im thinking of getting an ereader, but cant find many foss devices. i dont plan on connecting it to the internet, so i suppose it doesnt matter if its controlled by amazon right? love to hear your thoughts…
Kobo devices are the way to go. Easy sideloading, multiple FOSS operating system alternatives, and generally they’ve got some nice n’ cheap options.
What do you mean with OS alternatives?
You can install PostmarketOS on several kobo devices, e.g.: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Kobo_Clara_HD_(kobo-clara)
PostmarketOS is a general linux distro based on alpine linux.
The only one I know is Inkbox OS https://inkbox.ddns.net/
Koreader is one. Plato is another.
Those are glorifies apps that you install on top of the default OS
+1 for kobo. The physical device is a joy, too, and I like the screen a lot.
Kobo has a good support for alternative OS software and they are good.
It’s not FOSS, but I have a Kobo Clara 2E, I like it a lot. There’s a bit of a sqlite hack to activate it without an account, but it works great after that.
Don’t bother with Overdrive on the Kobo, its a scummy company and it didn’t even work without a Kobo account.
At least in Germany “tolino” might be worth a look. I don’t know how far they have expanded out of Germany, though.
I am using my normal Android Phone with Librera Reader, it works great.
Yep, it’s probably easier to get an Android device and install readers on it than to try for a prepackaged FOSS reader.
I use several apps on my Android phone, but mostly Kindle (for Kindle, duh), PDF Reader (for PDFs, duh again), and Lithium (mostly for EPUB but pretty much everything else, too). I get most of my e-books as DRM-free EPUBs and PDFs.
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That table doesn’t contain any info on FOSS compatibility.
You can hack pretty much any e-reader and upload a foss OS
Really? I’ve only managed to find a way to hack kobo readers.
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Google it, but if you’ve got ebooks on a hard drive somewhere, you can easily transfer them to a kindle, no further purchases required.
Sideloading ebooks is not the same thing as running alternative FOSS software on a device.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I don’t have the will to find out how to upload an alt OS to a kindle, but the Internet is vast and if ye seek, ye shall find.
I did look into it and I’ve yet to find a way to do this.
The FOSS community is not limitless and while some community might develop a way in the future, it most definetly is not trivial to do, just by googling. This is a niche topic and AFAIK quite hard to do (first getting custom firmware to run and then develop a FOSS OS for it… While probably not being paid to do so).
Your comments seem quite condescending. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt but I’d kindly advice you to adjust your tone a bit.
Kindle devices are nice but not at all FOSS, and not very open either. Although you can sideload books, EPUB files are still not directly supported, you have to convert them. Converting is easy with Calibre but it’s still a hassle that is not needed on any other ereader.
There’s a vibrant jailbreak community on MobileRead, however Amazon keeps blocking jailbreaks.
After my Kindle died I got a Kobo instead. Costs about the same as Kindle (maybe slightly more?). Still not fully open, but supports EPUB and its MobileRead community is just as vibrant (and Kobo doesn’t block you from doing this).
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Hisense makes these e-ink phones that run Android. They’re fiddly to get a working app store on, but once you do, you can pick your reading app. I run a Hisense A7CC with Kobo, Kindle, Aldiko, Perfect Viewer, and, well, this app! That is, if you want a very small screen. Boox makes a few 6-8" e-ink Android readers. I do like being able to sideload in whichever reading app I want. The colour ones are overpriced though.
Those Hisense phones are cool! Seems really nice for reading news and such that you can’t get on a traditonal ereader.
Didn’t know nothing about that Hisense. Just wow, thanks for sharing.
I use Kobo Forma with a 8" screen. Has physical buttons. Perfect for books and manga. Never connected it to the internet.
I have a Boox Poke 3 that I like.
Up vote for boox in general.
You could try the pinenote
NOTICE: The PineNote is an experimental device. PineNote software is still in it’s infancy and therefore it is ONLY suitable for experienced developers. At present time, there is no default OS for the PineNote.
Yeah that doesn’t seem like a good option for most people, especially considering they’re charging $400 for a product that can be considered a prototype at most.
All in all I would recommend to stay away from devices made by ebook vendors (Kindle and Kobo most notably). They tend to force their shops and limit interoperability.
I’m eyeing the BOOX ultra for a while now.
Couldn’t you just use an android tablet?
You could, but e-paper screens are infinitely more pleasing for reading than regular screens.
There are many ereaders than run Android.
I know, im using one myself. But i would not recommend using tablets for reading, which is what the other person was suggesting.
I bought fbreader premium on android 10+ years ago and have never regretted it. There’s also a PC port but last I checked it was a little out of date.
Edit: Misunderstood the question. I’m using an Alldocube iplay 50 pro as my reader. I’ve got my kids set up with old best buy branded 10" android tablets that were always turds but surprisingly good as just barebones ebook readers. I’m a US product reviewer for Umidigi and they’re sending me a G1 tablet to review this week, for the price it definitely looks promising.
