Side note -

I literally have the reader pictured in the thumbnail. It is a Kindle keyboard from 10+ years ago at this point. It still works fine. At one point the original battery went to shit, and it cost very little to get an aftermarket replacement and install it myself.

I keep it offline and read 100% sideloaded .epub books from various sources. The lockscreen ads don't even try to display anymore.

Sure it isn't backlit or waterproof but it still functions flawlessly as a generic reader. Old tech like this is awesome. Why not get a decade of use (or more) out of something that still works?

They were subsidizing them to establish an ebook marketplace. They're no longer doing so.

I still have my Kindle Keyboard. It still works but the front lighting on new ereaders is a big upgrade. The software was pretty primitive back then too.

E-ink bought a lot of competitors and alternatives up and thus why it's expensive.

The kobo colour goes for less than $160 regularly. It is water proof, has front ligths, usb-c, and it can display color. I'm considering it for an upgrade from my, bought used 8 years ago, kindle. With Kobo, and ereaders track record in general, it will probably last twice that and still work. I consider that extremely cheap, specially in a market that usually expects people to dump a thousand dollars every two or three years for a phone. E readers have some of the best cost to utility ratios of electronics.

My very early gen, Nook glowlight is still going somehow. I even bought it used for 50 bucks about 10 years ago. The battery is still decent and backlights fine and I am able to keep it offline. Im not sure what I would do if it croaked.

Tldr: capitalist efficiency

There is a neat piece about the OS side; worth reading.

Is the price of an eReader that big of a deal? They practically pay for themselves with use over time, and they last a ridiculous number of years.

My first Kindle was the K3 Keyboard for $140 in 2011. It finally died in late 2018 after nearly 8 years of use. I regrettably binned it, as I didn't know you could replace the battery at the time. Shame, I really liked that thing.

I bought a Kindle PW4 for "cheap" ($80 or $90?) in 2019 to replace it, but I hated it after spending some months reading on a larger tablet, Replaced it with a "premium" Boox Nova 2 eReader for $310, and I still use that one today. I plan to just get a cheap battery replacement when it kicks the bucket, as it's easily user serviceable and a new battery for it is less than $15.

I also got a Kindle Paperwhite Signature in 2023 for $135 as an "upgrade" to the Boox, but it was more a sidegrade. I use both of them alternatingly today.

So I've on average paid about $48 a year on eReaders. Seems reasonable considering how many books I've gotten for free or very deep discounts via stuff like Bookbub, as well as "free" Prime First reads and Kindle Unlimited books I read over the years as a Prime subscriber, Project Gutenberg and Standard eBooks, as well as digital library access.

I've paid more than $48 in one month for subscription services at times that I used less than my eReaders, which see use daily. And you don't have to be like me and buy multiple, you can buy one reader and use it pretty much indefinitely so long as the battery is user replaceable, so the upfront cost is sort of irrelevant over a long enough time span.

Still using my Nook Glowlight Plus 2015. Haven’t needed to change the battery as battery life is still exceptional. I will be sad when I have to swap the battery one day as I’ll need to break the water resistant seal they manufactured this with.

Haven’t felt any desire to upgrade as this device does exactly what I need: store a shitload of books without distractions.

To be clear you don't have to get that technical to read non-Amazon books on your kindle.. I've owned 2 different kindles over the course of about 15 years and literally never bought an ebook from Amazon. Just gotta know where to get them (libgen) and how to use them (calibre.)

A cheap ereader would be nice, but I've kinda had to go the opposite direction; my eyes weren't great to begin with and have only gotten worse with age, so I need a larger screen. I do very little reading (in general, not of books specifically) on my phone because it's too small and I have to zoom in and pan around all the time, etc.

He blames patents (Eink isn't a patent troll) although Eink patents expired 7 years ago.

The problem is even without patents, the underlying tech of making the eink particles is hard.

It's crazy. I bought the then-current basic model Kindle for $90 NZD in 2012, which still works. I recently started looking for a new eReader with USB C and without the rubberised coating that slowly turns back into oil. The cheapest I've found is over $200.

I use a 2018 Paperwhite I hacked about five years ago, still does me fine with Koreader and zlibrary ebooks.

When it dies, I'll just do another one for cheap. Ebook tech hasn't done anything worthwhile and color is a meme. Comics look better on oled imo.

To be honest I don't really find them prohibitively expensive if you count the value you'll get from them over the years. I have both a Kobo Libra 2 and an Android Boox Page, which I bought for different use cases. I see them both lasting me many years. My previous Kobo Aura One lasted me 7 years in itself before I sold it 2nd hand. My reading skyrocketed once I bought an e-reader.

My local FreeGeek was selling $5 e-readers in an e-reader bin this weekend.

I managed to get KOReader on my Grandpa's old Kindle. One device has now entertained two people for what is likely a decade or two of combined service.

I still have my kindle thats over 10 years old.

I got a Kobo and its awesome as well. Ironically, because wallmart couldn't be bothered to use good components they made it extremely repairable.

The best place to find a good working ebook reader is to either use an old phone (which is not really eink, but without wifi modern phones can last a bit). Or go to a thrift store and find a decent one for 10$ or less. Just make sure it turns on and you should be good!

I like the authors recommendation of something VERY cheap like a 10$ reader...but its probably not viable if Im honest. Sounds like a lot of e-waste that would occur.

I gave up on eReaders after 2 bad experiences with Kindles. I still have the last one I bought but it keeps on rebooting after a couple of minutes and couldn't find a way to fix it.

I had a look recently and they're all 180€+ now. Back to real books then.

Has anyone tried any of the wacky e-ink readers on aliexpress?

I doubt they'd connect to the amazon ecosystem, but might be ok offline devices.

Found a kindle something or other and a Paperwhite gen 1 for approx. 5 USD. They both remain offline 100% of the time, and they work flawlessly for sideloaded epubs. The Paperwhite even came with some preloaded books (not in my interest genres, but still cool for approx. 5 USD).

I took a Lenovo M9 and stripped it everything I could added my favorite eReader and audiobook apps and use it exclusively as an ebook. It was under $100 and the only thing I wish it had was an e-ink screen otherwise the size is perfect and it works wonderfully.

Someone please just create an easy to follow DIY front light using diffused LED strip for my old kindle and I'm good for another decade. My Kindle even has power out pins on the back to make it easy.

It's my mission to build one at some stage (when I've learned how). ESP32 powered and phone sized. The idea is it's supposed to feel a little like scrolling your phone while reading a book. Devices like this exist but they're prohibitively expensive for a lot of people.

I still use my Pocketbook Lux 3. It must be about 10 years old now and still works beautifully (even the backlight). One battery charge usually lasts me weeks, even with heavy backlight use. They are made in Europe (Switzerland) and run some flavour of Linux. They‘re not rock-bottom bargains, but the cost of the entry-level model seems quite fair in my opinion (€107). https://pocketbook.de/