I'm looking for a reasonably private e-reader/note taking device
I will only read documents/books without DRM, probably PDFs and EPUBs and will not use any subscription/library service with it.
It would be nice if I could write down a thought on it and manage it all easily over USB.
I will not be connecting wirelessly.
NECESSARY features:
* Must not phone home or to 3rd party.
It's OK if this can be disabled or if there's a working guide on how to hack/mod it.
* Must be able to upload/manage (DRM-free) books/documents via USB,
no proprietary apps needed. Calibre is OK.
* Must have good support for various formats, especially EPUB and PDF.
* Lit display (I could possibly go without this feature).
* E-paper(-like) display, not LCD.
* At least a few days of battery time.
* Should not be super slow to use. Up to 1 second to display a page is OK.
Is that reasonable?
NICE TO HAVE features:
* Be able to take notes.
* Support for "txt", "md" (or similar) plain text format.
* As simple / dumb OS as possible (no "app store"), but if there's a "community" software / mod / project for it - it would be welcome.
* SD card.
* No need to "register" the device before it can be used.
* Preferably no bluetooth.
* Preferably no wi-fi (or can be disabled).
* Would not like to spend more than 250$, unless you feel it would really make a difference regarding my needs
Any suggestions? Thanks!
i know its not what your asking for but you could get a phone
Yo I had an amazon kindle that fits all that. Not the original, this one had a full keyboard. I put all kinds of PDFS and epubs and stuff on there, and the battery lasted weeks. Wifi disables with one setting. Managed entirely over USB. The only thing is the screen wasn't lit.
Just use a laptop
>>2,4
Which phones and laptops have E-Ink display?
there is an android tablet with an e ink display, dont know what its called though
Thanks for the suggestions.
Yeah don't want to use an LCD to read lenghty stuff so laptops/phones are not a solution for me.
Kindles - do current/avaliable ones fit my needs? Or do they phone home like crazy / must have wi-fi access?
I'm a bit weary of Android options as they might be heavily google infested, which mean it phones home for sure.
>>7
I've been using a kindle paperwhite for three years now, and 99% of the time the wifi has been off, and I'm not logged it. The only downside is that you have to convert epub to mobo, but maybe a project like koreader could help?
>>8
For many years now I've just read on my laptop, so I'm not exactly aware of recent developments. Regardless I've heard good things about the Kobo reader for this. There is a large hardware hacking scene, and even by default it supports many DRM-free formats such as PDF, txt, epub, html, etc. In many locales Kobo out sells Amazon's Kindle e.g. 50% of market in Canada and France.
Conclusion:
In the end I got a Pocketbook Inkpad 3. There's no usable "note taking" (somewhat doable with KOReader's notes if you have the patience for a laggy input - I do), but is otherwise what I wanted. No registration, open/moddable system, seems to respect the "no wi-fi" choice, no bluetooth, OK even with larger PDFs, 200 €
Damn that's not cheap.
Similar to >>8, I've been using my Paperwhite for 5 years now.
The mobi conversion is a bit annoying, but aside from that - it's an amazing reader.
Should have got a Kobe reader
Buy a book, preferably NOT from Amazon.
>>14
Try carrying 300 dead-tree books in a backpack.
I got a Kobo Clara HD after my paperwhite died. No regrets. Having footnotes dynamically embedded alone was worth the change. The friendly orange glow at night is also nice.