E-readers – Forumite.site

This topic has 30 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 11 months ago by blacklion1725.

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March 24, 2019 at 2:16 pm #32054
Les.
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@oldles
Forumite Points: 42
I think it is about 5 years since I got a Christmas time purchase at the Co-op of a 6″ Kobo Ereader. It gets left for 6 months or more, then I put ‘bike mags to one side and read a few “old ‘uns”. No modern lit here.

Anyway, and I may have raised this a couple of years ago or so, what I would like is a bigger one. It seems a cheap tablet works out at about £10 per screen inch, but get above 5″ or 6″ and “paper white” E-readers require a geometric formula, not a linear one on the pricing front. I do NOT want a tablet, must be paper white display for reading only.

Does anybody have any suggestions, and at £50 for the 6″ Kobo, I want it to remain affordable. A few (still expensive) used one appear in the US, but then there is postage and maybe customs. They then become VERY expensive.

Les.
March 24, 2019 at 3:32 pm #32056
Ed P
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@edps
Forumite Points: 39
I hear your comment that you do not want a tablet, but you may want to revisit that comment as it is easy to up the contrast to give near paper white.

Personally I now prefer using an Amazon Fire tablet for eBooks. Cheap (like me) but also good for watching Prime Movies and general web browsing. You can get a certified refurbished 10 inch tablet for around £90. I like portability and am happy with a 7 inch tablet for <£50.

Look out for deals and these prices can be a lot lower.
March 24, 2019 at 4:16 pm #32059
Tippon
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@tippon
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I can’t help with a paperwhite device sorry, as I’m in the same camp as Ed with the Kindle. One suggestion I would make though, is if you’re going to be buying more books, make sure that they can be synced between any other devices you may use.

Amazon syncs between Kindle devices and the Kindle app, but only for books bought through their store. You can add books from other stores to their devices, but they don’t sync. It’s a pain if you have an unexpected half hour free and only have your phone, for example.
March 24, 2019 at 10:16 pm #32061
Les.
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@oldles
Forumite Points: 42
Tippon, no intention of being tied to anyone, Amazon included. So far, (almost) everything I have wanted has come free gratis and for nothing courtesy of Gutenburg.

I believe the Kindles have been hacked, but would need a lot of hand holding for that.

No, I want an 8″, 9″ or 10″ paper white.

If I want to watch films, then terrestrial is one possibility, Kodi is the other. I watch VERY LITTLE TV these days, relying on R3 and R4.

Les.
March 25, 2019 at 9:09 am #32063
Drezha
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@drezha
Forumite Points: 0
I believe the biggest ones are the Kobo’s.

The Aura H20 is 6.8″ and is on sale on their website. (link), though they do have an 8″ here.

"Everything looks interesting until you do it. Then you find it’s just another job" - Terry Pratchett
March 25, 2019 at 10:11 am #32065
Les.
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@oldles
Forumite Points: 42
Yes, I have seen those. See what I mean about geometric relationship between screen size and cost? 6″ =£50, 6.8″ = £130, 8″ = £240. Compare that with tablets.

I could not persuade myself in a 100 years to go for that super 8″, but MAYBE I could consider the 6.8″, but it will take a lot of persuading.

I have looked at the Pocketbooks, but they seem to have no presence over here. I will look at the various EU ebays to see if anything there (better rush, it could be + customs duty soon).

I have not given up yet.

Les.
March 25, 2019 at 10:21 am #32067
Ed P
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@edps
Forumite Points: 39
Les, the problem is that e-ink screens are horrendously expensive once you get bigger than about 2″. I guess one day we may see a reduction but even ChiBay (Alibaba) does not promise much at the moment. I think you either have to dig deep or compromise.
March 25, 2019 at 12:19 pm #32072
blacklion1725
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@blacklion1725
Forumite Points: 2
I’ve got that big Kobo Drezha linked to (Kobo Aura One 7.8″). Love it. Aside from the bigger screen the big win is Overdrive where you can borrow library books (if your library participates – mine does). I think USA Kindle supports this but not UK. Its the reason I finally joined my local library.

