It's stupid that an e-reader should fail based on the books that are allowed to be read on it. E-readers should compete on the hardware experience, not bounds of DRM.
This is why my Kindle gathers dust.
Is there a quality open-source e-reader out there?
Yeah TIL, and not a bad one from what I gather. I was just talking to b_b this morning about a bitcoin bookstore: Make the books available on a standard format that e-reader manufacturers can't ignore (PDF, and those that libraries use, etc.), make copyright open books free with the option of a $0.50 donation, and for copyright content, give verified holders a 90% cut. Also, outside of copyright considerations, make the platform content agnostic when it came to the printed word. Perhaps you could opt for a somewhat smaller author cut, and use the difference to support the production of a quality open-source e-reader with the goal to make DRM readers unnecessary.
I'm waiting on the crowd-funded Earl. It'll have close to stock Android 4.4, and a solar charger. Although I wouldn't recommend waiting on it for too long if you want something soon - it was originally supposed to come out like a year ago or something. The main guy that started it clearly doesn't have any experience bringing a product to market - it's been delayed and delayed. He's been pretty up-front and honest about the process, though he's still making too many promises. But it sounds like it's about done on the hardware side, and then needs the software finalized, then needs to go through certification. Still could be awhile, not sure. I'll wait for reviews, and depending on how it sounds, might end up waiting for a future iteration. Still looks promising though.Is there a quality open-source e-reader out there?
Depends on what you mean by Open Source, the Onyx BOOX family of readers use android as their os, the Nook uses Android too with a Barnes & Noble look over the top of it. The pocketbook readers I think use Linux as do the Bookeen Cybook ones. All do epub with and without DRM and some do the mobi format without drm. Of course all of these are extremely costly because they don't sell direct to the US market because they can't compete with Amazon's loss on device make up in sells strategy. I've seen them on the Amazon UK site. If you wanted to shop around hoping for better ebook prices (not likely thanks to publisher price setting) then you can use Apprentice Alf's Tools to break the drm (if legal in your country) and put the book you've bought on the device of your choice. There are also less than reputable sites that put books up such as tuebl, but they claim to have some support and a DRM takedown policy as well as links to sites to legally obtain the item, I haven't ventured too far into their rabbit hole though.
My experience was I've had the PRS-750, PRS-300 and PRS-350 from Sony, I upgraded to the Kindle Touch when it came out because you couldn't beat the rock bottom price, sadly this is the strategy Amazon used to take something like 70% of the reader market in the US and if Sony can't compete with that what luck will Kobo or anyone else have? (I do have a Kobo Touch as well for books I want in epub.)
Adobe wanted that with their epub format, to be the one ebook format to rule them all, but Sony and Amazon balked at that idea instead opting to use their own formats LRF for Sony and Amazon bought Mobi and renamed it AZW. Sony eventually got on board with epub though.