Isn't there any 13" colour device?

[Arconte]

Hi, I see different colour eInk devices, from different brands and different sizes, but any of 13-15", which would be the best for me.

Onyx has 13" B&W devices, and Dasung has a 25" colour device, but didn't see any colour one between those sizes. Does anyone knows if Onyx has a plan for it? Or if eInk it is no producing this middle size colour screens?

[Quoth]

It's very niche because the colour is limited and it needs sunlight or frontlight. Filters on top on mono eink which has only black, white and 14 grey levels. That's Triton or Kaleido. Forget Gallery unless there is a tech breakthrough as it's a 1.5 second page refresh even though it's a real coloured panel, not mono eink with a filter.

Samsung and LG have 4K HDR screens (28″ and 23″) that are like paper to use and a fraction of the price of the Dasung 25" which is no use for anything other than text or comics.

Even the mono 13″ plus eink are mostly lower resolution than 300 dpi. Most used to be about 200 dpi and aimed at the Digital Paper Tablet niche market and can be very expensive.

We'll see more 300 dpi 10.3″ mono models.

Certainly a 13″ colour eink would be nice for comics. But above 11″ the front light is tricky and uneven. Also at best the colour resolution is half the native panel, so a 13″ panel about 230 dpi is only 115 dpi as a colour display. There is one 10.3″ colour eink using the 300 dpi panel similar to a Kindle Scribe, so it gives 150 dpi.

I'd consider a 12″ to 14″ colour eink if it had a decent even front light (which needs 5 to 10 times the power of a 7″ mono ereader for same brightness) and had 200 dpi or more colour resolution. But it's a niche in a niche.

[DrChiper]

I like to read comics and was looking myself for some color eInk device but was put off by the price (€500 and more) with moderate color presentation.

So I opted for a genuine Tablet and found a TCL Nxtpaper 11 for a steal (€199 at Amazon, just the tablet). There was also a package including cover and stylus (T-pen), but it was sold-out. The T-pen should be separately available but I could not find it anywhere. This week I saw an announcement for Nxtpaper 3.0 on a 14" device; TCL seems to continue this line of devices.

My device is about 11", solid build (aluminium frame), runs on Android 13, has 4Gb RAM and 128Gb storage (upgradeable to 1Tb via microSD), uses Nxtpaper 2.0 and claims to be an eInk alternative. There seems also to be versions with 4Gb RAM and 64Gb and 6Gb RAM and 256Gb. It has an 8000mA battery which can be fast charged via a Power Delivery capable charger. As the tablet supports Universal Stylus Initiative (USI 2.0), I could easily find a stylus alternative (Penoval Active Stylus USI 2.0).

I like the device and it works well for me to read my comics. The matte screen does hide fingerprints but you still can see them. The special Nxtpaper settings do work, but it is a personal taste whether it works for you. The battery lasts long enough for long readings, that is a plus, while there is plenty storage for huge files.

[Quoth]

TCL always did Alcatel phones when Alcatel did phones. They now also sell using rented Alcatel and Nokia brands. Nokia still exists but doesn't do phones.
My TCL phone (branded Alcatel) old now but still good and I was able to cheaply replace battery. Back pops off easily and battery on a connector.

The nxtpaper 14″ sounds good. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Nxtpaper+14%22&ia=web
Maybe an upgrade from my Lenovo 10″

[Quoth]

The brand new TCL NxtPaper 14 Pro is one of the first products from TCL to be equipped with a brand new NxtPaper 3.0 display. Specifically, a 14-inch LCD in 16:10 format is used, which achieves a resolution of 2,880 x 1,800 pixels and a frame rate of 120 Hz. The panel is 10 percent brighter and now reaches 700 nits.

NxtPaper 3.0 is characterized by a paper-like screen surface for fewer reflections, automatic adjustment of the color temperature to the ambient light, and an integrated blue light filter to protect the eyes. Recently, a polarizing filter has also been added to the screen design to get even closer to the look of paper. The NxtPaper 14 Pro has pogo pins on the underside so that an optional keyboard cover can be attached.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/TCL-Nx....790812.0.html

The TCL NxtPaper 14 Pro is expected to be launched in the spring of 2024, but the manufacturer has not yet published any information on the price.

It will be at least 16 million shades/hues/contrast/brightness.

Also you can turn the brightness down. All color eink ereaders need the LED front light on anyway except in bright sunlight.

