Despite the fact that Amazon and other companies insist on imposing their ecosystem on the reader, on their client, there are many who do not accept it and look for other alternatives and even intermediate alternatives that go through obtaining their products but taking them to other sites or making them work with other companies.
To obtain this we need to hack our eReader or our tablet, a process that can be very difficult or very easy to do depending on which eReader or tablet we have. That is why this post, to indicate before buying a device that can or cannot be done.
This is not a guide to hacking devices, the idea is that by hacking the devices they support more software and platforms, that is, give more freedom to the user without losing the opportunity to get the device.
What is hacking for us?
This point is interesting because many manufacturers will be thinking of pouncing on me, thinking that I am talking about hacking, theft, etc ... And NO, I do not mean that. By hacking a device I mean being able to install other software being we the owners of the device, for example, buying a Kindle Fire HD and being able to install the apps that I want without waiting for Amazon's approval, since the tablet once paid is mine does not belong to Amazon. In some cases it may be to install a streaming reading service, something totally legal but that the eReader does not come as standard, as is the case with the Onyx-Boox eReader. In all cases, hacking a device means losing the warranty of this device, but in many cases this process is harmless and can be regressive, so the risk is lower.
Ideal devices for hacking
- Amazon gadgets. So far all Amazon devices are easy to hack (except for the Kindle Voyage that is not very sold yet), but in exchange for this the warranty is lost. Although in many cases the process is not very difficult and even in some devices like the basic Kindle, the process has a wizard that performs the hack.
- Onyx-Boox eReaders. Normally these eReaders have a heart with Android which makes it possible that once the device is hacked we have a version of Android that is totally free and perfect for installing any software. Some have even managed to install Ubuntu and change it to Android.
- B&W devices. Currently their devices are Samsung tablets, they are not new but old models, so there is a lot of documentation and many tools to hack the device and be able to include apps from other companies such as Kobo or Amazon.
Horrible devices to hack
- Kobo eReaders. Kobo eReaders are horrible to hack, although there are processes and guides to do it, the process requires messing up pieces of the device which makes it very difficult to release the eReader, even though these are based on Android.
- Tolino eReaders. A similar thing happens with Tolino eReaders. The process is just as damaging as in the previous case, therefore it is risky to do so.
- Tolino and Kobo tablets. This case is paradoxical since they are tablets with android so it would be easy to hack but nobody has done it so far in a simple way so it is difficult to do it. Although if they are sold more the same in the future they are easy to hack.
Conclusion
This is not a very specific list, nor is it a great vade mecum on how to hack a device but it is useful when it comes to guiding us on which devices to buy or not. For example, if we want to install a streaming reading service, a Kobo eReader can be a very bad option, while an Onyx Boox ereader or one from Amazon can be a good purchase. Although this is not a requirement that many see, I consider that it can be a determining factor when buying a device, especially a tablet or a smartphone, but of course, there the choice is yours.
After reading the article I must say that my eyes are bleeding. Between the hodgepodge mix that you make of tablet / erreaders and the inaccurate information that you give and that translates into recommendations that should not be done ... You should have separated tablets and ereaders on the one hand. And then have looked a little more at how the issue is. Go for it:
a) Tablets: The first thing I recommend not reading books on tablets. With this we could close the tablets section but it is good to say that those from book stores usually come equipped for you to use their app store, and that since they usually have few inches they are not too recommended.
b.1) Ereaders without android:
- Kobo: Kobo ereaders are not only horrible to hack, it is totally and absolutely impossible to do so. Especially since they are not closed. Come on, you don't need to do anything. Come on, it's worth it.
- Kindle: Since firmware 5.6 it is no longer possible to jailbreak these devices through software, it would be necessary to solder cables to the board, which makes it a pain in the neck and for expert people. This is not only for voyage it is also for paperwhite. If paperwhite was jailbroken with previous firmwares then it can be done with firmware 5.6 if not. And it also goes for a long time that there is a software solution, it may even be that there will not be a software jailbreak.
