Best Ebook Reader
New Kindle
If you ask a number of people for the best ebook reader you may get a significant number of opinions. They all agree about one thing though: If you really want to get the most out of your ebooks then you need to have an electronic reader at hand, it’s as simple as that. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself, let’s back up and take it one step at the time.
First of all, what’s an ebook?
The term e-book stands for electronic book. Up until recently, they have commonly been used to read documents which have been compiled into a single .exe (executable) file from a number of html “pages” (documents), or they have been in the .pdf (Acrobat) format from Adobe.
Early on, e-books were mostly written for a limited group of readers. Often times they were technical documents (like user manuals), or they were directed towards a particular audience.
Eventually, several other formats were developed and used by a growing number of manufacturers. This lead to even more fragmentation of the market – something which made it harder for these electronic books to gain momentum by regular authors, as well as the reader at large.
Today, thanks to the impact of the Internet and the widespread online communities, most books can be found also in an electronic, downloadable version. Furthermore, there are largely three major types of readers – making it a little easier for the consumer.
What’s an ebook reader?
An e-book reader is a hardware device used to hold and display electronic documents/e-books. It may be designed specifically for that purpose, or have other uses. Examples of the latter are computers, portable phones etc.
The three main types of portable readers today are:
- The Kindle from Amazon
- The Sony PRS-505 and PRS-700BC
- Other readers, such as the BeBook Ereader, the iLiad by iRex Technologies, or Cybook from Bookeen.
The first two can be compared to the iTunes system by Apple. They both have their own proprietary format and you can purchase and download a huge amount of titles directly to these devices. It is also possible to convert .html, .pdf and other formats to be held on the Kindle and Sony readers.
The other readers can be seen as geared more towards “open source” type of file formats. They do store and read most file formats (.pdf, .html, .mobi, .txt, .doc and so on), but of course not the ones used exclusively by Kindle or the Sony readers.
You can read pdf and some other documents on your iPhone or Blackburry. However you will need to scroll and have a harder time reading the book/document on a smaller, rather cramped screen.
Advantages of ebook readers
The main selling points are the weight and portability, long battery life and great readability (it is much more taxing and difficult to read text on a regular computer screen).
The ability to carry a huge amount of titles, much like music in iPods, and the possibility to get new books, daily papers, articles, magazines and more delivered instantly is a dream come true for many. Imagine being able to read your favorite papers on the go without having to mess around with clumsy, physical paper formats…
After a short while these dedicated readers become second nature – they are not simply cool gadgets or “shiny toys” anymore. Before you know it you find yourself using it like a regular book, meaning that you concentrate on the content – not the appearance or functions of the reader.
Many people find it far more comfortable to read from these portable devices than it is from a regular book.
You don’t need to bend or hold pages, flip back and forth etc. Whether you’re sitting up or lying down – the “book” is the same shape, balance and weight all the time.
Another great feature is the ability to adjust the text size to fit your reading comfort. I can almost guarantee that you will sooner or later find this very useful as you grow older!
All modern readers have the ability to bookmark your files/books, use a built in dictionary, start off reading where you left off and much more.
One major point about the Kindle, is the wireless and instant delivery of content – you don’t need to log in to a computer to get access to all the content at Amazon.
Recently, Amazon announced an International version of the Kindle ebook reader – countering one of its biggest disavantages: That it was suitable for the US market only. Great new, if you ask me 
Disadvantages to ebook readers?
Some people have noted that the library available for Sony is considerably smaller than the Amazon one. At the same time, the price for Sony-ready electronic books are somewhat higher than for the Kindle.
Others have noted that the Sony readers display other formats than their own rather properly. You may find the pagination being messed up, that line breaks are placed in weird places etc.
Personally I’d like to add that I simply love the touch and smell of printed books – something you lose with electronic devices. This is me being “old school” perhaps. But hey, I’m fascinated by gadgets and ebooks as well. In fact, as one person stated: “Being addicted to books as well as gadgets makes for a deadly combo”
Naturally you have the cost of the reader itself. However, this is an investment you will soon have many times back if you tend to purchase a few books.
To sum it all up
Unless you’re a hardcore reader of paper books, and if you want to be able to bring all your books along – you really can’t do without a portable, dedicated reader!
On the following pages we will be looking at the ins and outs of these devices in order for you to find the best ebook reader – the one that best suites you.
There’s more information on the following pages: Best Ebook Reader – Book Reading Device – Best Portable Reading Device – Buy Ebook Reader – Wireless Reading Device – Wireless Books – Electronic Book, Reading Device – Portable Ebook Reader.
Before You Buy a Portable Ebook Reader
You should ask yourself first, however, which features are most important to you. Battery life? Screen size? How many books a reader can hold? Read Before You Buy a Portable Ebook Reader for must have ebook reader features.
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