The Kobo is expensive though- I got mine for (I think) about £120 – which maybe what they should cost. Saying that paperwhites are expensive as well.

I still get most of my content from Amazon and convert with Calibre. I also convert quite a lot of Wiki stuff to read on it using the Chrome “.epub” extension which works pretty well.

Sync is the big let down with my setup – but most of my stuff is non-fiction and reasonably easy to find where you were.

I’ve never been happy reading on tablets – do it occasionally (and even my phone the odd time), but despite tweaking the settings never as good as the e-reader for me .The auto backlight on my current Kobo works a treat – but maybe the tablet experience would be better (or at least feel better) if I didn’t have the ereader for comparison. Oh and battery life is the other big drawback of using a tablet (or some tablets – my Huawei tablet battery is insanely good)

EDIT: Argos Ebay have the 7.8″ Kobo new for £150+£4 post. Still lumpy but better than £240 – link
March 25, 2019 at 12:36 pm #32075
blacklion1725
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@blacklion1725
Forumite Points: 2
Apologies – mine is the older Kobo Aura One (7.8″) Not the Kobo Forma (8″) that Drezha linked.

The Argos link for mine is correct though as is the other info on it I posted.
March 25, 2019 at 1:11 pm #32076
Drezha
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@drezha
Forumite Points: 0
The only reason I use my iPad for reading, rather than my Kindle Voyage is purely accessing books on it I guess. I use Calibre a lot to store my library and read though I haven’t done so for a while, but I’m beginning to think that’s due to my tablet constantly popping up updates etc etc. I’ll have to dig the Voyage out again to read in the evenings – I used to a read a lot when commuting but now I’m cycling, I don’t really do anything near as much reading.

Best Kindle I had was my original Kindle Keyboard but it got ruined by getting wet in my bag (which turns out isn’t waterproof and hisotry may have repeated itself as I might have just ruined my Airpods after getting caught in the rain in Bangor on Friday!) – I should probably get rid of the bag!

"Everything looks interesting until you do it. Then you find it’s just another job" - Terry Pratchett
March 25, 2019 at 2:10 pm #32079
blacklion1725
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@blacklion1725
Forumite Points: 2
Yeah my mum’s Kindle keyboard is still going strong. Feels “old” when you pick it up but not for long. I’ve kept my old Kobo Glo too – fits in the pocket of your shorts on holiday (I often go fora yomp, pint, walk back while the boss relaxes at a beach/pool somewhere). Feels tiny next to the Aura One but again once you start reading you forget. Pictures and maps aint great on ereaders but they are much better on the Aura One and I need to zoom less.
March 25, 2019 at 3:16 pm #32083
Les.
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@oldles
Forumite Points: 42
BL, I am tempted. VERY tempted. Needless to say they “Don’t post to Isle of Man”. Must go, my pal has just arrived. Cheers, Les.
March 25, 2019 at 4:18 pm #32087
Bob Williams
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@bullstuff2
Forumite Points: 0
Les I have the older Tab3 8″ version of this:

http://tinyurl.com/y643jtz2

My older one is used for any e-book you care to name, including Kindle, Kobo, Calibre etc. All downloadable via Android. Then there is this e-book supplier, my mate swears by it, I haven’t tried it:

http://tinyurl.com/yxuy8xnj

My Tab 3 has a brightness display that can be changed in Kindle and others, the battery lasts me at least 2 days and I am reading from it every day, sometimes a couple of hours at a time. Beauty of a tablet is that it gives more than just e-books: online news, mag’s, anything you want. Most magazines now have online versions. I have just learned how to print from mine to my Wireless printer. I installed Open Office (think you have Libre? That’s available too.) and a PDF Reader, downloaded & installed an onscreen keyboard and can print doc’s and PDF’s from it. I now spend at least as much time on the Tab as I do on this PC.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.
March 25, 2019 at 9:52 pm #32102
Les.
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@oldles
Forumite Points: 42
Well, I kept BlackLion’s link open in firefox, and decided to try to do something. I could use the “Contact Seller” and try to get them to supply to IOM. They had numerous “Question categories” already with pre-supplied answers. I went for “other” and after logging in, was taken to a page where it said “Review other questions, we are very busy so can not answer a question now”.

