subject: How To Choose The Best Ereader [print this page] When you are interested in buying an eBook reader, there's a chance you're a little confused with your choices that are available these days and all of the technical information that's shown for each and every device. It isn't really very hard to understand once you recognize just a little about the technology, and you could do all the research you need simply by reading the websites that sell the devices. Outlined in this article Let me look at the basics of precisely what you need to know.
When you're looking at a web page that sells an e-book reader, you'll want to look for a section called "Technical Specifications," or Tech Specs for short. Some web pages could have this under the regular product description as opposed to in its own section. It is going to publish a great deal of specialised information, and I'll explain exactly what it all means below. Utilizing this type of knowledge you can make an educated decision and in turn buy the best eReader for you
Screen
A lot of the ereaders available today have Six inch screens, and some have 7 inch screens. The type of screen is more important to take into account.
Devices like the Kindle, Kobo, Sony Reader, and Nook have E-Ink screens. These screens are not back-lit such as your computer screen. Instead, they've got a matte finish that does not reflect light and reduces glare. E-Ink creates a reading experience that's very like reading from paper. It means you can read in bright sunshine, the disdavantage is that unlike LCD screens you need a light source. So if it is dark or low light you will not have the ability to view the screen unless you buy an attachable cover with a built in light or a straight light.
Devices including the Nook Color, and tablet pc's such as the iPad, have LCD screens. These are fundamentally the identical to your mobile computer screen or computer monitor. Given that they display light, your eyes can grow tired more easily, and they also use significantly more battery power. These devices can also be more than just eBook readers, plus they tend to be more expensive.
Price
When deciding which type of e-reader to get, pricing is a crucial part of the selection for many. Right now, each the Amazon Kindle 4 (non-touch) is the lowest priced at $79 and the cheapest touch screen models are: the Kindle 4, Nook Simple Touch and Kobo all at $99.
Size and Weight
Once you see these details within the product description, it's pretty self informative. The measurement in most cases be listed as Height x Width x Thickness.
Should this be important to you, you can do a comparison of this between several devices. Many people have a preference for smaller sized devices, and some opt for larger. Nearly all eBook readers are very lightweight -- between about 5 to 20 ounces. A regular paperback book is somewhere around Ten ounces, so you can use that like a guide. Also, if you do a lot of travelling extra weight of the device might make a difference in your luggage.
Content
Most companies are bundling their eBook readers with free content. The Kobo eReader, as an example, comes with 100 free classic eBooks pre-installed. For those who have a Kindle you are able to download many free classic books on Amazon's website. Most other eBook readers will permit you to read just about any free PDF or EPUB file that you download online.
This is often somewhat important as it determines the sorts of eBooks that you are able to read using the device. If you know that you might want to have the ability to read PDF files, find that within the set of supported file types. If you wish to have the ability to buy current popular eBooks from eBook stores, you will require an e-reader which supports Adobe DRM. Try to find that in the list too. This can be one circumstance where it's safer to buy a device that is more well-known. The more obscure the device, the more unlikely that you'll be able to get the content you need for it.
Quite a few eBook readers can play MP3 music. If that is important for you, look for that in the product details.
One important note: The Amazon Kindle only will read eBooks which are purchased at Amazon.com. If you'd like to be capable of buy eBooks from other eBook stores, carefully think about this restriction. That being said Amazon's Kindle store is quite possibly the best around as well as being one of the biggest.
Connectivity
Look out for the terms "WiFi" and "3G". If a company is providing you with a choice between these two types of connectivity, the 3G option will be more expensive. This is considering that you could download pretty much everywhere and do not have to be in the vicinity of a Wi-Fi hotspot or home Wi-Fi network. WiFi allows you to use your WiFi connection at home to download information directly to the device, without having to use your computer. Depending upon the device, you may additionally have the ability to browse the internet. 3G is the same type of connection that your mobile phone has, which means that you don't need to be on a WiFi network to download eBooks. Some e-readers don't have either of these capabilities.
Battery Life
The battery life for eBook readers was frequently shown as the amount of page turns that can be performed during one charge. For example: if a website shows a battery life of 8000 page turns, and you figure that an average book might have 300 pages, that works out to over Twenty-five books that you could read before you had to charge the battery again. Currently, each of the manufacturers quote the battery life in hours or weeks. This is calculated with the Wi-Fi turned off and with 30 minutes of reading per day.
Storage
eBook readers come with on-board memory, that is shown in GB (gigabytes). Most will have "expandable" memory, so that it is possible to add your personal storage card (usually a SD card) for more storage space. The technical specs for each e-reader will specify how much storage comes with the e-reader itself, and how big of a memory card it can handle. This can be useful because this is how your eBooks are saved on the device. The more memory, the more eBooks you can use it. Many of these eBook readers can store 1000s of books, that's probably be more than you're ever likely to own, therefore the difference between the e-readers gets negligible unless this is really a problem for you.
Other Features
Some eBook readers can also play MP3 music, browse the web and manage images, together with a great many other features. If that's important for you, look for that within the product details.
Design
Finally, when making your selection between all of the available e-readers, you could possibly consider the overall design of the device. The Sony Readers look more technological as opposed to others, while the Kobo looks more friendly. The Nook incorporates a rounder appearance, and the Amazon kindle displays a full keyboard (Kindle 3) at the base. There is probably an eBook reader that has a design and style that will fit your persona. Most eBook readers right now also come with a touch screen.
