Hey everyone! I made a post a few weeks ago here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ereader/s/7mh0d20ejd asking if there were any decent 7-inch e-reader options. I wasn't too satisfied with the options available and thought there would be better ones by now or something that fit my preferences better. I thought I had found all the best options already and was very close to pulling the trigger on the PocketBook Era Lite, a Chinese iReader, or a Hanvon e-reader. However, one of the suggestions you guys gave me caught my eye. The Musnap Ocean. I just received mine a couple of days ago and wanted to share my thoughts. My apologies in advance if this reads a little dense; no AI was used in any way, and for better or worse, that means dealing with my more dense style of writing. If you just wanted a tl;dr, the conclusion at the bottom will do that for you.

Why the Musnap Ocean?

I think I should touch briefly on why I grabbed this instead of my other options. The PocketBook I knew would be slow, and I was tired of using slow devices after my Boox Leaf and Meebook M7. I see all the time people saying it's fine for them, but I actually found it annoying quite often. The Chinese e-readers I was considering were actually good choices, with one glaring issue. The OS experience on their Chinese systems would not be the greatest for a North American user like me (more on iReader later). The Hanvon, from what I could tell, is more open, has good hardware, and the price on AliExpress wasn't too bad. Bigme was also in the mix for a bit, but the user experiences I've seen for its software weren't great; it's a bit slower than newer choices, and somehow the price hasn't changed at all for the BW models since they released, even after so long.

The Musnap Ocean, surprisingly, checked all the boxes that I was looking for. I was shocked I hadn't found it sooner and had given up on finding something that would get everything I wanted. But here it is, with the following:

1. A recessed screen. I had one on my Libra H2O and missed having this; it just looks much better. Clearer. I can already see in person how much better text and contrast look under my normal reading conditions.
2. Good hardware. Comes with a fairly modern and performant SoC. The other fastest BW 7-inch device, the Boox Go, has a Snapdragon 690. The Musnap Ocean has a Helios G99. Overall, the G99 is two years newer, slightly faster (the memory specifically is a lot faster), and, most importantly, more power efficient. The G99 uses the N6 TSMC node, which is substantially better than the Samsung 8nm node used by the Snapdragon 690. I think it's hard to put into perspective how vast the difference is, because the naming is a bit confusing and misleading. The 8nm Samsung node is essentially an extension of their 10nm node with a 10-15% density improvement. Even the TSMC 7nm node is twice as dense as the 8nm Samsung node.
3. Very large battery at 3000 mAh. In fact, it's the largest of any 7-inch and smaller device I've seen so far, and not by any small margin. This is a big deal for me; I was actually prepared to move away from Android e-readers to get better battery, but now I don't think I need to.
4. Physical buttons. 7-inch screen. Black/white, no colour. These three main criteria were easier to satisfy.

Essentially, this e-reader has not only the potentially best-looking screen of all the 7-inch Android e-readers (because it's recessed), but also the best hardware and battery. I was excited to say the least.

Why not Boox?

I think this deserves its own section since everyone and their mothers seem to be recommending Boox devices here on every post. After having had a few, I don't think they are good and will never buy one again, but before we get into that, I will also mention it just didn't check as many boxes, and the Musnap is still better on paper. No recessed screen, smaller battery, slightly slower, less power efficient, older Android, etc.

Now, as a sort of PSA too, let's talk about my last Boox device, the Leaf. I received it in January 2022, and in February 2024, the battery bulged and cracked the screen, making it unusable. When I emailed Boox, they quoted me 84 USD for the repair and 50 USD for the freight. 134 USD to get that junk repaired, for a manufacturing defect of their own. There had been a crack forming before then, but I chalked it up to the cheap build quality. I didn't even use the device a lot; I'm an infrequent reader, and I only use it from home, while on the couch or in bed. I will use my e-reader a bunch some weeks, and then I will forget about it for some months. I look online, and there are tons of posts from users with the same or similar issues. The batteries bulge, the devices break, and the support team doesn't care and will rip you off to get your device fixed. If you replace your devices often, then maybe you won't mind this, but otherwise I cannot recommend boox. You can see how my device looks now in a few of the pictures.