[DrChiper]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The nxtpaper 14″ sounds good. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Nxtpaper+14%22&ia=web
Maybe an upgrade from my Lenovo 10″

As the TCL NXTPAPER 12 Pro is around €500 hereabouts, I guess the TCL NXTPAPER 14 may be a wee little more: anyways too expensive for my wallet

On the update side: I already received 2 OS updates (OTA), so no complaints there.
Regarding installed bloatware: almost none, which was a pleasant surprise. Feels like a plain Google Pixel device.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DrChiper

On the update side: I already received 2 OS updates (OTA), so no complaints there.
Regarding installed bloatware: almost none, which was a pleasant surprise. Feels like a plain Google Pixel device.

The Nxtpaper 11 does sound like good value for you and decent enough, but it's £390 on Amazon UK! Oddly a more reasonable €274 inc shipping to Ireland on Amazon DE.
Is this your model? Same B0C3MG289R ASIN on UK & DE.
https://www.amazon.de/TCL-NXTPAPER-N.../dp/B0C3MG289R

[DrChiper]

As a reading device base it offers IMHO a decent hardware foundation, but, as always, YMMV
Further it depends very much on the used reader app for the actual reading experiences. In my case it is PocketReader (no ads, reasonable configuration options, better TTS than Kobo)
Together they work for me as my second major reading device.

[DrChiper]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The Nxtpaper 11 does sound like good value for you and decent enough, but it's £390 on Amazon UK! Oddly a more reasonable €274 inc shipping to Ireland on Amazon DE.
Is this your model? Same B0C3MG289R ASIN on UK & DE.
https://www.amazon.de/TCL-NXTPAPER-N.../dp/B0C3MG289R

It is, but much pricier then my offer (€198).

I looked around and saw that TCL is pushing this device in several countries for very different prices.
On the sunny side, Amazon is now also offering the original T-pen which was not available last year. So it does not always pay off to be an early adapter

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DrChiper

It is, but much pricier then my offer (€198).

I looked around and saw that TCL is pushing this device in several countries for very different prices.

Hmm, I can log in and change language to English on NL, but can't buy it. I can buy it on German or UK.
Actually nothing on NL seems to ship to Ireland. Most does on UK or DE (there is no Amazon IE which is annoying, especially for Kindle and UK was poor due to Stg - Eur but worse because of Brexit, yet supposed to be default for Ireland).

Can't find it on USA, though others show up. Mostly I can buy from USA, but shipping is crazy and VAT/Customs added to price inc shipping. VAT is added to Customs duty if applicable.

I suppose anyone in NL could buy & ship to Ireland and no extra VAT or Customs. The Burren and Irish Trad Music pubs will be nice for Dutch visitors in the spring

[DrChiper]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Hmm, I can log in and change language to English on NL, but can't buy it. I can buy it on German or UK.

Yes, we only have recently acquired our "own" Amazon (used to work via Germany) and now Amazon insists we only order via NL for NL (although Germany is often much cheaper).

Try whether Amazon Belgium ships to Ireland (€218).

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DrChiper

Yes, we only have recently acquired our "own" Amazon (used to work via Germany) and now Amazon insists we only order via NL for NL (although Germany is often much cheaper).

Try whether Amazon Belgium ships to Ireland (€218).

Not for the nxtpaper anyway.
Thanks.

[Frogm4n]

Originally Posted by Arconte

Hi, I see different colour eInk devices, from different brands and different sizes, but any of 13-15", which would be the best for me.

Onyx has 13" B&W devices, and Dasung has a 25" colour device, but didn't see any colour one between those sizes. Does anyone knows if Onyx has a plan for it? Or if eInk it is no producing this middle size colour screens?

Eink doesn't make Carta mono panels between 13.3" and 25.3", so there will not be any Kaleido color screens either because they use Carta as the base. Gallery is a completely different screen (ACeP) but still uses similar/same TFT layers as Carta. It is not likely to be available as in-between sizes either, as 13.3" and 25.3" are what their factories are already producing for TFT layers.

[DNSB]

For what little it may be worth, I remember reading a couple of items about Fujitsu showing a 13.3" e-note with a Kaleido 3 screen however a couple of other items say that Fujitsu has decided against releasing the colour device. OTOH, GoodeReader still has it for sale though on backorder. OTOH, Linfiny (the people who actually manufacture the Quaderno devices for Fujitsu) still show a 13.3" Kaleido 3 device with a target MP of April 2024. The attached image looks like the pastel effect of a Kaleido 3 screen.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

Gallery is a completely different screen (ACeP) but still uses similar/same TFT layers as Carta.

And while the colour and brightness is very much better with Gallery (now v3) / ACeP, it's a retail display technology unsuitable for ebook readers.

Isn't there an issue with having an even front light at 13.3″? A Kaleido panel needs the front light on and using more power far more often than mono eink, though not as bad as Triton. That's why it's a pastel filter.