Ereaders usually have a very long life if they are treated well, but despite this long life, there comes a time when users stop having support and compatibility with new formats, new programs, new updates, etc ...
This is what has happened to some models of ereaders from Amazon, Kobo, Onyx Boox, Tagus, etc ...
But despite everything, there are projects that are based on giving a new life to the device. This is the case of the project PostmarketOS that has given life to old devices with Android or the Linux kernel. One of those devices that has given a new life has been the Kobo Clara HD, a Kobo Rakuten eReader that was introduced a few years ago but whose remarkable success has made the company continue to sell it.
PostmarketOS is a free project based on the Alpine Linux gnu / linux distribution. This distribution focuses on using software that requires few resources and low-power hardware to install and operate on portable and mobile devices. The main devices that support this operating system are smartphones, but there are currently several models of tablets and ereaders that are compatible or that may have PostmarketOS.
The modification that PostmarketOS makes on the Kobo Clara HD not included in your warranty, so if we have just bought the device it is not advisable to do so, at least if we care about the warranty.
El Kobo clara hd It comes equipped with a Linux kernel so by modifying certain files in the device's memory we can turn the device into a tablet with an electronic ink screen.
If we look at the device file in the PostmarketOS wiki we see that there are still elements that do not work, but it turns out that these elements are not available on the Kobo Clara HD like the camera, calls or 3D acceleration. That is to say, we can do the installation without any risk that any element stops working.
In the PostmarketOS wiki we find the installation method as well as the necessary tutorials for its correct operation. In the gitlab repository of the team you are developing, jetomit has published the necessary files for its installation.
This development is not the only one that exists on an eReader. A few years ago we talked about Kindleberry Pi, a project that used the Kindle screen as E-ink monitor for use with a Raspberry Pi. In the case of the Kobo Clara HD, the developers have chosen to install the system in the ereader, the reason is because the power of this device is equal to if not more than the first Raspberry Pi with which the Kindleberry Pi was made, saving us elements and being the most portable project.
Does it make sense to install PostmarketOS on a Kobo Clara HD?
Neither the creators of the project nor we take care of what may happen to your ereaders. Although there are many who have followed it to the letter and have made it work, there may be errors and the ereader stops working. We also don't have an image of the Kobo Clara HD software, so if something goes wrong we won't be able to go back. That said, we should ask ourselves, what is the use of installing this on the Kobo Clara HD? At the time we write this we have to say that it only serves to have a small and inexpensive e-ink monitor with which to do little things like check the calendar, check email, etc .. But far from being able to watch movies, listen to music, or edit video or use the device as a game console.
Considering that the ereader is still sold and receives updates, it seems like an error to install PostmarketOS, however, in a few years, when the device does not update, it might make sense to install PostmarketOS and use the device as an e-ink monitor or secondary panel to view email or calendar What do you think? Will you carry out this hack to your Kobo Clara HD or will you keep it as a simple ebook reader? Do you think ereaders will have a second life as electronic ink panels?