Comment on Searching for eBook reader solution
solrize@lemmy.ml 3 weeks agoI see, yeah there is something about it in the blurb. How do you like the tablet? Is it responsive? Is it full of Android bloatware? Do you know if it is rootable?
I see there is a 14 inch version that’s about $300 and that starts to get interesting. It’s not “2nd gen” though. And, I had thought of TCL as a lower tier manufacturer with quality issues, but I hadn’t looked into it much.
I like that the tablet has an SD (probably microSD) slot. Don’t like that there’s no headphone jack. There’s plenty of space in those things compared to a phone.
ray@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
So I’ve gotten to use the tablet a bit now and I would say it’s fine. I might expect a bit more for $170 but because it’s so big I can excuse it. Um, it’s a little laggy, um, just out of the box. It doesn’t have much bloatware, maybe two or three manufacturer apps, but not like Candy Crush and all that junk. My very basic research tells me it’s not rootable. I’m really not sure if there is actually a special technology to the screen or it’s just like a matte screen protector but I sat in the park in full sunlight and was able to read a book perfectly well not quite as good as a paperwhite but pretty close so overall it’s decent and the pen works pretty well for writing and drawing. Compared to how much an iPad costs, I think the quality is fairly close.
solrize@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Thanks, it is kind of intriguing though I keep telling myself to just use normal Linux stuff instead of Android. I’d want the 14 inch one which is around $300. Is there any trouble installing F-droid and apps from there?
Alternatives I’m thinking of include Lenovo Yoga laptop (16 inch) and a Raspberry Pi thing with an HDMI monitor (that would be plug-in only but I mostly read at home).
ray@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
F-droid is working great. Hard to say this vs a linux setup. It’s not super lightweight but more than a laptop for sure if that matters for you. The 14 inch one seems pretty monster so at that point maybe a laptop is worth it.
solrize@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
My sister has a 13 inch ipad and it’s a nice size, 14" should be fine. I have some doubts about the big Lenovo though. My main interest is reading full page PDFs so anything less than 14" will be annoying. Ok I’ll give it more thought. Laptop prices are going to go up because of the dram shortage too. Sigh.