Now we go with the common points, in kobo or kindle it is not possible to install a streaming reading software because there is none. With jailbreak on kindle or with nothing on kobo, I already say that it is open, you can only install coolreader or variants of it (koreader, etc. based on coolreader) that allow reading other formats that for example the kindle does not, or allow you to configure margins, add fonts, etc that the kindle does not. But you cannot install the kobo store on kindle or the amazon store on kobo, or some streaming application as mentioned in the article.
b.2) ereaders with android
- Onyx / Boyue (and branded as Tagus / Energy Ereader Pro): These readers go with android. And it is not necessary to root them to be able to install applications that do not require root rights, the applications of kobo, kindle, etc. for android do not require it, therefore it is not necessary to root. The apk is downloaded and installed from the file explorer, or the store is accessed in the models that have it. Tagus for example has removed the store so you have to either install the store with its apks or directly install the application apks.
If you want to root great but you don't have to.
- Kobo: You can put android in the kobo, I suppose that in the article when it says horrible hack it refers to putting android, but this is not hacking, it is opening the reader and replacing the reader's sd with one with an Android image . Anyway, this is not recommended because it goes like the ass as this android is not optimized for eink as it is in the case of onyx and boyue.By the way in another article you said something strange about the reader's sd, I think all readers kobo carry the system in a sd slot (I don't know if it's in h2o, I suppose it's the same, although if you open it you almost certainly lose the waterproofing). Just open and replace.
And this is a bit the state of the readers. In summary, if you want a reader to which you can install applications from book stores or streaming, the best thing is a reader with Android, because otherwise you cannot. And in readers without android type kindle / kobo what there are are compilations to your coolreader system or variants of it.
With this I think it is something more clear that can or cannot be done with eink ereaders. And by god do not buy eink readers with android with tablet, they are not and they will not be for a long time. The eink screens have very little refreshment and this invalidates 95% of the applications on the market, as long as an application has scrolles, animations, etc. it will look fatal in an eink.
The advantage of an eink reader with android is to be able to install reading applications that were designed to be used in eink. For example moonreader with some configuration is left ready for eink, removing vertical scrolls, changing colors ... Or being able to install rss applications, email etc. But they are not going to replace a tablet, you are not going to be able to watch video, except a chess game or something like that you are not going to be able to play. They are not tablets, but they provide the advantage of not being at the feet of Amazon or kobo in their whims about reading software. Like buying a 6 "reader and because of the margins they only use 5", and that you have to go around patching the system to be able to change it.
Greetings.
Hello Zambomba, first of all thank you not only for reading and commenting, but for having read other blog posts before, something that not many usually do.
Regarding what you comment, I have to say that I quite disagree, on the one hand I do not think that it can not be read on a tablet, it can and both the Kindle Fire and the Ipad are made in part for it, but you are right that An electronic ink screen is not the same as a tablet screen. Then in the face of "hodgepodge", it is something I thought when I wrote the article and that is why I generally use the word "devices" and not that of readers, tablets, eReaders, etc ... (I only mention it when the allusion is very clear)
Regarding android and hacking, with the latter I mean anything that involves manipulating the device without the prior authorization of the manufacturer, either software or hardware. In kindles, it is true that after a firmware version you cannot root or hack, but there is a method to return to that version (I think it is 5.6) and then hack the reader. In Kobo devices, the thing is to disassemble and break the solders that attach to the microsd card. In the Kobo Aura H2O there are no longer welds, so the risk is lower, but in all the devices, the thing happens through the manipulation of that sd card And in the Onyx Boox devices, I do not know to what extent it is or you are not root, I say it because currently there are images for the ereader that installs the market and makes you root.
Regarding streaming reading services, currently Kindle Unlimited is on the Kindle and Oyster Books will reach Kobo (or so rumors say) but imagine that we want to make use of 24 Symbols or Nubico, this can be installed if rooting the device is done.
I think this is it, even so I comment on it from the respect, without offending, just an exchange of impressions, as I thought you are doing, but if you look offended, sorry for the inconvenience 🙂