This is a device category I have very little knowledge about, but I have a growing collection of PDFs and ebooks and I’d love to have a light weight device to read them on.

Any recommendations? Are they all walled gardens?

  • ninjaturtle
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    1 month ago

    I like Boox but they are on the more pricey side. Basically an android tablet with an e-ink display.

    • femboi [they/them, she/her]@hexbear.net
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      1 month ago

      Seconding Boox, I have a Note Air and I love it. Definitely pricy but it has everything I want

      Edit: one of the reasons I went with Boox is that I wanted good PDF support, and the large screen lets you view them easily

    • Shmandom@feddit.uk
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      1 month ago

      I went the Boox way more than half a decade ago. Personally, the 2 draws were:

      • The availability of bigger screens: at 10.3’', the Note 1 was great for A4/Letter PDFs, and I just liked to have a big wall of small text for my epubs.
      • The freedom from walled-garden: I could use whatever Android app to read whatever format.

      Other will probably tout the note-taking, the possibility to use a real browser, the versatility of an e-ink tablet, etc. But those are not my main use case.

      They are on the expensive side though, and my very plasticky Note 1 sadly died after only a short handful of years. The latest Boox offerings have metal casings though, so they might be more durable.

      I’ve been reading on my mobile since my Note 1 died, but I could finally splurge on a Go 10.3 recently. That big, non-backlighted screen is glorious and so restful after a day on computer and mobile screens ❤️

      For my next one, I might go bigger (13’') and colour - if colour e-ink improves markedly - for comic books consumption. But I hope I can rock the Go 10.3 for the better part of a decade this time 🤞

      (PS: Calibre and ePub for the win!)