Pretty much all dedicated ereaders have Bluetooth built-in these days, but most of them don’t support connecting remote control page turners using Bluetooth.
Some devices, like Onyx’s Android ereaders, have supported Bluetooth page turners for a long time now, but Kindles, Kobos, Nooks and other ereaders still don’t offer that feature.
They all have Bluetooth but it’s only for connecting headphones and speakers to listen to audiobooks. If you want to connect something else like a keyboard or Bluetooth clicker you’ll have to try to find a complicated hack to get things to kind of work (maybe).
I posted about this remote control page turner for Kindles and other ereaders back in 2021, and it seems to be pretty popular. It has nearly 2500 reviews at Amazon, with an overall 4.4-star rating.
However, it’s not a true Bluetooth page turner because there’s a clip that has to be touching the screen, and it only pages in one direction, not both. The clicker isn’t actually connected to the device; it’s connected to the clip contraption (that’s why it has to be touching the screen). It’s one way to accomplish remote page turning on Kindles and Kobos but the clip is pretty big and clunky.
There’s clearly a market for those type of remote control page turners for ereaders, but there aren’t very many options outside of Onyx’s Boox devices.
I get that a remote control isn’t going to be necessary for a lot of people, but some people find them convenient for certain use cases. I could see how they’d be useful for reading in bed or having an ereader propped up on a table, especially the larger 10-inch models.
Would you like to see ereader companies like Amazon and Kobo add support for Bluetooth page turners? Or is that something you’d never use?
I have the SYUKUYU RF Remote Control Page Turner and it’s a godsend, I mainly use it on my Kindle Scribe but yes I hope in a future firmware the Kindles will support the cheaper page turners.
Ditto on using the SYUKUYU RF remote!!! I have a stand that holds the kindle over my head. in bed. My hands (and arms) stay nice and toasty under the heated blanket. 🙂
I wonder if the remote clickers are for devices with cameras… and none of the e-readers have those?
PocketBook supports: http://cyfranek.booklikes.com/post/4929428/poradnik-dzialajacy-pilot-zmiany-stron-do-czytnikow-pocketbook
If kindles and kobos are meant to make reading more accessible, especially for those who have disabilities, then bluetooth page turners would be a must add to these ereaders. It’s crazy for me to think that Amazon and Kobo don’t jump of these little things that help ereaders to be more flexible. Maybe not the majority of people would need these features, but I would think any new sales is better than no sale. I use voiceview a lot, which is probably for those who are sight impaired, but I find it to be a huge bonus. I’m sure others would find page turners useful even if they are not impaired.
In these days of rabid opportunism it seems impossible that this hole hasn’t been filled & then some! Just the other day I saw a few functional & elegantly simple *ring* page turner & I nearly exploded with excitement, only have my hopes dashed when I read a little further & found out it did not work with kindle. I tell you, it’s tempting to switch to a new reader just to be able to use the nifty little ring. Fingers crossed that kindle tweaks their functionality to accommodate BT page turners before much longer because I’m teetering on the cusp baby…
Definitely disappointed that the Bluetooth remote ring I have doesn’t work on my kindle. So I use my iPad with kindle app when I want the hands free experience. Usually when I’m reading in bed.
Then I just take my kindle when I’m reading outside of my house, on holiday etc.
Would still love if the ring would work on my kindle though. It is one of my favourite Amazon purchases, maybe ever.
I keep thinking that Kobo is missing a beat not offering this, even as a little add-on. It’d be a chance to one up Amazon yet again and get attention for their e-ink readers as being even more accessible.
I’m not disabled, but a remote page turner would be useful and I’d jump on buying one if I knew it was seamlessly integrated with my Kobo Sage reader.
Why not a keyboard? A page-turner would be nice, and I would use it, but I would rather connect a small keyboard for searching and browsing.
I’ve used the affordable ELISWEEN bluetooth presentation clicker with my Kobos. (Here’s a link to the model I once used, but it’s not available: https://amzn.to/3KI8pGr). It worked, though you had to change the mode (see the docs) before it did. Then it functioned as you would expect except for one annoying problem: If you took too long to read the page, Kobo shut off the bluetooth connection. Then you had start the pairing process all over again. I found that I could keep the connection live by either making my text larger than I generally preferred to finish the pages faster, or by toggling the page back and forth every few paragraphs. Eventually, I found it more work than it was worth, so I returned it. Newer models than the one I used are now available.
I can’t tell you if the clicker was at fault or Kobo’s battery saving wizardry, but I figured I would wait and see if something better came along.
Musicians would certainly be interested in the Kindle Scribe if it allowed a footpedal page turner to be connected
I completely agree! It’s frustrating that ereaders have Bluetooth capabilities but don’t support remote page turners. It would be a game-changer for reading in bed or while cooking. Personally, I’d love to see more options in the market.
A tip would be to consider using a stylus pen as an alternative, which works great on touch screen devices. Have you tried using one before?