Over 100 new e-readers and e-notebooks had been launched in 2024. Some can be found worldwide, whereas others are solely in home markets, equivalent to China, Taiwan, South Korea, and France. There are some compelling causes to purchase particular manufacturers as a result of options they provide. Rakuten Kobo and Pocketbook are fashionable as a result of inclusion of bodily web page flip buttons and color e-paper screens. Bigme, Onyx Boox, and Outstanding concentrate on the digital note-taking expertise. Some have WACOM screens and color e-paper with a stylus to take notes, edit PDF recordsdata, and freehand draw. The most well-liked e-readers in North America concentrate on the book-buying expertise and stable {hardware}, equivalent to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Rakuten Kobo. What sort of options do you search for in an e-reader?
Most of our Good e-Reader viewers is in Australia, Canada, the US, and the UK. So, I can’t focus on or focus solely on the home e-readers in China or Taiwan since most of those merchandise are from iFlytek, iReader, Hyread, Hanvon, Huawei, or Moaann. Most of those merchandise usually help Chinese language; just a few have English, however bookstores comprise Chinese language ebooks.
The most well-liked e-readers within the Western world stem from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo. These e-readers are bought on-line and in lots of bookstores, huge field retailers or tech shops. This permits clients to strive earlier than they purchase and see whether it is proper for them. If something goes awry or a buyer desires to return it, it’s simpler to do that in retail. Some manufacturers, like Pocketbook and Onyx Boox, are simple to purchase; most are bought on Amazon, which has a liberal return coverage.
Most individuals concentrate on just a few various things when shopping for an e-reader. Does it have a superb bookstore the place they’ll buy digital books, comics, magazines, newspapers, or manga? What working system does it run? Linux is essentially the most steady, however there are many Android e-readers and e-notebooks with Google Play, the place they’ll obtain hundreds of thousands of free and paid apps. Some individuals like color e-paper screens with expertise like Kaleido 3 or Gallery 3, whereas others desire black and white e-readers. Display screen dimension can be an element to contemplate; 6 inches was once the gold customary, however it’s simple to search out them in all kinds of various sizes, all the best way to 13.3 inches.
Hardcore lovers have a look at the issues above however think about some very various things. For instance, the display’s PPI? The upper the PPI, the extra exact the textual content can be when studying for hours. Does the display have a flush display and bezel or a hole one? Processor, RAM, storage, or the inclusion of an SD card are additionally essential. The working system and model quantity are additionally essential; if it runs Android, what model is it? Some e-readers ship with Android 11, whereas some have Android 13 or 14. The upper the model of the working system, the extra possible it’s to help all the mainstream and fringe apps for a very long time earlier than the builders not help it as a result of not many individuals are utilizing it anymore.
While you wish to purchase a brand new e-reader, what are the principle issues you might be searching for? {Hardware} design, software program expertise, a model you’ve heard of, or a liberal return coverage? What concerning the official or third-party equipment to change your e-reader? Pontificate under.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the previous fifteen years. Newspapers and web sites such because the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Publish and the New York Occasions have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