I really don’t understand the “Can’t supply to IOM” business. Postage is the same, if it is a carrier cost, a separate price could be offered. When I see the message, I usually just move on. On a few occasions I have asked and got things sorted, but it all seems just a way to avoid business.

Les.
March 26, 2019 at 7:12 am #32105
Ed P
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@edps
Forumite Points: 39
Probably the lithium battery Les. Air travel has become pretty much a no-no with anything containing a battery. Even the Mainland Post Office ask you to swear on a stack of bibles that the object does not contain a battery. This applies even for mainland delivery as quite a lot of the small parcel business is air-freighted between break-bulk centres.

Such stuff on the mainland is usually couriered between locations.

I think there may also be special arrangements in which batteries are removed and bubble-wrapped before going out via parcel post. (I had a bulk lot of rechargeables delivered in that manner.)
March 26, 2019 at 8:55 am #32106
blacklion1725
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@blacklion1725
Forumite Points: 2
I’ve returned a couple of phones recently (one with a pre-paid label and one my own label (Special Delivery) – they asked what was in the boxes, I said a “phone with built in battery” – they typed that in to the system but there was no problem posting them (UK addresses). I have had the issue trying to return something to an AliExpress seller in China – they wouldn’t accept it and neither would any of the couriers(on account of the battery).
March 26, 2019 at 10:01 am #32112
Les.
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@oldles
Forumite Points: 42
No, nothing to do with batteries. If I want 10 M6 nuts off Ebay, the first one I open may say “Does not deliver etc.”, the next does not. They are probably both in China. It started a couple of years ago, then morphed into “Does not deliver to United Kingdom”, which was nonsense since in fact the island is NOT part of UK. More recently it has returned to “Isle of Man”.

I think it is down to post codes. There are more than one purchasable sets of tables of post codes. Some do not recognise us, others do. I buy stuff regularly from a Guernsey based company, usually ordering online. Two years ago, they suddenly were unable to post to my “unknown” location, even though my address details in their “profile” of me was unchanged. I had to use their free phone number to order and complain. After 18 months it started to work again. They admitted it was a problem with their software. I think just wrong table of codes.

I have had similar with companies in US, where I can’t get past their order system for the same reason.

It is well known over here, so I contacted a Gov minister I was advised was the appropriate person. His reply was so bland and pathetic I just shrugged. Normally I would have continued the barrage, but I realised it would have been akin to talking to a two year old, even though it is a matter of concern for manx residents.

I am still trying to think of a way of overcoming Argos, maybe getting my D in L to order it for me.

Les.
March 27, 2019 at 5:56 pm #32159
Les.
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@oldles
Forumite Points: 42
I though I had got around the system. We have an on-island carrier and if you get stuff sent to their UK depot, they will deliver to me. I used it a few years ago to buy a load of special plastic guttering. They have now set up a dedicated service, Ship2Man, so I have an account and my own UK delivery address. Great, here we go.

Oh No! Click and Collect only. It seems I am stuffed until I try something else.

Les.
March 28, 2019 at 10:13 pm #32203
Les.
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@oldles
Forumite Points: 42
It looks like time to give up on the Ebay Kobo BL linked to earlier.

I asked my nephew if he would get it for me. He tried, got the message that only one left in Winsford, then an error message.

Tried again later, same response. It is suggested it could be sold but listing not removed. It is still there.

C’est la vie.

Les.
March 29, 2019 at 11:12 am #32215
Drezha
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@drezha
Forumite Points: 0
Les. wrote:

It looks like time to give up on the Ebay Kobo BL linked to earlier. I asked my nephew if he would get it for me. He tried, got the message that only one left in Winsford, then an error message. Tried again later, same response. It is suggested it could be sold but listing not removed. It is still there. C’est la vie. Les.

Les, it’s in my local Argos if you want it? Only one near me mind (technically it’s even closer, as I’m sat in the office which is about 15 minutes walk away)

"Everything looks interesting until you do it. Then you find it’s just another job" - Terry Pratchett
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