The Leaf was also one of the worst devices I've owned. It was slower and less responsive than my Poke3, the build quality felt significantly worse, the battery was worse, and the screen didn't really look better. The front light in particular looked worse. I was confused. I paid more for this device, and it was somehow worse. I still have my Poke3, and it's astounding how cheap the Leaf feels next to it. Have to hand it to their marketing team. Somehow their junk is still the most recommended items on this subreddit.

More on Musnap, the Brand

I want to talk about Musnap for a second because I feel like this is one of the main reasons this brand, or their models, get overlooked. Nobody knows who they are or what the heck Musnap is. I know I was skeptical because I could barely find any user impressions of their devices. I looked deeper into it and noticed that they are a sub-brand of iReader. Yeah, the same one I talked about earlier. This seems to be their global division and their attempt to break into markets outside of China. iReader is a good brand. They make some of the best e-readers in the Chinese market and are often praised for having some of the best reading experiences from what I've seen in Chinese forums and discussions, with the main complaint being that they are usually more expensive than competitors and that they use pretty closed software. This was all stuff I knew from previous research before I even came across Musnap because I wanted to buy a Chinese iReader device, so this wasn't just me trying to hype myself up before or after a purchase.

If anyone is curious, the Musnap Ocean seems to just be a global version of the recent iReader Ocean 5C (which was very well received, especially for power efficiency and battery) but with the recessed BW screen of the Ocean 5 Pro BW (also really well received). It's worth looking up reviews and user opinions on either as a proxy for the Musnap Ocean. Just keep in mind they run more locked-down Chinese software, while the Musnap does not.

First Impressions

The Screen

Right away, I'm surprised by how impressive the screen looks, but I probably shouldn't have been, considering it's a recessed screen and what I already knew about iReader devices. The text, etc., has excellent contrast, and it surprises me that I can even tell any sort of improvement over my other devices. Even the front light looks fantastic—this is something I was worried about because my Boox Leaf and Meebook M7 didn't have the greatest ones; they had a sort of an off-feeling colour or tone to their warmer settings. This front light is much closer to what I expect from a good device to have and reminds me of my Kobo Libra H2O. The frontlight in my unit is also completely uniform; I actually almost forgot to even evaluate this because I see zero uniformity issues whatsoever. This might even be the most uniform frontlight I've seen. My Meebook M7 and Boox Leaf had spots where they were brighter than the rest, especially along the edges. Even my Kobo Libra H2O had this issue. One downside I would say is that it isn't quite as warm as some other devices at its warmest settings, but I'll happily take that trade-off versus getting some of the weird oranges or yellows I've had in the past.

Performance

This deserves its own section because I am absolutely blown away by how fast this device is. I did not expect it to be this much faster than anything else I've owned. I was very convinced the screen setting was set to fast mode or something, but I was wrong. It was and has been set to the highest clarity mode. Everything responds instantly, and I cannot explain how different it feels to use a device like this compared to a typically slow e-reader. There's so much I do not and cannot be bothered to do on my older devices. I just can't; it's a miserable experience to even try, so I've been keeping things as simple as possible whenever I use them. I get books on my computer, connect a cable or use the Wi-Fi transfer app, put books on the device, and then I read them. I've done fancier stuff in the past, harnessing Android's freedom and power, but those devices were so slow, it just wouldn't feel worth it anymore. I'm excited because the speed is genuinely liberating, especially for doing more than just your basic reading.

As for the battery, I don't think I've had it long enough to report much yet. I'm still using the charge it came with and have not plugged it in yet. Came with around 60%? Looks like it's still around there. Hard to tell.

Body, Build & Comfort - Ergonomics

The weight is good, very light, and the distribution feels about even all across the device since I'm able to balance it on a finger from the center. It's not the lightest 7-inch device I've owned; the H2O and Leaf were both lighter, but compared to the Leaf, this is much more comfortable because of the Leaf's sharp edges.

