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When switching from physical books to eBooks, you face an immediate choice: where do you buy them? Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, or directly from authors as DRM-free EPUBs or PDFs. That choice matters more than most people realize, because it may lock you to a single device forever, and finding an e-reader that works with Kindle and Nook is harder than it should be. I have previously compared the Kindle Colorsoft, Nook GlowLight 4, and iPad Mini as standalone devices, but the question I kept coming back to was whether any single e-reader could handle all the various ecosystems at once.
The issue at play is DRM, or Digital Rights Management. DRM is a system meant to prevent unauthorized copies of a digital asset such as an eBook from being shared with others who never paid for it. It protects retailers, publishers, and authors. Kobo, Amazon (Kindle), and Barnes and Noble (Nook) all use DRM. Unfortunately, that also locks you into their ecosystem rather than locking the eBooks to you specifically.
In practical terms, what this means is that if you buy an Amazon Kindle, you can only read eBooks purchased on Amazon. If you buy a Barnes and Noble Nook, you can only read eBooks purchased from Barnes and Noble. If you buy eBooks from Kobo, you can only read them on a Kobo device (note that Kobo does have a range of DRM free eBooks that you can purchase). Kobo is often cited as a more ‘universal’ solution, but it runs Linux rather than Android, meaning it cannot install Kindle or Nook apps at all. In the case of the Amazon Kindle, side loading content has been made difficult, requiring you to e-mail DRM free eBooks to the device to be readable.
While I am sure that for many people buying from a single ecosystem is fine, there are those of us who prefer to shop around for the best book deals or prefer not to be locked in a single store. Further, some devices go so far as to lock you out of library platforms such as Libby or Overdrive entirely, preventing the borrowing of eBooks, though this varies by device and platform.
There are some solutions. Some prefer to strip the DRM from their books to load them onto a device of their choosing. Legally this is questionable, and potentially risky. It also requires some technological know-how to accomplish. Another solution is rather than using an e-reader, you can use a tablet (such as an iPad or Android variant with full Google Play Store access) to load the various apps such as Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Libby, etc., onto a single device. The issue here is that a tablet is often heavier, more expensive, the battery is measured in hours rather than days and can be harder on the eyes.
I ended up with a simple question: is there an e-reader, using E Ink technology, that can use all the apps?
The Android E Ink Solution
Can you read Kindle and Nook books on a single e-reader? If the e-reader runs Android, the answer is yes. There are an increasing number of Android-powered E Ink (both color and monochrome) display devices available. These devices are around the same price as a Kindle or Nook, are often touted as being faster and more capable, and promise a more universal reading experience.
Over the coming weeks I’ll be testing each of these devices for real-world performance, not just specifications. My wife Kate, an avid eBook reader who currently uses an iPad Mini and suffers from eye strain, will also weigh in on whether these e-readers are a genuine alternative for heavy readers. I’ll also be comparing various price points ($120 to $290) to help you find the right fit for your budget.
The e-readers I will be reviewing in the coming weeks (and in no specific order) are the following:
Barnes and Noble Nook
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition
OBOOK6
BOOX Go 7
BOOX Go Color 7 Gen II
iPad Mini 7