I’m just re-discovering the 2015 Kindle paper white I bought years ago and had stopped using…because overall I had started reading less. I’m using it with a new appreciation for how great of a form factor it is for my hands + a pop socket. Carry it with me everywhere, tucks into my jacket pocket or backpack when I’m heading to work.

I’m not the biggest fan of Amazon, but I load it with Calibre so where possible I try to get my ebooks from elsewhere.

Anyway Im wondering what you all are reading on and why. What’re the latest advances in ereader technology since 2015? Am I missing out on something?

  •  gabuwu   ( @gabuwu@beehaw.org ) 
    5•1 year ago

    They haven’t really advanced a whole lot, unless you want an android tablet with e-ink and deal with the annoyance that will bring or are looking for an eink tablet to write on. Newer ones aimed primarily to reading are now usually water resistant, have non-recessed screens, and audiobook support with the exclusive service each ereader company is provided by (kobo only has kobo audiobooks, kindle only has audible books etc) so the technology hasn’t evolved a whole lot unless you want to detangle yourself from the Amazon ecosystem. There are android e-ink tablets, but most them are unfortunately made by Chinese companies that not only require you to manually enable the android app store, but there’s pretty big privacy concerns and just general shady business practices amongst nearly all of the few that operate in that niche market (especially amongst Boox, they have paid people to write fake reviews)

    There are some color ereaders but the technology isn’t really ready for general use, its very finnicky and has a bunch of issues when used in consumer ereaders. Writing based eink tablets are excellent though, if that’s something you are into.

    I personally have kept my 2015 kindle and as long as its still running I’m gonna stick with it personally.

    •  books   ( @books@beehaw.org ) OPEnglish
      2•1 year ago

      Thanks for the comprehensive overview. Yeah color in my ereader is not very personally enticing and I don’t care for an app store, I actually keep my Kindle in airplane mode 24/7 haha.

      The water resistance and flush screen sound great though, but nothing I’m rushing to the store for. Think I’ll look for that when my paperwhite dies out which is probably going to be a long time from now unless I damage it.

      •  gabuwu   ( @gabuwu@beehaw.org ) English
        3•1 year ago

        I’m the exact same! I keep mine on airplane mode too, I like to check out books from my library and instantly return them while their on my kindle still so others can get it and so my ADHD doesn’t forget about the ebook. And yeah kindles are built to last, so it’ll probably be a while before another one is needed. I think it’s likely by the time we both need to replace our ereaders, the flaws with color eink tech will probably be ironed out anyway.