I also think the Ocean is way better designed; it has a much better screen-to-body ratio, and most of its bezel is on one side where you would hold it, which makes it much more ergonomic. The plastic on the top side feels good quality, slightly textured, and very similar to what my Libra H2O had, but nothing special. I think one gripe or downside is that gestures can sometimes be a little harder to use for home/back/etc. Because the screen is not flush with the body.

The backside material is where it scores a lot of points for me; it's sort of a rubberized, faux leather-like texture that feels amazing for holding the device with one hand. The grippiness helps a lot and makes the device much easier to hold. There is a downside with this material, though; it seems to attract marks, dust, and that sort of debris like nobody's business and is a bit of a pain to get fully clean.

This is easily the second most comfortable e-reader I've owned and used, and I've used very many (with the Libra H2O still being my favorite for comfort).

Software

I've included pictures of all the screens you'll be presented with; there really aren't that many. And that's fantastic. The software is very simple and straightforward. You have two home view options: modern or classic. Classic sets your bookshelf as the main view or home and gives you two tabs at the bottom; the other is "Mine," which is a bit of a weird word choice, but it just takes you to all your apps. This is more or less how most other Android e-readers function, usually. My Boox and Meeboox devices have all had similar layouts. Modern is more like your typical Android tablet, a normal Android home screen with all your apps, and now your bookshelf is treated like an app. I think this approach will work better for users who want to use a lot of their own apps.

I feel the need to debunk something important here: the software is actually decent. I'm surprised so many people have been saying it's not as effective as Boox. I find this software better than or at least as effective as the Boox devices I've used, unless something has drastically changed since my last device. Everything is polished, simple, and straightforward. There is a lot less going on than on the other devices I've had, like Boox, and it makes it easier to find and access things. I don't need fancy apps, baked-in features, or any cloud junk. They usually annoy me. It's Android. I will install my own cloud junk if I want it. If anyone thinks the Boox software is better, feel free to challenge me here with specific examples, and we can see what holds.

It's not perfect, of course; there are some weird English choices here and there, but it's not as terrible as some other devices I've used, and honestly, even Boox devices have this issue too. This is definitely one of the better Android experiences, in my opinion. Genuinely shocked anyone can say that the software is worse than Boox. The Boox Go isn't even on the same Android version; it's one version behind on 13. The Ocean is on SmartOS 3.1.0, which is based on 14.

Conclusion

All in all, in a lot of words, this is the most modern option if you want a 7-inch Android e-reader, and it comes with the best overall hardware and battery of our current choices. The screen is very good (especially being one of the only recessed screen options), the hardware is super fast, the software is solid, and the device itself is quite comfortable. The price is also great compared to alternatives if you manage to get a 35% off or better coupon on Amazon, which they get pretty frequently. I'm quite happy with my device. It's the closest device I've had to my longstanding favorite, the Libra H2O. While this isn't as comfortable, it's close for an Android e-reader and faster.

In case it isn't obvious already, I am not paid, sponsored, etc., to endorse any product; everything here is my own opinion and whatnot. The original full-size/resolution pictures are here, in case it's easier to view than the Reddit gallery: https://files.lr7.dev/public/share/S0hjjWhEOIbc3PHnohLfZQ

So I bought a kobo Clara bw for my wife to use my libra color. She never used it and I prefer reading on my libra so now it has to go because I have no use for two ereaders. Comes with a case. Wanting 110 PayPal plus 9 dollar shipping. https://imgur.com/a/Xx091yc

Hi, everyone.

I'm someone who loves reading books, but have kind of lost my way lately.

I bought a Kindle many years ago, but it didn't really fit what I wanted because it's only good for books which you can download from the store. It doesn't handle PDF material really well.

I want to buy a new e-reader.

Alongside english, I also read books in Urdu and Arabic, which are mainly PDF formats.

I need something that handles PDF material really well without having any distractions, like a phone. Also, something that allows you to download books like the kindle.

Please give me the best recommendations.

