I’m looking for an eReader that doesn’t lock me into a particular ecosystem or format. Ideally I came just copy files over to it and have them work.
Other than that, small physical dimensions and a backlight would be great!
It’s been years since I had one but in the market again and I’m not sure the current state of things. My old one was a Kobo and took files just fine.
I recommend checking out any of the Boox ereaders, if you’re looking for an ereader android tablet.
I currently use the Boox Nova Air and I love it, to bits! It has a 7.8in screen, that has warm and cool backlighting. It comes with a stylus, so you can take notes, do some journaling or even draw. I use my Nova air, primarily, to read manga on Tachiyomi app.
There is preinstalled app called BOOXDrop that allows you to select files from your computer or phone and send it to your ereader. I’ve used it a few times to put some ebooks in there, it wasn’t too bad.
Since Boox devices are android, you can pretty much download any app on google play store or you can side load any apks.
The apps I have installed on my device are: Tachiyomi, kindle, Libby, GDrive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Pocket, Foxit PDF reader and Firefox. I use to have Apollo app on there, but not anymore.
I also love that I can put any image as my screensaver, so it’s pretty cool to see wallpapers or screenshots from my favorite manga scenes on there when my device is on sleep mode.
There are newer Boox ereader devices that do color. Would be great for comics, magazines and textbooks. I personally haven’t tried them out yet but I’d love to get one, one day.
If you’re looking for something more basic and intuitive to use, I also recommend the kindle, 11th generation (2022). It’s small, 6in and very light. I still use mine often when reading my kindle collection. I just love how pocketable it is.
I second Boox as a decent option (though less polished.) Allowed me to get rid of my dumbass Kindle and Kobo dual set up because if there was a book that was exclusively on the Kindle store I can now just get it in the app rather than owning a whole other ereader. The only thing I don’t like about it is it is not as good as either Kobo or Kindle for dictionary lookups. This is especially important to me because I read in foreign languages and need it to be able to either give me a definition or translate it no matter how it’s conjugated. I have found the Kindle app for Android though works pretty well for that purpose so there is an ok solution.