Is Kobo the best non-Amazon e-ink reader out there?
For any Europeans, we have the Tolino which, IIRC, are just Kobos running their own Android based OS.
I wouldn’t use it.
I don’t love using Chinese software that I’ve seen claimed doesn’t follow the GPL, but anything that isn’t Android is way too much of a downgrade for me to tolerate.
What would you use instead?
I use a Boox go color 7 and a Boox max. I’m waiting impatiently for them to manage a full 13" color version. Android makes it easier to get content from multiple sources and lets me use reader apps that give much more control over navigating content and how it’s displayed, and as a bonus I can occasionally play with code on it.
There are other options that run Android as well, but I prefer the tools Boox provides for managing the display, and the go specifically having page turn buttons is great for my pocket reader.
Does a Boox send data back to Google? Is the bootloader unlocked? I’ve been trying to move away from Google products due to privacy concerns, like looking at a Fairphone so I can run LineageOS instead of stock Android. I don’t want to swap one big tech company for another when I ditch my Kindle if I don’t have to.
I’d love to tell you it’s a decent privacy option, but I don’t think it is. The up to date ones ship with play store enabled, which means play services as well, and there’s not any way to unlock the bootloader as far as I’m aware (I’ve looked semi-recently).
I just can’t find any options that aren’t “never connect it to a network” that have functionality and respect privacy, so I’ve prioritized actually working. After having Android, I can’t personally really consider kindle or kobo devices as functional any more. They just don’t do enough for me.
No worries, thank you for all the info!
Why are you getting downvoted? I found your comments insightful. I didn’t realize that kobo’s weren’t android-based, I previously assumed that they were
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Amazon is losing the plot with their kindle device cost. I appreciate the forward thinking, but what market is this trying to reach?
Waterproof and color combined isn’t exactly something there are a lot of options for.
People with money burning holes in their pockets who don’t own actual laptops?
Maybe this is ok for some people but I’m struggling to justify $100 for an e-reader. I’d get Kobo anyway since I’m in Canada/library books.
As someone who purchased a waterproof Kobo Clara Colour for less than this and is enjoying 3rd party add-ons like KOReader, why the hell would I pay more for Amazon DRM?
Because grandparents exist and some people find it easier to sandbox them into a proprietary environment rather than teach them how to use better but slightly more complicated tech
Yeesh… Wouldn’t it be better just to get a good tablet?
E-ink isn’t the same as LCD. It’s not remotely comparable for static content.
Now, I prefer my Android reader to Kindle’s awful software, but LCD/OLED isn’t a good substitute.
I’m still on the kindle paper white, didn’t even know E-Ink was a thing so I’ll have to look into it I guess. I think I’ll drop the kindle though, the software does suck.