Thanks!

My mom used to read to me every night before bed. Now she's doing the same with my little sister. A few months ago, I got her a Boox Palma 2 because holding heavy books every night was starting to hurt her wrists. Ironically, we both ran into the same problem. After reading for a while, our hands would get tired because we were always trying to keep our thumbs off the screen. I figured someone must have already made a case for this.

While looking around, I found so many amazing 3Dprinted Palma cases shared by our community. I had learned a bit of 3D modeling before, so I thought I'd see if I could make one myself. I posted the first version here a while back, and a lot of you suggested improving the button module. So I went back and redesigned it. When the new version was finally ready, I handed it to my mom. She pressed the buttons a few times and said:"These are much easier to press". That was exactly what I was hoping to hear. I thought it'd be fun to put the old and new versions side by side.

Thanks again to everyone who left feedback on the first version. It genuinely made this case better 🥰

What's one thing you wish your Palma did better?

Looking for a bw e-reader for home use that doesn’t lag. I’m between a go6 ii or anything recommended. I’m liking the xteink x3 for work and being on the go. Any suggestions?

I’ve been looking for sales on a kobo Clara bw or libra color, but not sure if there’s anything else with my focus solely on reading.

Thanks for your time!

Hi! I’m looking to buy my first e-reader, and I’d really like it to have a color screen.
I’m trying to decide between the Kindle Colorsoft, Kobo Libra Colour, and Kobo Clara Colour. They all cost about the same where I live, so price isn’t really a deciding factor.
What matters most to me is battery life, overall performance, and durability. I’d like something that will last me for years.
I do plan on buying some books, but I also expect to sideload a lot of my books, so having a device that’s flexible and easy to transfer files to is important.
Which one would you recommend, and why?
Also, sorry if there are any mistakes in my post. English isn’t my first language, so I used a translator to help me write this.

Hey, im looking to buy an ereader for manga.

I’m looking at boox ( either 7” or 10”) as its android and can have apps which is how I’d prefer to get my manga .

What’s super important tho is having a screen that doesn’t strain my eyes.

How does Boox rate in this or are there other ereader with better screens to prevent eye strain?

My Pocketbook Inkpad 4 just updated and now its Libby app lets you check out magazines as well! So now you can check out ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines! Hopefully my Verse Pro Color updates soon!

Currently researching getting my first ereader as it would be nice for travel and as an every day carry. I’ve seen the xteink devices which look like the perfect form factor and something I would rather reach for than my phone. However, from my research the xteink devices seem to only like DRM-free books and from what I have seen, the books I want to read just aren’t available as DRM-free.

Kindle seems to take the cake with the features and usability but its a bit big for me and if I’m carrying around a device of that size I’d rather have an iPad mini or something where I can actually do other things if needed.

Has anyone found a way to get an xteink or similar device working nicely without too much faff? Does anyone think that the kindle is worth getting over anything else? Has anyone just stuck to their phone/ipad and what have they done to make it work better for reading?

I've had a Kobo Libra H2O for several years, having always had a Kindle in the past. I love the Libra's form factor, as well as the physical buttons and the ability to change the light tone. I'm tired of my Kobo's micro USB, I travel a lot with my MacBook, my iPhone and I always forget to bring the USB-C to Micro USB cable, and my Libra's battery life isn't what it used to be. I live in Italy and the Libra 2 is sold out everywhere. I wanted to know if it's been discontinued and if the only option left is the Libra Color. I don't really care about color and I've read various reviews where they say the Color screen is grayer and less sharp than the BW ones. Do you know if a Libra 3 is in the works? If not, the alternative is the Pocketbook ERA, even though they're not very popular here in Italy.

I also often borrow books from the MLOL (digital library) which also supports Readium LCP. Didn't Kobo say it would support it? Does it support it in the new models?

Hi, I have a new Tolino Shine E-Book Reader Generation 5. And I wanted to ask if it's worth reading a manga about it. Can the drawings be clearly seen and the writing easily read? I mean, generally in a manga.

