Ask HN: Best E-Ink reader in 2024? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Best E-Ink reader in 2024?

31 pointsdakiol20 comments

My main requirements are:

- I want to read mainly PDFs (tech books, papers, etc.) without having to zoom in/out (which is quite slow in e-ink readers). So, the size of the reader matters (the bigger the better, but not that big!)

- I want to send my PDFs without having to rely on any "cloud app/platform" provided by the company behind the e-ink reader. The ideal way would be to simply connect the device to my laptop via usb, and either drag and drop or just "cp" my files into the device. The second ideal way would be integration with standard platforms like google drive/icloud/dropbox

- I want to read outdoors

- Decent battery life

- Decent weight

I don't care much about taking notes.

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To anyone that is looking to buy an Onyx Box, do note that they blatantly violate GPL by refusing to release their source code.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962

I've been using the Onyx Boox Max 2 for a couple years and it's a pretty good device. When I purchased it they stated they would update the Android version, but they never did so it's stuck on Android 6. For reading PDFs it's good and there aren't really any competitors with this large of a screen. I'll often read books in dual page format, or read manuals in single page.

The device crashes frequently if you try to use any third party apps, and the pen has major lag if you're not using their notes app. Don't turn on the wifi or else the battery drains extremely fast. Make sure you don't leave it charged overnight or else the battery might balloon and explode. When this happened Onyx replaced my battery for free.

Despite these shortcomings, it's still better than the Sony digital paper (which I've also used and sold). The pen is pressure sensitive, which isn't in the Sony. The writing experience is worse than on the Remarkable, but Onyx has a bigger screen.

I'd recommend Remarkable if the screen size is good for you. The software is a lot more stable and the device is a lot more polished in general.

Kobo is really nice (I have a Libra 2 and have used a Sage) for reading ebooks and PDFs (and is decent for BW paginated manga), but the web browser sucks and there's no good RSS reader (koreader has one, but it's not very good). If you're not interested in online content, I'd totally recommend it. The build quality is miles ahead of others, and the screens don't have flat bezels so they don't get damaged easily.

If you like browsing the web on your ereader, definitely try one from Onyx Boox - it's locked-down android and designed to break quickly, doesn't have many-day battery life but lasts long enough. My Poke 5 was inseparable for the ~9 months it lasted before dying after being dropped one too many times.

I have the now-discontinued Sony DPT-RP1, which I use with Jan-Gerd Tenberge’s software (https://github.com/janten/dpt-rp1-py). It works well for reading PDF documents without the need for frequent zooming or scaling.

If I had to replace it today, I’d buy a Fujitsu Quaderno A4 (FMVDP41), which I understand has a design very similar to that of the Sony product.

Boox is the best by far

It's normal android under the hood so you can just install your cloud storage app on it

I am not sure how big the current models are, and reading PDFs is not amazing, merely OK, but I have a Kobo and it solves your second requirement. Files are added via the file browser but you can also use Calibre. No restrictions, DRM, or other platforms.

You’re likely going to find a reason to hate every suggestion anyone makes.

Look at the Kindle Scribe and Remarkable 2. Both are outstanding eink products. If you’re looking for an excellent device, buy one of those. If you’re looking to plant an ideological flag in the ground and hold out for the perfect device, good luck.

Is Remarkable 2 decent for someone mainly interested in reading, and not in writing? Remarkable 1 was only so so in that area.

I have a Remarkable 2 and I would say is not that good at reading PDF documents or ebook files (mobi, & epub). Very slow at loading documents and moving forth and back between pages is worse when compared to a Kindle. Remarkable 2 strength is mainly focus on creating notes to read.

I had a remarkable 1 that I used primarily to read epub/pdf and my enduring memory was how slow it was to wsitch pages. Realise this is mostly a hardware limitation of the screen, but I found it frustrating. With some sadness I went to an iPad pro 12.9 which was very fast to switch pages, and I don't have that same sense of frustration.

Remarkable 2 is good enough for technical PDFs but is definitely not as good as the scribe head-to-head as a book reading device. But if a person insists on something “hackable” (god knows why) then the Remarkable is the better choice.

because koreader on a Remarkable 2 is really good, actually, and is probably not feeding my reading list into a marketing profile which may be purchased or subpoenaed at any time by an increasingly dystopian police state? Whereas a Kindle Scribe most definitely is?

Books about abortion, say, or being a queer teenager?

Right, like I said, if you have some ideological issue with the Scribe/Amazon, you’re going to be happier w/ the Remarkable. If you hate subscriptions, you’re going to find a reason to be mad about the Remarkable.

I own both Scribe and Remarkable 2. You couldn’t pay me to take notes on the Scribe or read ebooks on the Remarkable.

I personally gave up on e-ink and moved to an iPad mini. My Kobo could not handle large textbooks and pdf’s and would frequently crash or not render diagrams. Zero regrets since switching to the iPad.

I have just bought the Kobo Libra 2 and I am very impressed, I have been using a Gen2 Kindle forever but finally decided I needed one with a backlight. Libra 2 is waterproof and seeing as I frequently read in the pool on holiday or in the hot tub etc this was a great feature for me.

For your specific use case I would look at something like the ReMarkable or Supernote as they are almost A4 sized readers and would allow you to annotate the papers etc

Kobo are great as you can just plug them into USB and drag files in to the drive.

You can bypass registration if you want to (hack it) and there are easily installable mods.

They work outdoors as most e-ink will. Battery life is good. I have a Nia, but you would want a 8" or probably a 10" model for technical PDFs.

E-ink screen zooming is still much slower than any LCD. There is no way around it. Some readers like Boox have settings for faster refresh rates, but it won't be comparable to a regular tablet.

The solution is to get an e-ink tablet that has a screen size and aspect ratio similar to 8.5 x 11 letter size paper. That is close to the size that PDFs and magazine pages are printed at.

Side loading a Kobo is pretty simple, and they have readers in a variety of screen sizes. Never tried displaying a PDF on mine though.

I've been enjoying Boox Palma. Very nice form factor! And Readwise Reader works great on it.

I second this. The phone format really makes me pick it up more.

I love my kindles, I have an Kindle Scribe and just got a Paperwhite Signature edition.

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