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Comment by ByThyGrace | Hacker News Reader

Getting an e-ink reader is the reason I've had a similar boost in reading hours, also over the last few years.

The thing's fantastic. I don't even mind the low dpi, or the delayed responsiveness (it's not slower than turning a paper page). I bring it with me and read anywhere. It does not have the attention seeking alerts nor the eye-straining of a back-lighted smartphone.

There's under a dozen simultaneous books I'm reading at any given time, spanning both fiction and non-fiction, and have already put 1500+ hours on it (the device has nifty time tracking stats!). To me it's about the niftiest piece of consumer tech the industry has put out the past two decades.

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Yes, I recently got a Kobo Aura One. At 7.8" and high resolution screen it is not much different from reading a largish pocket book. Also being able to read in the dark without disturbing the wife, thanks to screen back light is also a big plus.

But even with bigger screen and higher resolution than most e-ink readers, it is still a bit small to read most magazines comfortably, which was a bit of a disappointment to me.

I read some ebooks on my phone before, but as you say, it does not compare. You have constant distractions and reading on a phone / tablet outside in daylight is no fun.

I have a Kobo Aura One too -- it's really a fantastic device. Waterproof (bathtime reading), large screen and "open" to all e-book formats. I used to have a Kindle but felt like I was reading a book on a postage stamp.

Smartphones are great for books, but you need an OLED screen (and hence no backlight). I was a very early adopter of eInk tech - got into it when Chinese started making the first affordable alternatives to the very first Kindle. It was great, but eventually, the smartphone won out of sheer convenience - it's always there in the pocket with me, so whenever I have to wait on the go, I can just whip it out and continue reading.

Yes - I wish I enjoyed my kindle paperwhite more because it is so incredibly useful. It's so useful because although I havnt touched it in months I'm sure it still has a 50%+ charge.

Battery life is mindblowing too! E-ink wastes so little electricity, that a single charge may last me two or three months.

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