Durobo's Krono e-reader is a palm-sized e-reader, and a great Kindle and Kobo alternative
https://mashable.com/review/durobo-krono-e-readerOpen linkView original on lemmy.zipSyndicated from the fediverse. Read and engage on the original instance.
View original on lemmy.ziphttps://mashable.com/review/durobo-krono-e-readerOpen linkView original on lemmy.zip
14 replies
I dont really get the point of these. Ive picked up reading as a hobby again the last few years, and have been looking to get a (used?) e-reader. The reasons for e-reader over reading on phone are to me:
It kinda feels like these phone-sized android-devices get rid of more than half of those. At that point, why not just read on your phone?
I have a Boox Palma, which is an android ereader.
For me the form factor is great for commuting and brining to things like sporting events, as it can just got in my pocket. Also, since it runs android I can load any apps I want, letting me use my self hosted eBook library (Audiobookshelf) and access to things like music or sudoku.
Edit: Also the battery is still pretty great, since phones use most of the battery for the screen.
I agree with you for the most part. But I got an Extienk X4 for $55 a week ago or so (https://lemmy.zip/post/69760625)
I thought it would be too small, but I actually love it because it's so small and I carry it everywhere. Before this though, I've always read on a used Kindle 3.
I don't like Durobo's ereader though, it's not something I would want. it looks very awkward, and way too expensive.
They're all 75+ as of Sunday when my kobo clara broke :'(
That bump on the back is obnoxious. Just because phones have a camera bump doesn't mean your device can't sit on its back either.
Android readers are generally useless. They're too slow for literally anything other than reading, and for READING there's no need for the whole spyware suite that typical Android builds come bundled with.
Since I self-host an eBook library using Audiobookshelf an android ereader lets me have full control over my books. Additionally, it means I can load music and games like sudoku on the ereader. Since it doesn't have cell service it's still a great device to disconnect or bring on a commute while still syncing when I'm at home on WiFi.
Hard disagree there. The value is in being able to load books from a variety of (legal) sources, not just being locked into a single vendor's store.
While I understand your point, I have to hard disagree here too :) For me, the only acceptable stores are the stores that provide DRM-free books that can be uploaded on any reader that supports open formats. All other stores and vendor-locked devices are unacceptable. If a store forces me to use an app, it's considered unacceptable for me.
This is partially why I loath the thought of replacing my old Clara HD. It's never been connected to the internet and I've only ever put in epubs I've found in a ...river or ones that I copied almost instantly from a chained library using high calibre tools.
I fear a new one won't be so easy to use.
Not sure if it's something you'd be looking for, but certainly an interesting project: https://lemmy.bestiver.se/post/1299175
Most ebook readers work fine with calibre. All my books come from a river too, and I am reading them on my lastest ebook reader just fine.
Chinese ones are very easy to use. They don't give a single heck either about copyright, or about security. They also want to do it fast and cheap, so they use pretty mass market and open source products for their devices (ESP32, Android etc). So most of such devices allow you to do whatever you want with them, if you're skilled enough and have enough time to play with them. And if you're not, or just don't want to do it, they still allow you to upload any format you want to them — be it via Wi-Fi or via cable.
The other side of this medal, though, is that out of the box they come with poor security, preinstalled crapware, tethered Chinese servers and so on.
The Amazon & co obviously try to vendorlock you into their infra, but even Kindles AFAIK allow uploading via USB and don't require internet. But it's been quite some time since I used them for the last time, maybe it's changed now.
Seems damn near identical to the Boox Palma 2, except running a newer version of Android.