Other Dedicated E-Ink E Book reader on the cheap ?

Mechanic

Mechanic

Skilled
Hi guys
I am in the lookout for a dedicated E-Ink E Book reader on the cheap.

Owners of E-Book Readers like Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, Nook Simple Touch, Nook Glowlight, Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo etc owners may give their feedback based on their usage and maybe help me make an informed choice. :)

Please post your experience of using the device, the problems/bugs you've faced and hacks/mods you've come to know about if any.
 
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I've got the Kindle with a keyboard, and my mother has a Kindle paper white with a backlight.
Both are great. Mines non-touch, and I like the dedicated buttons. But it's got a slow processor, and doing searches, looking up words, etc takes a few seconds.
The paperwhite's faster. But it doesn't have any audio capabilities. Not that I've ever played audio on my Kindle. I haven't used the backlight, but I can see how it can be useful.

I've read over a hundred books on my Kindle, and prefer it to paper books. It's lighter, has an inbuilt dictionary, and lets you just get on with reading.

Ultimately, any device that's light, supports popular formats, has a decent screen and good battery life is more than acceptable as an e-reader. Reading isn't taxing on the device, and all you really want from an e-reader is a device that doesn't distract you from your book.

Don't over analyse. Unless you plan on buying into the eco-system, I'd suggest buying the cheapest one with a battery life of over 3000 page turns (i.e. any e-reader currently available!).
 
Unless you are a voracious reader or have extra cash to burn, go for the non-backlit ereaders as they cost considerably less. Use them for 1-2 years and if you feel that you are comfortable with them, only then go for the backlit ones. Otherwise your money will be wasted.

I thought I will read a lot but did not read that much in the time that I have had the Nook with me. I have read 4-5 novels only. So I feel good that I did not put down a load of cash for the Paperwhite.
 
mathrisk said:
I am using my Kobo Touch for last few days, and I would recommend something with backlight - a Kindle Paperwhite may be.
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hotshot05 said:
Unless you are a voracious reader or have extra cash to burn, go for the non-backlit ereaders as they cost considerably less. Use them for 1-2 years and if you feel that you are comfortable with them, only then go for the backlit ones. Otherwise your money will be wasted.

I thought I will read a lot but did not read that much in the time that I have had the Nook with me. I have read 4-5 novels only. So I feel good that I did not put down a load of cash for the Paperwhite.
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exactly my mindset,
if I am buying something to replace physical books, the absence of backlight is a good thing.
its not like i'll be reading in the dark.
but I am concerned about the durability and repairability of these e-readers beyond 1-2 years.
many users have reported battery problems leading to irrepairable screen freezes on both Nook Simple Touch and Kobo touch.
these being niche devices have only compounded the problem as due to non availability of spare batteries or service.
and NST batteries can't be changed unless you want to be a bit adventurous .
 
Mechanic said:
exactly my mindset,
if I am buying something to replace physical books, the absence of backlight is a good thing.
its not like i'll be reading in the dark.
but I am concerned about the durability and repairability of these e-readers beyond 1-2 years.
many users have reported battery problems leading to irrepairable screen freezes on both Nook Simple Touch and Kobo touch.
these being niche devices have only compounded the problem as due to non availability of spare batteries or service.
and NST batteries can't be changed unless you want to be a bit adventurous .
Click to expand...
Hope that my NST will take some time to have these problem ;-)

Reading on the e-ink screen is perfect. It feels really good if you spend the whole day staring at a computer screen or mobile screen. It gives your eyes some much needed rest. I just hope someone invents a colour e-ink display and tablets/laptops come with such a screen. I will bless that guy/company.

The font size can be changed very easily it is a boon for guys having eye sight problems. The screen size is good but sometimes I feel that it could have had been a bit bigger(I use a close to big size font and read quite fast. So need to change pages quite a lot.)
The page change buttons are a bit hard to press and hence I prefer changing pages by touch. A tap on the right part of the screen takes me to the next page and feels much more natural than pressing a button.
 
hotshot05 said:
Hope that my NST will take some time to have these problem ;-)

Reading on the e-ink screen is perfect. It feels really good if you spend the whole day staring at a computer screen or mobile screen. It gives your eyes some much needed rest. I just hope someone invents a colour e-ink display and tablets/laptops come with such a screen. I will bless that guy/company.

The font size can be changed very easily it is a boon for guys having eye sight problems. The screen size is good but sometimes I feel that it could have had been a bit bigger(I use a close to big size font and read quite fast. So need to change pages quite a lot.)
The page change buttons are a bit hard to press and hence I prefer changing pages by touch. A tap on the right part of the screen takes me to the next page and feels much more natural than pressing a button.
Click to expand...
you can sideload books and stuff that you download from internet right?
any problems with sideloading books?
 
Been using the NST for a couple of years now and very rough use a that (more than a few drops, ants attempting to colonize the board, use it without cover) and it is still working fine.
 
sarthakk250193 said:
Kobo touch seems way too cheap on ebay and at only 1 seller.Even in US it is more expensive.Be careful
Click to expand...
no need to be alarmed,
the seller is actually Cromaretail, they are selling new unopened boxes
I called them up yesterday and confirmed :)

@all who are reading this thread
unfortunately, Croma/Oddlots won't ship to my location.(Purulia 723101, West Bengal) or (Jamshedpur 831001, Jharkhand)
Can anyone please help me in this situation? can you have the item delivered to your location and then courier it to mine?
If you are willing I'll wire you the Cost of the Product and the expected Shipping/Courier cost before you make the purchase.
 
chiron said:
So is the Kobo Glo @ 6.9k worth it over the Touch a@ 3,4k? Thinking of getting one for my parents.
Click to expand...
Kobo Glo has a better resolution of 212ppi over 167 ppi of the touch version
it has a marginally better eink screen and has a glowlight to read in the dark, and a slightly faster processor
and its custom firmwares/android hacks are easier to come by than the touch , and has lesser known bugs than the touch.

it all depends on your prerogative you see,
in my case , I am a first time user, so I'll go for the cheapest possible option with moderate troubleshooting options without any bells and whistles like glowlight and higher res.
and I'll gradually work my way up to better and more powerful models in future.

But if you want good reading experience and can spare 8-10K, I'll recommend you get the Kobo Aura from ebay.com "bestbuy" official dealer
it has a great glowlight a good 1Ghz processor and 1GB RAM with android
PDF support is awesome on it and its fast.
 
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