What ebook reader would you recommend?
Must have:
* backlight
* EPUB, MOBI
* text highlighting
* buttons, not touch screen
I've been using Kindle Oasis but it sucks so incredibly that it's just frustrating to read anything on it... I was always using the old Kindles but they have no backlight and it's a huge advantage. New Kindles on the other hand come with the bloody touch screen which makes it impossible to highlight anything precisely. Plus I don't like Amazon :)
@kravietz I've just started using an Onyx Boox:
Tons of formats: PDF, ePub, Mobi, djvu, and more
"Frontlight". Illuminated display. Tunable colour temperature (warm/cool).
Several hardware buttons, though most functionality is touch-screen.
Large on-board storage (to 64 GB).
Android-based.
Third-party apps / bookreaders can be installed, though these may not function well under the Android build.
I don't think you'll find a current book-reader that isn't touchscreen.
I'm very happy with the display, and basic reading works well. Docs management is piss-poor, though that seems to be par for the course. I consider Android a mixed bag, though it does mean that you've got additional functionality, Very few apps are designed to accommodate let alone be optimised for e-ink.
There's extensive note-taking / annotation ("scribble" mode), including highlighting / underlining, writing directly ono document, etc. Positioninging for highlighting is ... iffy, depends on how particular you are. Annotation is a key selling point of the device. Also an available Bluetooth keyboard.
Models range from 6" to 13.3". The 7.8" and 10.3" should be plenty for most casual reading. 13.3" is huge, but useful for academic papers / archival articles and scans.
Website: https://www.boox.com/allproducts/
The Remarkable Tablet is another contender, though it has only 16 GB storage -- that's insufficient for my needs, but if you're doing relatively casual reading should be enough for ~3,000 optimised PDF or ePub books. I do a lot of scanned-in image documents which weigh in 10-20x larger.
It's bloody expensive but after reading a bit I can clearly see the value!
I'm not really against touch screen, it's just might be the retarded way it's implemented in Kindle Oasis that made me a bit biased towards it :) I do *a lot* of highlights and in Oasis it's just impossible.
@kravietz The smaller devices are pretty reasonable.
The Max Lumi (13.3") is luxe and spendy, but if what you do involves reading shitty scans of fine-print content (/me raises hand), it's exceptionally useful.
You can make do with a smaller device by switching to landscape, full-width crop, and contrast adjustments. And the smaller Onyx Boox devices are much more reasonable. The 7" in landscape should work for most materials the Max can view portrait, so it's a matter of what you're willing to trade off.
The older models trade some storage (32 GB vs. 64) and an Android rev (9.0 vs. 10.0) for lower price. If those don't matter much to you, you can spare some clams.
The OS and software are somewhat glitchy, as noted. I'll try to do something of a review probably in the next week or so as I get familiar with the device and its capabilities and limitations.
Documentation tends strongly toward Engrish. This is a Chinese device.
Tooltips are conspicuously absent on many controls. They would be useful.
As noted, Android software seems to be poorly optimised for eInk. There may be issues with Onyx's Android version and desktop / interface as well. I'm just DDG'ing "ui ux e-ink" and similar and finding virtually no references, so design awareness is likely nil.
The refresh rate is far lower than for emissive desplays, probably on the order of 1-4 FPS vs. 30-60 for emissive. I find 7.5 FPS mentioned here https://www.e-ink-info.com/tags/refresh-rate
I've been experimenting with two different styluses, plus finger. The Onyx stock stylus and a Staedtler stylus that's highly recommended. Both seem decent. The Staedtler has yellow banding, which should help with that most critical function: not losing the damned thing.
Onyx's own app loads seem to be better optimised for E-Ink and the device. "Neo Browser" is a rebranded Chromium lacking an "open in new tab" functionality. There's the reader, browser, notes app, a calculator, and a few others.
F-Droid store works. Google Play may be activated (but requires a Google account registration).
Again: as a reader the device is quite good. It's sort of a sucky Android tablet, but all Android tablets are sucky.