Are there any eReader fans out there? I rediscovered my Kobo, and remember how much I love it, but the touch screen has some dead spots on it and it's from about 2013 or 2014.
Are modern ones better in any noticeable way, or did tablets eat them for lunch?
(Also the features Mastodon people will tell me about are usually not the ones in the mainstream reviews)
@Canageek I have a Kobo Clara HD, which isn't a new model, and I like it, although it has developed a faint horizontal line that doesn't refresh properly, but I can work around it.
What I like: small (6-inch), so I can stuff it into my pocket and take it out to read while waiting (for family or while queueing) or on public transport. Also syncs with Pocket and my local library (Overdrive), so I never run out of things to read. Much lighter than a tablet and battery charge lasts longer.
@sohkamyung @Canageek the Pocket-syncing feature of Kobs is pretty neat. Also pretty neat: it's not a device from Amazon.
@Canageek There have been minor tweaks to the various product lines since the early teens, but nothing radical. The technology seems to have plateaued a long time ago.
Probably the main development in the market since then has been Barnes & Noble's slow retreat from the space. Their Nook products used to be a credible challenger to Amazon, but B&N has pulled way back on promoting them. You can still technically buy a Nook device, but since rumors have swirled for years now about B&N dropping the line completely, I don't know why anybody would.
@jalefkowit if they're all equivalent I would just get another cobo, since then it's got my library already on it, plus they were originally Canadian before they were bought out by a Japanese conglomerate
@Canageek That's probably what I would do too, yeah. Never heard any bad things about Kobo.
If you use Calibre for your library (which you definitely should) then which ereader you use is not a problem (as long as it's not the Swindle, of course).
@Canageek I use the remarkable. It's more than an ereader but the reader functionality is good.
@Canageek
Modern E-Book Reader might have following features: Larger screen, color (yes, on e-paper), water resistance, more supported text formats, read aloud function, audio book support, bluetooth connection to speakers, better support to connect to libraries. Probably not all in the same device, though.
(My oldish reader only has background light and is water resistant, so I can't speak of how good these new devices work)
My nook is from 2015 or so and I'd really like to get one of the new ones but this one just keeps working. The new nook has better lighting along with the usual upgrades, processor, mem, etc.
I don't think I'd read books on a tablet. I have a nook tablet I use for other stuff, but I'm pretty big on e-ink.
There's been long running predictions about the death of the nook and problems that might cause, but people have raised children in that time. That story is just always out there.
@Canageek my Kobo Glo HD is still trucking along from 2015. The software has gotten more polished over time and gotten a few new features, but no radical change. I got my spouse the Clara HD a few years ago, and it's much the same, although more compact and slightly higher contrast screen. The larger sized Kobos (Libra Forma) are interesting, but I like the 6-inch size for portability. The Sage, with its pen and note taking capability is really interesting. I would probably have got one if I didn't already own a reMarkable (dedicated eink note taking tablet).
@Canageek the onyx boox devices can do both reading and writing, enabling you to both annotate like you would do in a „real“ book and writing notes while reading side by side which is a game changer for me. There‘s also different modes for scrolling in order to get fluid display of pdfs.
(The ebook wiki and such I'm checking mostly seem to be stuck in 2012)