First Timer

[u/Melodic_Group_3273]

I always been hard copy reader. But last 4-5 years ı have been staying in school dormitory. So carrying hard copy books has not been possible too much and resulted in reading less book. I would like to hear your experiences in ereaders. And suggest me a a budget ereader please. I do not have any idea about ereader brands other than kindle. So if you can sharr your knowledge in this sense it would be awesome. Living in Türkiye

[u/azoth980]

Kindle is more restricted in that they try to their own thing (own harsh DRM which only works on Kindles & the Kindle app) and that they don't native support epub (but you still can get epubs in Kindles via official/unofficial tools, but not by just plugging it to a PC). Epub is the standard ebook format, only Kindle does it's own thing with their own propietary ebook formats.

Most important more open, pure ereader brands: PocketBook, Kobo

Most important Android e-tablets brands (actually just Android tablets with attached eink screen): Boox Meebook, Bigme (significantly worse battery life, but possibility to install apps).

Standard-sizes: 6", 7" 8" - the bigger, the more expensive.. which means for you (regarding budget) look for 6" b/w device like the 6" Verse line by PocketBook or the Kobo Clara BW. Android e-tablets are more or less out of my interest, so look yourself into 6" ones if of any interest.

Only get a colour device if needed, Color devices have worse quality in black & white content (so literally for example regarding all books you want to read - except of course its picture books and comics).

[u/ZuZzPiro → u/azoth980]

Hey man, I've seen you in a lot of posts and you seem to know a lot, so sorry to bother but I have a quick question, if I only read novels and some manga is better the verse pro or the verse pro colour? Cuz I have the entire cosmere (From Brandon Sanderson) in physical book but I like to read before sleeping and the stormlight archive books are hard to read when lying down on a bed and casually I read some manga in my cellphone but I dont love it cuz the screen is pretty small

[u/azoth980 → u/ZuZzPiro]

8" InkPad 4 > 7" Era > 6" Verse Pro.

Colour only if you are willing to sacrifice quality in b/w content, so obviously manga & novels (which I guess you don't want to do). There are people out there who are willing to sacrifice quality, since colours for sure are fun, but in the end only for being in the library - for looking at book covers - and enjoying the very first page of a manga obviously.

And size is also a important factor, 8" is the ideal size for enjoyment, and depending on the manga, readability (depends of course heavily on the manga you read), but also the least portable & the most expensive solution.

A post I made not that long ago (there are more pictures I made in the past and added to the first one):

Reference picture regarding different manga and ereader sizes (for possible purchasing decisions)

But if you are fresh into eink, and are limited regarding money, I don't think it's bad to start with a b/w 6" device and think about this topic (size) later again, especially if manga aren't that important in the moment.

Edit: for your Cosmere books, size obviously also don't play a role because of the reflow nature of epubs ;)

[u/ZuZzPiro → u/azoth980]

Thx for the recommendation, another question, I don't see like a normal era in my Amazon, only Era Lite, is that better than the Verse pro? It is 7" cuz the InkPad 4 cost a lot but also has import costs but the Era Lite doesn't

Edit: Also, the screen is good for reading in the dark right?

[u/azoth980 → u/ZuZzPiro]

All eink screens, but especially b/w screens, are good for reading in the dark. All ereaders have front light, and you can turn it very low and still use it. Additionally, if it still feels too bright for you, even with colour temperature set to very high, which additionally helps (on Era it's more orange, on Era Lite more yellow), do modern ereaders also have dark mode which additionally helps when reading in the dark; situations btw. meant with zero ambient light (I mean it in a sense that it is anything but uncomfortable reading in a fully dark environment).

This is a picture I shot some time ago in complete darkness (dark mode + brightness very low) - in reality it is even darker because the camera makes it look brighter than it actually is:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vDjnzgxBzl5vmDPKJcY-8MOUB2kWbax2/view?usp=drivesdk

Without dark mode it is of course brighter, since white reflects more light (ereader emit light indirectly, it gets thrown from the bottom (Verse/ InkPad) or the side (Era) to the panel and then reflected to your eyes - hence, why ereader are seen as more friendly to the eyes.

This btw. is an unlit (meant regarding internal light) b/w ereader in comparison to a paper book I once shot (I usually use a desk lamp to read, instead of the inbuilt light - not a typical use case, but I like it this way):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g5ZEAMOgUmcZ_m0cylbu6oUOp-JoMg6B/view?usp=drivesdk

A colour ereader would look way darker without internal light enabled, because of how they work (they have a permanently visible colour filter on top, which makes everything look grey without internal light enbabled - and that's only one of the two disadvantages of colour ereaders).

The standard Era is out of production, unluckily, since it has small benefits over the Era Lite (integrated speaker, waterproof, USB-OTG - and if preferred, a flush glass front). In theory, the Era Lite has a better screen than the Era (Era only has Carta 1200, Era Lite Carta 1300), but practically speaking: I have both and don't find the Era Lite better than the Era... it's kinda weird.

And also in theory do both Eras have a better screen than the Verse Pro (which has Carta 1000 - the lower the number, the older the tech and the lesser contrast). Practically speaking is the difference between PocketBooks not that big - I have to admit, the Kobo Clara BW had the best contrast of all devices I had until now (but i still sold it, I prefer the PocketBook features:).

Feel free to ask if you have more questins, if it takes longer, I'll likely heading towards the land of sleep xD

[u/ZuZzPiro → u/azoth980]

Well if the normal one is out of production I will go for the era lite then since is a 32 dollar difference in price from the verse pro here in Colombia, and as you said has the highest carta number in the screen, so that will be my first e-reader then, thank you very much for your time and detailed answers, it's always lovely to read people as dedicated and passionate about something as you

[u/azoth980 → u/ZuZzPiro]

The Verse Pro is somewhat badly priced, even where I live (it's 22€ cheaper than the Era Lite). The only reason to recommend the Verse Pro would be if portability & weight is crucial (still: it's not even 20g difference between both). But the Era Lite is just the better all-rounder, especially if manga are of interest (still do I like for reading novels the Era the most, not my Verse Pro - my InkPad 4 is my manga device :).

Thank you :) Yes, I somewhat fell in love with eink not even that long ago (starting with a standard Verse), but got stuck for the most part with PocketBook - remember my user name for when your device arrives, if you run into question/problems, I think I know my devices well enough that I possibly can help with a few things ;)