I've been building exactly this with SoundLeaf [0] - an iOS client for the excellent open-source Audiobookshelf server. No data collection, no third-party servers, just your audiobooks syncing directly with your own instance.
The user-friendliness challenge is real though. Setting up Audiobookshelf [1] is more work than "just sign up," but once you have it running, the local-first client becomes much cleaner to build. No user accounts, no subscription billing, no scaling concerns.
Simple pricing too: buy once, own forever. No monthly fees to access your own audiobooks.
My wife was frustrated waiting for Testflight access to the original Audiobookshelf app, so I built SoundLeaf as an alternative. Started as a weekend project but evolved into something we both genuinely love using. It respects the self hosted spirit and privacy with zero tracking. Happy to answer any questions about implementation details or challenges connecting to the Audiobookshelf server API.
I revived my old kindle pw7 using this a week or so ago. If you have an old kindle lying around, you can use it as an e-ink weather dashboard (or anything else for that matter, as long as you can convert it into a 8bit greyscale image).
Only upgrade I did from my old kindle paper white was to a water-sealed version. Really nice to take it to the beach or a pool then just hose it off when I’m done so it doesn’t have sand and such everywhere. Just less stressful to carry around in general.
USB-C on the newer Paperwhites (and base Kindles? IDK if those changed over yet), in case you just want all your (portable) gear to be USB-C.
What is extremely annoying is people constantly and universally lauding the Kindle for Kids option, when it is only offered in the US. Or, at least, its barely offered in the EU.
I replaced the USB port on my older kindle with a USB-C port when I did the same for a bunch of devices. Not an option for everyone but if you have the time and patience (and a little skill) I highly recommend it.
I gave up on my first paperwhite last year (10+ years old). Would randomly lose its charge, which was annoying when bringing it on trips (and often not having an old micro-usb charger lying around). And from being stuck into all kinds of pockets and bags without a protector (half the use was it fitting in my pants) had seriously scratched up the screen. The new one I got is nice, but other than the old one being beaten up, I don't notice much difference. A bit faster to click around, but in the end it's mostly the same.
Mine would have longer and longer delays on each page turn when I started using it again last year. It's a 10+ years Paperwhite as well.
I jailbroke it and installed KOReader. Suddenly, no delays, great interface, wi-fi sync with Calibre. I might replace the battery one day, but it still lasts 2-3 books.
Not sure what my old kindle version was, it had a keyboard though, but I upgraded eventually because I wanted a warm toned backlight. It's nice that the newer ones are a bit snappier too.
I upgraded from Kindle Keyboard to Kindle 2023 last year. Backlight is very nice and I appreciate its lighter weight, but otherwise it's pretty much the same.
Yup yup yup. I cracked my keyboard and got a paperwhite. I love the dark mode for late night reading but would probably go back to a refurbished keyboard in the face of any strife; just like the old form factor more.
Unfortunately your Kindle needs to be registered to do this, and it's often a phenomenal pain in the ass to get old Kindles to register, if it's possible at all. I've got two old Paperwhites and I can't get either of them to register despite trying for hours and hours with every troubleshooting step I've found.
Yeah, it'll work plugged in. Since the dashboard mode locks everything down until restart, you can leave it connected. Though keeping it constantly charging might turn your battery into a spicy pillow eventually - maybe chuck it on a smart plug to charge for an hour every few days if you're worried about that.
Even better if you can get the kindle to control the smart plug and therefore the charge cycle. Keep the battery in a non-stressing range of 40-60% or something like that.
"There is nothing more temporary than a permanent solution and nothing more permanent than a temporary solution" needs to be designated as a rule or law akin to Hofstadter's law or the Ninety-ninety rule. As a placeholder until a better name is chosen, I propose we call it Foundart's Rule.
Googling for "Daugherty's Law" only returns law firms, and a cursory reading up on Richard Daugherty doesn't seem to indicate anything of the aforementioned.
So, yes, would appreciate a citation so we can all learn a new trivia of the day.
The user-friendliness challenge is real though. Setting up Audiobookshelf [1] is more work than "just sign up," but once you have it running, the local-first client becomes much cleaner to build. No user accounts, no subscription billing, no scaling concerns. Simple pricing too: buy once, own forever. No monthly fees to access your own audiobooks.
[0] https://soundleafapp.com
[1] https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf