borrow books from libraries on Overdrive and read articles online, etc. It’s way easier on the eyes than screens that rely on refresh rates (which also make them better to use before sleep), they have long battery life. And it’s a lot lighter than carrying books around.

      They have a lot of advantages over other platforms for reading.

      • sheogorath@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        It might depend on which part of the world they live in. In the West? Not so much. But in a third world country? It might very well be a day’s work wage.

        • Sam_Bass@lemmy.ml
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          2 years ago

          Believe it or not there are lots of pockets in “the west” where money is that tight. Fixed incomes didnt and dont stretch that far

    • Patches@sh.itjust.works
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      2 years ago

      What do you need it for?

      It isn’t up to snuff for reading Comic Books or Graphic Novels, and it’s worse experience than a good Non-Color E-ink display. Which is saying it’s worse for the vast vast majority of books you will read.

      I’m not sure why it exists other than it has to - in order for a better version to eventually come out. R&D isn’t free.

      • fadedmaster@sh.itjust.works
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        2 years ago

        I have the Boox Onyx Note 3c. Its a color e-ink and its okay for comics. But I mainly use it for note taking. The colors are helpful for more detailed notes. The eink display makes it easier in my eyes especially for long days of note taking.

          • fadedmaster@sh.itjust.works
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            2 years ago

            Yeah. The color definitely isn’t a replacement for an actual comic or graphic novel. It’s good enough to give you an idea of what it should look like. And I agree. If you have no need for the color, then black and white is going to be much better.

        • classic@fedia.io
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          2 years ago

          How do you like it for note taking? Does it convert handwriting to type? That is one of my dream features that I’ve yet to hear has become robust

  • wit@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Ooohhh, this is huge! And also an upgraded Kobo Clara (in black and white)!

    BW e-readers are sufficient for reading but colors are awesome for image content in books, such as graphics and maps and whatnot. Hopefully some reviews show up soon.

  • my_hat_stinks@programming.dev
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    2 years ago

    with extras like […] no lockscreen ads

    What the fuck? Why is that an extra not just the default? It’s great that this product isn’t riddled with ads, but that’s like saying it’s great a burger is not made of human shit; it’s crazy that anyone would tolerate a shit-burger in the first place.

    Maybe ads are normal in the e-reader space for some reason, but that’s just insane to me.

    • zaphod@sopuli.xyz
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      2 years ago

      You can buy “discounted” Kindle e-readers with ads, or you can buy them without ads for full price.

      • my_hat_stinks@programming.dev
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        2 years ago

        There’s no discount there, you’re just accepting their marketing bullshit. That sounds to me like the company is double-dipping by shoving ads in your face and making the product objectively worse, then charging even more for a “premium” model where the only difference is they haven’t intentionally downgraded it.

    • octochamp@lemmy.ml
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      2 years ago

      I think it’s only Amazon that does lock screen ads but since they have two-thirds of the market share globally (and a near monopoly in the US where the Verge is based) then whatever they do in the e-reader space is “normal”

      • Pattyice@lemmy.ml
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        2 years ago

        Just talking here in the US, the only competitor Amazon has really had here is Nook which also has lock screen ads

  • metaStatic@kbin.social
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    2 years ago

    the day will eventually come that I need to replace my kindle and I assume e-ink will be full HD by then.

    Honestly if an e-reader doesn’t last you decades you’re doing something wrong.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    2 years ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Both use E Ink’s latest Kaleido color screen technology, which has subtle, pastel-like hues and drops from a 300ppi grayscale resolution to 150ppi when you view content in color.

    The seven-inch Kobo Libra 2 is my favorite e-reader outside of Amazon’s ecosystem, offering the Kindle Paperwhite’s IPX8 waterproof design but with extras like physical page-turning buttons, no lockscreen ads, and more storage.

    However, it’s $30 more expensive than the Kobo Libra 2, and you’ll have to buy the stylus separately for $69.99.

    It offers the same six-inch display and IPX8 waterproof design but now comes with 16GB of storage, as well as an improved processor.

    I hope so; the Kobo Clara 2E’s sluggish performance was one of my chief complaints.

    All of the devices are available to preorder starting today and will ship on April 30th.


    The original article contains 233 words, the summary contains 130 words. Saved 44%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • TCB13@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    “Kobo announces they’ll finally spend a couple more bucks in each unit so they can ship same display any other Chinese company doing e-readers ships”. - There, title fixed.

      • TCB13@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        The point is that you’ve tons of Chinese companies selling e-ink tablets with color displays and Kobo now decided to spend a couple more bucks doing the same in order to catch up.

  • echo64@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Whilst this is nice. I’ve had a color ebook reader for maybe four years. It’s not a new technology.