+1 to a Kobo, they cheaper and better than Kindles, with full Calibre support (https://github.com/kovidgoyal/calibre - OSS which has been in development for ~20 years!).

The way you install additional software is literally just moving files into folders whilst its plugged into your computer. I'm sure it could handle Tailscale.

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finalarbiter 18 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I agree with your sentiment that the Kobo is better than the Kindle from an... ethical standpoint, if you have the money for one. However, it is worth noting that Kindles will always be cheaper than Kobo devices [0] due to economies of scale and lockscreen advertisements (removable with jailbreaking). From a pure cost perspective, and assuming the user is technically-minded enough to accomplish the jailbreak, the Kindle is likely always [1] a better deal.

[0] as of today, 12/8/25, the "base model" Kindle 11th Generation is priced at $109.99 USD, and the respective Kobo Clara BW is $139.99 USD.

[1] I say "likely always" to cover my bases. To my knowledge Calibre supports Kindle, just not as well as Kobo. That said I have found that the KOreader app is more than powerful enough for my use case (reading my own epubs, using dictionaries, etc.)

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jsheard 18 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That doesn't always hold, if you want color e-ink then Kobo is currently the cheaper option.

Kindle Colorsoft (7" 16GB) - $250

Kindle Colorsoft (7" 32GB) - $280

Kobo Clara Color (6" 16GB) - $160

Kobo Libra Color (7" 32GB) - $230

The Libra also supports a stylus (sold separately) while the Colorsoft doesn't, that's reserved for the much bigger and pricier Kindle Scribe.

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ekropotin 18 hours ago | parent [-]

How is situation with latency on these readers?

I’ve just acquired the latest gen Kindle and I’m absolutely blown away by how fast it is.

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gcr 15 hours ago | parent [-]

do you mean latency on a color screen? (my experience with color eInk is that it adds quite a lot of latency)

	▲	wkat4242 9 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		The current colour kindles and kobos don't use real eink colour. It's just a bw screen with lcd colour overlay (eink kaleido) The real colour screens are used on the remarkable (eink gallery) and they are indeed slow for full page updates though remarkable seems to have done a lot of smarts for local updates while drawing.
	▲	15 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		[deleted]
	▲	ekropotin 14 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Ah, sorry for confusion. I meant to ask about non-color version of Kobo.
	▲	dotancohen 15 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		And colour E-Ink devices also have horrible contrast.

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haritha-j 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Plus the kindles will get decent discounts on prime day, black friday and such.

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abnry 13 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Where do I get DRM-free ebooks to put on a Kobo? I don't support breaking DRM. So I'm using a Kindle because it has the best access to and integration with almost any book I want.

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jrm4 18 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Also consider koreader instead of the stock reader app.

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cyberpunk 18 hours ago | parent [-]

I kinda love that buried in the koreader menu somewhere is an option that drops me at a linux shell. I have no use really for this feature, but i like it. Good for those times you absolutely have to crank out some awk on the plane or whatever. :)

	▲	dotancohen 9 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Thank you, I did not know about this! But what I'd really like is an option not to hide the navigation bar while KOReader is open. I work with technical PDFs and need to jump between applications very often. One of which is often Termux!

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rr808 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Most (?) Kobos can run libby so you can get ebooks from your library.

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graemep 19 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I use the Calibre support, but did not know you could install additional software that easily!