I wanted to read "Elfenlied" in German. Unfortunately, the manga isn't really available in German at the moment, or it's very expensive, but as an ebook, it only costs about €5 each.

Been browsing Etsy for the last couple days but most of the offerings I have seen are either

A) stolen artwork printed onto cases

B) AI generated images

Not a big fan of both, so I am looking for places (nice etsy shops are welcome) for cute or pretty eReader cases.

Won't specify what I am looking myself as I'd love to get a broad range of your favorites! :)

I’ve had my X4 since November of last year. I’ve read regularly on my KLC before that, but the X4 changed my life. Being able to read in places where I couldn’t pull out/bring my KLC opened my eyes to phone sized e-readers being more than a novelty. I’m going to give my sister my X4 and I’m looking for phone sized e-readers that are:

-black
-have no camera (can someone explain why I would want this on an eink “phone” or is it just a way to increase the price?)
-warm light

So far I’ve discovered the Durobo Krono and that looks appealing but I worry the dial is going to feel cheap on something that costs $290 from a brand I’ve never heard of. Does anyone have this thing? I thought that ViWoods paper was perfect but I can only get it in white. I have no clue if we’re in between device generations of phone sized e-readers with the popularity of the X4 and the pro that just released. Should I just wait or get one now? Some thoughts and or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I'm looking to replace my clara 2e.

It does 80% of what I want it to, but the very slow boot time has become an impediment to my reading habit.

Almost every time I want to read I have to wait what feels 5 minutes for the damn thing to boot. Long enough I get on my phone waiting and check it twice while it's still booting. And I can't leave it on sleep because the battery drains overnight if I do that.

Edit: maybe this an update fixed this since i got it. I remember getting really frustrated at the sleep battery life back then and have just been turning it off since then. I just went and grabbed it after a few days in my bag and it wes asleep, and wasn't totally drained.

Any advice on what to try next, or usage habits I should try before i buy? Its libby integration is really nice, but because it doesn't sync all my libby libraries at once anymore, so that's not even a major feature anymore...

Hiya, I've been thinking about getting an e reader for over a year or so now. But I am a slow reader. I am dyslexic, ive heard people say an e reader can be helpful for front size, spacing etc.

Im between the Kobo Clara and kobo libra colour.

I’ve always wanted to have a small eink device for reading on commutes and at work (when i have an opportunity), i’ve tried xteink x4 but my problem was not having a dictionary i need for reading books in English as it is not my first language. So i wanted to find cheap android solution. I had decided to go with inkpalm minipower because of the larger battery and price. I ended up enjoying it a lot. The only downside for me is weight, i would prefer if it was lighter but i guess it’s a price i pay for the larger battery.

Pros:

- Koreader
- Pocketable
- Good battery for the android device
- Localsend is great
- Good price
- Fast

Cons:

- weight
- design (i would make it all white or black)

To be honest all the pros outweigh the cons for me. I think it is a great device for those who need something truly pocketable with full features.

Both devices with the brightness turned off.

Hey,

I’ve been researching color e-readers for a while (watched every video on them I could find), and I’m stuck between these two. For context, I own a Kindle Base 11th gen and I don’t like the closed ecosystem. Plus, I wanted a device that could also read comics/manga with color (avoiding tablets).

Use case: novels, comics/manga (I’m fine with zooms on panels, as long as it is fast), occasional complex PDFs (TTRPG rulebooks) and news (not as important). Occasionally, I’d like to take notes, but it’s not the main purpose. My budget is €300 max. I can tweak if needed, I’m somewhat comfortable with tech.

GC7 Gen 2 appeals to me because of Android flexibility, being able to read PDFs, and zoom on comic books and manga looks fast (and I can choose from many apps). Worried about yellow tint on frontlight, battery life, water resistance and the device resistance.

KLC appeals to me for better battery, IPX8, sturdier build quality and a cleaner reading experience (the device is focused on reading). Worried about color accuracy (seems lower than on the Boox device).

