I'd not heard of this model, and amusingly my first hit (4th in an incognito) for `Boox Palma` is a lengthy reddit-user rant from 2y ago about build quality, sluggish performance, and woeful battery life.
That aside, totally agree on the form factor. My first ebook reader was a pocketbook 360, which came bundled with a rigid cover (would snap onto the back while reading) and a 5" screen, when most ebook readers were around the 6" diagonal.
The size delta was significant as it meant the difference between fitting in a jacket pocket vs needing to carry a bag, and that really changes your likelihood to take it with you / read a book.
And its actually quite hard to get now as it has been replaced by Palma 2 which is even faster. You can actually watch youtube videos on it and it is better than one would expect.
I take the opposite view about size. I am already carrying a phone which is acceptable for reading on (or TTS to my headphones). If I expect to have the chance to read at length then I am willing to pack a larger ereader.
I recently went with a Kobo Libra Color to replace my aging 10th gen Kindle. It’s a nice device, and the stock Kobo software is fine. The best part though is how well koreader runs on it (much more seamless than koreader on Kindle).
The killer features of koreader for me are sane PDF scaling/reflowing, the ability to handle large PDFs, and multiple export formats for annotations.
I am on the fence between Libra and Clara (smaller than Libra). What do you recommend?
Do you wish you had gone with a smaller version? Weight, easy to hold etc.
Price difference is negligible but I am confused by the size difference and ease of use
Clara:
- Small form factor. Super convenient to read and bring it anywhere.
- No issue to read any materials imo.
Libra:
- It's slightly bigger and heavier.
- I find it easier to read books with lots of graph, images since it's bigger.
- I can also read comics with color. Pretty awesome.
Imo, boils down to your preference, hand size (I'm not a big guy). I like both devices. Libra main advantage to me is just color. Size is personal preference. If there's any store nearby, I'd suggest to just go and try it out first (or any ebook with similar size).
Make sure you understand the tradeoffs of color screen. I found it to be significantly less pleasant for reading. It's significantly darker to the point I had to had max backlight at all times and even then the content is fuzzy and less paper like.
I have a previous-generation Clara and quite like it. It's easy to slip into a pocket and bring with me wherever I go. The only thing I miss is physical buttons to turn the page.
One day I'll pick up one of the larger versions for home use, though.
I bought a large format e-reader for the opposite reason - being able to read and study from large format textbooks while on long train journeys or in hotel rooms (or even camping). It handles stuff from arxiv fine too.
I really like my Boox Max, as it means that I can read textbooks at a good size without reflowing. It still holds charge for several weeks at a time after about 7 years
I wish I had it at university instead of 1000+ page hardback calculus textbooks.
I had a Kindle and quite liked it, but I also have an iPad and when the Kindle died I decided I didn’t need two devices in that form factor even though eink is great for the beach.
I would consider buying another eink device, but only if the price came down a lot. The market is still fairly small for eink, so there hasn’t really been much economy of scale. I just looked it up and apparently eink still costs 5-10x more than LCD to manufacture.
This Boox device would have to be closer to $50 (and not $200) to tempt me to add yet another gadget to my collection.
I just bought one. I want the form factor, not for reading long form ebooks.
Out the door with a case and screen covers it was about $120 USD. We shall see how it all goes.
Actually seems like a really cool product, not sure if it would be that useful for any serious reading due to the small size but probably useful for displaying a calendar and other widgets.
I recently jailbroke my Kindle 6th generation (which still works great!), installed KUAL, made a DeDRMed backup of my library, and installed a custom screensaver. It still works to buy titles off the Amazon store, too.
It's probably the single best electronic device I own. I once dropped it in a pool and it stopped working for a few weeks, but it came back on its own.
This device is very appealing to me, but I never pulled the trigger due to horror stories about screen cracking issues reported on reddit. (Sometimes the screen just breaks by itself despite sitting on a desk.) Repair is also expensive. This seems a risky purchase.
I read a lot, mostly ebooks, and have an extensive collection of DRM free ebooks. That said, e-ink devices are ridiculously overpriced, seemingly because e-ink tech is patent-encumbered. Fortunately I don't mind reading on LCD and OLED screens, have been doing that for 20 years, originally on PalmOS devices.
I'd love to get a Kobo to run Koreader but not until prices have come down to under $200 for a 8" device. I'm also consideeing the PocketBook Verse, the SD card slot means I could carry my entire 67GB collection with me..
I ended up ordering a new PocketBook Verse from LaptopsDirect here in the UK, for £120, so about $160. I think it has the same e-ink generation as yours, and by all accounts B&W e-ink is crisper than the washed-out color e-ink displays.
I was referring more to the 8" to 10" e-readers, which are over $400, some over $700, for that price I'd rather get another iPad or Pixel Tablet. Hopefully e-ink tech is going to get cheaper when the patents expire, but that's 2032 or so, a long time away.
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That aside, totally agree on the form factor. My first ebook reader was a pocketbook 360, which came bundled with a rigid cover (would snap onto the back while reading) and a 5" screen, when most ebook readers were around the 6" diagonal.
The size delta was significant as it meant the difference between fitting in a jacket pocket vs needing to carry a bag, and that really changes your likelihood to take it with you / read a book.
The killer features of koreader for me are sane PDF scaling/reflowing, the ability to handle large PDFs, and multiple export formats for annotations.
Price difference is negligible but I am confused by the size difference and ease of use
Clara: - Small form factor. Super convenient to read and bring it anywhere. - No issue to read any materials imo.
Libra: - It's slightly bigger and heavier. - I find it easier to read books with lots of graph, images since it's bigger. - I can also read comics with color. Pretty awesome.
Imo, boils down to your preference, hand size (I'm not a big guy). I like both devices. Libra main advantage to me is just color. Size is personal preference. If there's any store nearby, I'd suggest to just go and try it out first (or any ebook with similar size).
I went back to BW after that.
(it's amazing for comics and note taking though.)
I do agree with the sibling comment on the eink display a I find I always need the backlight on to some degree which wasn’t the case for the kindle.
One day I'll pick up one of the larger versions for home use, though.
I really like my Boox Max, as it means that I can read textbooks at a good size without reflowing. It still holds charge for several weeks at a time after about 7 years
I wish I had it at university instead of 1000+ page hardback calculus textbooks.
I would consider buying another eink device, but only if the price came down a lot. The market is still fairly small for eink, so there hasn’t really been much economy of scale. I just looked it up and apparently eink still costs 5-10x more than LCD to manufacture.
This Boox device would have to be closer to $50 (and not $200) to tempt me to add yet another gadget to my collection.
Maybe one day they'll have a version with Android on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onvSjhubvQ8
It's probably the single best electronic device I own. I once dropped it in a pool and it stopped working for a few weeks, but it came back on its own.
I'd love to get a Kobo to run Koreader but not until prices have come down to under $200 for a 8" device. I'm also consideeing the PocketBook Verse, the SD card slot means I could carry my entire 67GB collection with me..
You can definitely get a used one for less than 200$
It has wifi, you can replace the SD card inside, and it has two backlights (cold and warm)
I was referring more to the 8" to 10" e-readers, which are over $400, some over $700, for that price I'd rather get another iPad or Pixel Tablet. Hopefully e-ink tech is going to get cheaper when the patents expire, but that's 2032 or so, a long time away.
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