Tolino Epos, the German alternative to high-end eReaders

During the past month of September, Amazon and many other companies have launched their latest eReaders and other reading devices, all have had a great announcement and diffusion, but one of them has passed without pain or glory through the technological landscape, although not really it detracts from the rest of the teams. This eReader is called Tolino epic, an eReader from the German Tolino alliance.

This device represents a drastic change in eReaders, as it does not continue with the 6-inch size but rather continue with the 7,8 inch size, that is, the size of the Kobo Aura One. Being a rival for this device, an alternative for those looking for an equal device and a hard stone in the shoe for Amazon and its Kindle Oasis.

Tolino Epos has a Freescale i.MX 6 to 1 Ghz processor with 512 Mb of ram and 8 Gb of internal storage. Its dimensions are large due to the size of the screen: 140 × 209 × 8.2 mm and 260 gr. The display has Carta HD technology, a backlit touch screen. The screen size is 7,8 inches (almost 8 inches) with a resolution of 1872 × 1404 pixels and 300 ppi. The lighting, like the latest models of eReaders, makes the screen very white in the day and at night it emits light with the anti-blue filter to be able to sleep better.

The Tolino Epos only has a microUSB output and a Wi-Fi connection. It does not have a slot for microsd cards and therefore the internal storage of the eReader cannot be expanded. This lack of connections is due to the fact that it has an HZO coating that makes the eReader waterproof. It is not IP68 certified but it is just as effective against water.

The new Tolino Epos is waterproof thanks to the HZO coating

The software of this device is especially interesting, not only because of the different formats it supports, among which there are the most famous ones like Epub, PDF and TX with DRMbut for the simple fact that I now know you can change the library from where to buy ebooks, the user being able to choose which bookstore to buy the ebooks from and not necessarily having to do so in the ebook libraries associated with the Tolino Alliance.

Something that other devices do not have or do not allow and that I find especially comfortable for the user. Another of the functions that it incorporates is the possibility of going from PDF to text, being able to make the reading of the pdf files easier and faster than with the original file. The PDF format is also supported by the device and is even optimized so that the reading of these types of files can be better than so far on these devices. Something that is especially useful for many users who only work or read PDF files.

The autonomy of the Tolino Epos is maintained, in duration, with respect to previous devices, that is, 4 weeks (depending on the use we give to wireless connections), something difficult to believe considering that has a 1.200 mAh battery, a small battery for a big screen.

The price of this device is higher than normal, as is the screen. It can be purchased for 249 euros, price of a premium eReader. The same price as the Kindle Oasis and a bit more than the Kobo Aura One, but unlike these, the screen and storage is higher, respectively.

So it seems that among the three, the Tolino Epos is superior, at least in terms of price / quality. However, this eReader is more difficult to obtain than other devices, as it can only be purchased in the countries where the Tolino Alliance is present, that is, Central European countries and through the official websites of these stores, provided that. Although if you can get this device, it may be worth it, if of course you are looking for an eReader with a large screen.