Reader with buttons on both sides, like Voyage?

[Fawn_S]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here although I have occasionally browsed the forum for a while now. On to my question:

I'm on my second Voyage, bought secondhand after my 1st died. If Amazon were still making them I would buy a 3rd, but as it is I'm trying to prepare for the day I have to replace it.
The feature I like the most, and seems the hardest to find, is having two page turn buttons (or "haptic sensors" or whatever), on BOTH sides. Is there any device on the market that has this?

I understand that many newer e-readers (amazon Oasis & Scribe, various Kobos, etc.) have buttons on one side and I can rotate the reader so that the buttons are on the left or on the right. But I'm used to moving my reader from hand to hand a lot during reading, like maybe every 10-15 minutes, and having the screen reorient every time seems bothersome. Anyone here has experience in this?
The Onyx Darwin 9 seems to have a single button on each side, but I couldn't find details: is the right one for next and the left for prev? Both for next? Are they configurable? Is it true that the Darwin is distributed only in Russia?

I would appreciate any insight!

[Sirtel]

The latest Nook models have buttons on both sides.

[Fawn_S]

Huh, I somehow completely forgot about the Nook... Thanks!
So, any insights about migrating from Kindle to Nook? I mostly sideload my ebooks anyway, and my Calibre is set up to automatically convert anything to epub, so that wouldn't be a problem. Any other snags?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Fawn_S

Huh, I somehow completely forgot about the Nook... Thanks!
So, any insights about migrating from Kindle to Nook? I mostly sideload my ebooks anyway, and my Calibre is set up to automatically convert anything to epub, so that wouldn't be a problem. Any other snags?

The latest Nook won't connect to Calibre on Windows, I hear (I no longer have a Nook myself). The solution is to sideload the books to your Nook using the Save to Disk feature in Calibre first and then drag/drop the files to the Nook via the File Explorer.

If you're using a Mac, then sorry, no idea. I think it's still possible to connect the latest Nook to Calibre on a Mac.

Other than that, Nooks are pretty simple devices with few customization options, but they also don't have many issues. The hardware is usually solid.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Other than that, Nooks are pretty simple devices with few customization options, but they also don't have many issues. The hardware is usually solid.

I'm reading a book on my Nook Glowlight 3 now. I forgot how good its warm light screen is. I can't speak for the Glowlight 4 family, but I do like the buttons on both sides of the bezel, so that would be a plus for me.

I still don't understand their taking away hyphenation and the font sizes they've chosen at the smaller end. But, apparently my eyes have changed enough that one of the font size choices now works for me. So I may be reading quite a few of my books on the Glowlight 3.

I did install KOReader on this GL3, but couldn't figure out how to keep the animation screen from going into a permanent loop (unless you're connected via adb and use a specific command to stop it). Once I got into KOReader I found that it was a whole world of its own and it looks like you can spend quite a bit of time figuring out how to set it up. For now I've just deleted the launcher and KOReader — maybe I'll go back to it later.

[DNSB]

For what it is worth, when I swap my Sage between hands, the screen finishes flipping by the time I have finished changing hands.

[Fawn_S]

Originally Posted by DNSB

For what it is worth, when I swap my Sage between hands, the screen finishes flipping by the time I have finished changing hands.

Thanks! That's good to know.

[Fawn_S]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I still don't understand their taking away hyphenation and the font sizes they've chosen at the smaller end. But, apparently my eyes have changed enough that one of the font size choices now works for me. So I may be reading quite a few of my books on the Glowlight 3.

What do you mean by taking away hyphenation?
And does your Nook have options for line spacing?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Fawn_S

What do you mean by taking away hyphenation?
And does your Nook have options for line spacing?

They no longer hyphenate (split) words across lines. If the word doesn't completely fit it goes to the next line, which (sometimes) leaves bigger gaps in the current line then I like (usually not that big of issue — depending on the size of font you're using). You can choose not to use justification, which solves the "gaps in the line" issue. (But I like to turn justification on.)