Did any of you face the same dilemma? What do you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

I currently own a 2015 Kindle Paperwhite. I had, no idea where it is, a nook when ereaders became a thing. I have over 100 different books on both. I’m considering subbing to Kobo plus because I also listen to audiobooks. I want to get a new ereader and it’s been suggested that I get an android based one. Can someone suggest a good one for under $200? Is there such a thing? I’m willing to wait until Black Friday sales if the prices will be better. I like the size of my kindle so the cute tiny ones may not work for me.

Nerd help with Librera.

I use Librera to read on my phone, and it would be nice to have the screen in portrait mode, with the screen upside down, to read while charging the phone.

I found the option in the configuration menu, but it just doesn't seem to work on my Samsung Galaxy A36 phone...

I've tried restarting the app, and turning the screen rotation on the phone, but nothing seems to work.

All the other options (landscape and landscape flipped) works just fine. Even the "auto" mode work fine, changing in between all the other options but the one 8 want (portrait flipped)...

Not sure if this is a problem with the app or is some kind d of restriction with the phone.

Is it worth it?

I have Kobo Clara BW that I love dearly but the downside is that I only borrow/read books from Libby and I learned that Kobo recently removed the feature of using multiple library cards.

Now I’m thinking of getting Kindle (idk which gen, it’s the one that comes in matcha color) and give Kobo to my partner. Is this worth it? What’re your thoughts?

This is something I wanted for long time and I finally did it. My Watch Later playlist on YouTube has now 787 videos I really wanted to see and never had a chance to.

The fear of missing out and the guilt just piled up until I couldn’t stand it and I had to find a solution.

I now save the YouTube links that I want to “consume” in a tool that I built, they are getting their transcript extracted, formatted in paragraphs, grouped by chapters with video frames extracted for each chapter.

At the beginning of each video I am getting an AI generated TL;DR and it helps a lot!

I added this as a feature to a service I am building but I don’t want to promote that as it would infringe the community rules.

I am writing willing to share how I got this sorted, what tech stack I have in the background, what were the challenges I faced and any other questions you might have. 🙌

This will be my first ever e-reader so i want to get something which will last me + affordable.

Should i get the kindle basic/kobo bw/ pocket book verse?

Pls help as im confused

Ik u can jailbreak devices but i want that to be my last resort. Cause ive seen some posts if u do it wrong or wtv it can have malware etc

I want to be able to export epub books to the ereader easily

Hi everyone,

I live in Germany and I’m thinking about buying a Kobo Libra Colour. A new one here usually costs around €240–€250, so I’ve been looking at used options to save some money.

I found an eBay listing for a Kobo Libra Colour (white, colour screen) for €200. The seller describes it as “like new”and says it still has the protective plastic film on the screen. The listing is here:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/147378718667?_skw=kobo&epid=6067228039&itmmeta=01KY4KF5VGP4X7AMMPNFRTJN0A&hash=item225074c7cb:g:ImQAAeSw2FtpCeth

Do you think this is a good deal, or would you rather buy a brand-new Kobo Libra Colour for about €240–€250?

For those who have experience buying used eReaders:

• Is saving around €40–€50 worth the risk?
• Does “like new” + screen protector usually mean the device is in good condition?
• Would you choose the used one or pay the extra money for a new device with warranty?

I’d appreciate your opinions before making the purchase. Thank you!

Ive had my pocketbook less than a month, no drops, no physical screen damage. I took it out of my purse and today and it must’ve suffered some sort of pressure damage? 😣

Recently returned a Pocketbook Verse I was very excited for, because it absolutely can't handle PDFs like the scans I request from libraries, and get off the Internet Archive, JSTOR, and other such. A good 20 seconds to open a smaller book, and then anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds per page.

I was already a bit disappointed by it not exactly being great for Canadian climates - I wouldn'tve been able to read it during my winter commutes, for example. Still, e-ink and some kind of Linux sweetened the deal enough for me until now. Since clearly my own research in this field was lacking, I'm hoping with this sub's experience, I'll be able to finally get started with ereaders!