Recommendation for Alternatives to Kindle

[nellgirl]

I am looking for an alternative to a Kindle for my daughter. I have and love my old Kindle Paperwhite (probably 10 years old now), and I am woefully out of touch with anything new.
I can’t get her a Kindle because our library’s ebooks aren’t compatible (aside from Kindle Fire, which I don’t want). I’m looking for something similar to my Paperwhite, so something that she can read on, but doesn’t need to do anything else.
Any ideas for what could fit the bill?

[redheadk]

I've heard good things about the Kobo.

Before I had my Kindle, I had a nook from B&N.

Those are the only two I've even heard of, tbh, but maybe one will work for you.

[deadwing]

I'm really curious why your library's ebooks only work on Kindle Fire.

To the best of my knowledge, library books are usually limited to the Kindle platform. I've been a long time Nook (B&N) user and finally bought a Kindle about 2 years ago so I could get library books. The Kindle just died. I really prefer the Nook - I find the controls much more intuitive. I'll buy another Kindle when they go on sale because not having to buy all of my books is a very compelling case for the Kindle.

To the best of my knowledge, "independent/third party" eReaders, like the Kobo, require all content to be manually loaded because they aren't integrated with a bookstore.

[ssmjlm]

Kindle fires and paperwhites use the same files and platform for reading.

[cmeon]

If you need something for Hoopla (just a guess), you can't get away from full android/ios tablets (or phones or computers or whatever). There are technically android tablets with e-ink, but the user experience is likely not great (and a full tablet is not what you want, anyway).

If your daughter is past picture books (which just aren't great on e-ink), you may be better joining a library system that has a good selection of books she likes on Overdrive.

[nellgirl]

Apr 19, 2024 6:33:38 GMT -5 deadwing said:

I'm really curious why your library's ebooks only work on Kindle Fire.

To the best of my knowledge, library books are usually limited to the Kindle platform. I've been a long time Nook (B&N) user and finally bought a Kindle about 2 years ago so I could get library books. The Kindle just died. I really prefer the Nook - I find the controls much more intuitive. I'll buy another Kindle when they go on sale because not having to buy all of my books is a very compelling case for the Kindle.

To the best of my knowledge, "independent/third party" eReaders, like the Kobo, require all content to be manually loaded because they aren't integrated with a bookstore.

We’re in Canada, so maybe that plays into it? Our public library, for sure, doesn’t, and it uses OverDrive.

[lucybrown]

It's not cheap, but I prefer an iPad with the Kindle app. We've had a Kindle, Kindle Fire, etc. and they just were never as user friendly for me or the kids. I read a lot of books on the Kindle app on my iPhone.  I used to use the Overdrive app as well, but haven't recently. 

[tacokick]

I’d ask the library what they recommend. They might even have devices to try.

[cmeon]

Kobos are the Overdrive supported devices in Canada. I would definitely check with the library, they can probably help you pick a model for your daughter.