What To Look For In Electronic Book Readers
It’s now been three years since Amazon unveiled their first Kindle reader. Despite the massive influence of the Kindle, it’s worth remembering that it was not the first ebook reader on the market. However, ebooks are now becoming firmly established – due in large measure to the influence of the Kindle. Whether or not conventional printed books will eventually be replaced by ebooks is a topic for discussion – but it certainly looks like ebooks are set to become a permanent fixture in the publishing landscape.
Nevertheless, more and more people seem to be getting themselves an ebook reader. The recent round of price cuts from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Sony has made ebook readers a much more affordable option for many customers. Whilst the Kindle is the clear market leader, it’s far from the only option available. So what are the main things to take into consideration if you’re in the market for your first ebook reader?
One of the most critical factors that you will need to consider is the quality of the display. Most of the ebook readers currently on the market use e-ink technology displays. This gives a reading experience that is surprisingly similar to reading text printed on paper. It’s very much easier on your eyes than a back-lit computer screen. It is also easy to read in direct sunlight or even glare from fluorescent lighting. A further advantage of e-ink technology displays is that they use power only when “turning the page” – so battery life is extended.
It’s tempting to go for the largest display possible. Obviously readers with larger screens have a higher ticket price than those with smaller displays. They are also physically larger of course – and they weigh more. This will impact upon the portability of the device. That may not be a problem for you if you intend to read mainly at home. Even so, a bigger reader will be more difficult to operate with one hand – something which most users will wish to do.
The ability to browse and download books from virtually anywhere in less than sixty seconds was undoubtedly a major factor in the success of the Kindle. However, both Amazon and Barnes and Noble are now marketing Wi-Fi only versions of their readers. These cost a little less than the 3G readers and could be a good option for anyone who doesn’t foresee the need to download books without using a computer or connecting via a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Obviously there’s little point in owning an ebook reader unless there’s a wide selection of books available to download for it. Currently, no industry wide standard format for ebooks exists. Google uses the ePub format – but Kindle books come in a format which is proprietary to the Kindle. However, Amazon has released a number of free apps that lets users read Kindle books on a wide variety of different devices – without the need for a Kindle reader.
The cost of exactly the same ebook can be quite a bit different from one reader to another. In fact, If you read a lot of books, then picking the right reader could potentially save you enough money on ebooks to make the reader pay for itself in a just a few months. It’s well worth your while to check before you come to a decisions as to which reader to choose.