The Nook does support changing the line spacing (three settings) and margin changing (also three settings). I almost always use the narrowest line settings and smallest margins. You can turn page numbering off (or use one of the three page numbering settings) — I like to turn it off.

You can't remove the title at the top. But the font is smaller and light, so it's not that big of an issue, as it doesn't "blend" with the text of the book.

You can't sideload fonts, so you're stuck with the fonts they provide or you can use the "Original Font" option — which is how I use Constantia on the Nook. The built-in Georgia font is not bad but Constantia is darker and I like its contrast. So I mostly edit the book's font before loading it on the Nook. (Many people prefer a lighter font, so this may not be an issue.)

Overall the interface is not as customizable as a Kobo or PocketBook interface, but the options that it does have aren't bad.

You can reverse the position of which page turn buttons go forward or backwards.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by DNSB

For what it is worth, when I swap my Sage between hands, the screen finishes flipping by the time I have finished changing hands.

I’ve had a similar concern as Fawn_S about the single sided buttons since I also change hands a lot. Do you find the need to rotate the device as opposed to just handing it over to be annoying? It seems that would be awkward.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by twowheels

I’ve had a similar concern as Fawn_S about the single sided buttons since I also change hands a lot. Do you find the need to rotate the device as opposed to just handing it over to be annoying? It seems that would be awkward.

Depends on how often you change hands, I guess. If I switched every 10 minutes, yeah, I'd find it annoying as well. Personally I don't change hands that often, though - every 40-50 minutes, perhaps, or even less often. So for me it's ok to flip the screen.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by twowheels

I’ve had a similar concern as Fawn_S about the single sided buttons since I also change hands a lot. Do you find the need to rotate the device as opposed to just handing it over to be annoying? It seems that would be awkward.

I don't even remember if I originally found it annoying. At this time, I don't even really notice when I switch hands. Much like when I first got an eInk device, the triple write flash (white/black/white) to remove ghosting was noticeable while now I've gotten used to it and hardly notice it.

As @Sirtel said, it may depend on how often you switch hands. It's not something I do that often even in a long reading session.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Fawn_S

I understand that many newer e-readers (amazon Oasis & Scribe, various Kobos, etc.) have buttons on one side and I can rotate the reader so that the buttons are on the left or on the right. But I'm used to moving my reader from hand to hand a lot during reading, like maybe every 10-15 minutes, and having the screen reorient every time seems bothersome. Anyone here has experience in this?

Libra 2 here and I switch hands a fair bit too. The reorientation is close enough to instantaneous - definitely under half a second - by the time I'm ready to read it's done. It doesn't rotate visibly, by the way, it just does a refresh and is upside down at the end of the refresh. Blink and you'll miss it. Some things (like typing) feel a bit clunky going to e-ink from a tablet, but this isn't one of them.

I don't even notice that I'm turning the device now when I change hands - it's automatic and not at all cumbersome to perform.

[cgsmom]

Well, I have the Kindle Oasis, the Nook Glowlight 4+ and the Nook Glowlight 4e. The GL4+ is my current reader of choice. I like the screen size and the buttons on both sides. I like the Oasis fine but I do change hands a lot so it is a little annoying.

The GL4+ apparently uses MTP file system (I'm not very computer savy) and Calibre cannot access it. I have a Windows 11 computer which sees it just fine. However it comes up as a folder under "This Computer" instead of a usb drive. There is a Nook folder under the "BNV1300" folder. I just copy epub files from Calibre to this folder and it works fine.

The GL4e is a small reader with buttons on both sides. It is obviously not the quality of the larger Nook but it works fine and Calibre can access it. It does not have the warm light. I use it as my "take with me" reader because it fits in my pocket.

It's funny how people complain about the lack of hyphenation on the Nook. I didn't even notice. I had to go look and found it is true. Apparently it doesn't bother me. LOL

The Voyage was by far my favorite reader ever. If Amazon still made it, I would buy one in a heartbeat. But for now, I am happy with my Nooks.

[Sirtel]

The lack of hyphenation is a plus for me - I specifically disable it in all my ebooks, as I can't stand it.