EmilK wrote:

Trotter wrote:

PxChris wrote:

On the subject though, I think I'm about ready to abandon my Kindle and the Amazon ecosystem for an alternative e-reader whenever mine finally kicks the bucket. I'm hopeful that the color e-ink screens improve quickly and the costs on them come down to make that a viable replacement option.

I switched to using a Kobo from using a Kindle, as I did not like the extra restrictions Amazon put on the device. It is a colour screen, but that is not really that useful at the moment, used mainly for book covers. The big advantage is that you can have a lot of books to read on one device, and you can change the text size, I think these are much better than large font books as a reading experience.

I am looking into getting one of these since I want to read more while commuting and not bring physical books with me. I am choosing between this one and the Elipsa 2E, basically color versus larger screen. Any thoughts?

I'd say it depends on what kind of media you are consuming. If it isn't illustrated (at least for the most part), I'd say go for the bigger screen. I only have a monochrome Kobo, but I can't imagine using anything less than an iPad for consuming books that have high resolution embedded illustrations (though maybe the colour Kobos are now good enough). I'd definitely like my Kobo to be a little larger, as I only have the Clara 2E. It is fine for proper encoded eBooks, but not so great for PDF scans, where the original page size is so much larger.

The late Stu wrote:

I'd say it depends on what kind of media you are consuming. If it isn't illustrated (at least for the most part), I'd say go for the bigger screen. I only have a monochrome Kobo, but I can't imagine using anything less than an iPad for consuming books that have high resolution embedded illustrations (though maybe the colour Kobos are now good enough). I'd definitely like my Kobo to be a little larger, as I only have the Clara 2E. It is fine for proper encoded eBooks, but not so great for PDF scans, where the original page size is so much larger.

Thank you for the insights! Where do you get the ebooks? The kobo store or do you buy them elsewhere and import?

I can only speak to what I've read on reviews re: color e-ink screens, but it seems like that technology is still not quite fully up to snuff yet. I understand that the resolutions on color e-ink screens are lower than on monochrome ones, which can lead to more eye strain.
Eventually I would love to upgrade my Kindle to a color e-ink reader, but I think that's still at least a year or two off.

As for size, I will only speak to my personal preferences and how I do much of my reading. I do a ton of my reading in bed, and anything larger than the current Kindle Paperwhites (7" screen) would just be getting too bulky for my reading style. However, if you are not a bed reader, but typically reading while sitting or such, then perhaps the larger screen could be of much value to you. I can certainly see it coming in handy with regards to graphics.

EmilK wrote:

The late Stu wrote:

I'd say it depends on what kind of media you are consuming. If it isn't illustrated (at least for the most part), I'd say go for the bigger screen. I only have a monochrome Kobo, but I can't imagine using anything less than an iPad for consuming books that have high resolution embedded illustrations (though maybe the colour Kobos are now good enough). I'd definitely like my Kobo to be a little larger, as I only have the Clara 2E. It is fine for proper encoded eBooks, but not so great for PDF scans, where the original page size is so much larger.

Thank you for the insights! Where do you get the ebooks? The kobo store or do you buy them elsewhere and import?

I just get them elsewhere and import (a mix of epubs and pdfs). I haven't tried the Kobo store at all, so can't give any insight there, unfortunately.

iPad Air user here, my wife has a kindle . For me the reading experience is hands down better on iPad :)

Gerontius Took wrote:

iPad Air user here, my wife has a kindle . For me the reading experience is hands down better on iPad :)

I use a Tablet for some of my work but for those like me who get easily distracted, I would only point out that the benefit of a Kindle or other eReader over the Tablet is that I don't have emails pinging in the background. I have now worked out a very good system with my readers and it has been beneficial to my various projects.

1. Kindle Oasis for pure reading. I love the Oasis and will defend it over all other eReaders. I have used it since it launched in 2018. The battery is still incredible and the device looks brand new even though I use it every day. The battery lasts at least a week with heavy use every day (when on holiday for instance).

2. Kindle Scribe. I use this for reading and annotating PDF files. It is great for working on a scanned document and then sending it to my PC for later capture such as when I am referencing books for the letters guide. Another great aspect of the Scribe is being able to annotate and make notes on native eBooks.

3. Tablet. I use this for more general work or when I want to look up a quick reference from my digital library.

I got myself a Kobo Libra Colour. Also have an Ipad, but let us see how it goes. It is easier to take with me and less costly. Hopefully this will make me read more during 2026. Only read 7 books in 2025 and that makes me feel sad.

After being extremely skeptical of ereaders, I can now communicate that I have been converted. It is so easy to hold (just a few hundred grams) and reading on it is easy on the eyes and surprisingly fun. Lots of books from Swedish publishers are also DRM-free and instead rely on watermarking, so backing up my ebook collection is simple.

It is also an antidote to my problem of having too many physical books. I am almost at maximum capacity, so I will read books on an ereader first and only then get a physical copy of it if I really need it as a physical copy or if it does not exist as an ebook.

(Tolkien-related books exempt, of course.)

Thank you for helping me see the appeal of these kind of devices.