- I want to read mainly PDFs (tech books, papers, etc.) without having to zoom in/out (which is quite slow in e-ink readers). So, the size of the reader matters (the bigger the better, but not that big!)
- I want to send my PDFs without having to rely on any "cloud app/platform" provided by the company behind the e-ink reader. The ideal way would be to simply connect the device to my laptop via usb, and either drag and drop or just "cp" my files into the device. The second ideal way would be integration with standard platforms like google drive/icloud/dropbox
- I want to read outdoors
- Decent battery life
- Decent weight
I don't care much about taking notes.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962
I've been using the Onyx Boox Max 2 for a couple years and it's a pretty good device. When I purchased it they stated they would update the Android version, but they never did so it's stuck on Android 6. For reading PDFs it's good and there aren't really any competitors with this large of a screen. I'll often read books in dual page format, or read manuals in single page.
The device crashes frequently if you try to use any third party apps, and the pen has major lag if you're not using their notes app. Don't turn on the wifi or else the battery drains extremely fast. Make sure you don't leave it charged overnight or else the battery might balloon and explode. When this happened Onyx replaced my battery for free.
Despite these shortcomings, it's still better than the Sony digital paper (which I've also used and sold). The pen is pressure sensitive, which isn't in the Sony. The writing experience is worse than on the Remarkable, but Onyx has a bigger screen.
I'd recommend Remarkable if the screen size is good for you. The software is a lot more stable and the device is a lot more polished in general.
If you like browsing the web on your ereader, definitely try one from Onyx Boox - it's locked-down android and designed to break quickly, doesn't have many-day battery life but lasts long enough. My Poke 5 was inseparable for the ~9 months it lasted before dying after being dropped one too many times.
If I had to replace it today, I’d buy a Fujitsu Quaderno A4 (FMVDP41), which I understand has a design very similar to that of the Sony product.
It's normal android under the hood so you can just install your cloud storage app on it
Look at the Kindle Scribe and Remarkable 2. Both are outstanding eink products. If you’re looking for an excellent device, buy one of those. If you’re looking to plant an ideological flag in the ground and hold out for the perfect device, good luck.
For your specific use case I would look at something like the ReMarkable or Supernote as they are almost A4 sized readers and would allow you to annotate the papers etc
You can bypass registration if you want to (hack it) and there are easily installable mods.
They work outdoors as most e-ink will. Battery life is good. I have a Nia, but you would want a 8" or probably a 10" model for technical PDFs.
The solution is to get an e-ink tablet that has a screen size and aspect ratio similar to 8.5 x 11 letter size paper. That is close to the size that PDFs and magazine pages are printed at.