There’s a huge quantity of people that want to change to a different e-reader as a consequence of Amazon suspending the power to make use of the USB File Switch system on February twenty sixth. They see Amazon killing off so many companies prior to now yr that it’s now not price staying with the ecosystem and {hardware}. They’re questioning what e-readers they need to purchase which have fewer draconian insurance policies.
Previously six months, Amazon killed off Kindle Vella, their short-form story platform, Kindle Flashcards. To not point out the Kindle Colorsoft debacle, the place the yellow bar on the backside of the display screen was a {hardware} defect that harm the Kindle model with its first shade e-reader.
If you wish to ditch your Kindle and change to a different model, there are many choices. Deciding on the proper e-reader to your wants will be daunting, however listed below are among the greatest, together with their core options and performance.
Kobo
Rakuten Kobo has been making e-readers since 2010 and has been within the sport for a very long time. Relating to market share and gross sales quantity, they’re the worldwide quantity two participant, second solely to Amazon. There are a couple of causes to embrace Kobo: you’ll be able to simply borrow library books by way of Overdrive, it helps many ebook codecs and fonts, and it has superior options to regulate the studying expertise. Most of their present gadgets have cloud storage, making it straightforward to entry your books. The corporate provides varied display screen sizes, an ideal mixture of shade e-readers, conventional black and white e-paper, and even a couple of e-notebooks.
Kobo additionally as their reply to Kindle Limitless; Kobo Plus. It provides three tiers, primarily based on what kind of content material you need. You possibly can simply get entry to books, or audiobooks. Their is a plan that provides entry to each e-books and and audiobooks too, so it’s price it. Nonetheless, their catalog of content material shouldn’t be as robust as Amazon. Since Kindle Limitless additionally has manga, magazines, newspapers.
One of many important benefits of Kobo is its help. They frequently concern software program updates and push them to the most recent and outdated {hardware}. I’ve seen updates attain gadgets which can be over 10 years outdated. Whereas Amazon solely helps gadgets for as much as 5 years after they first go on sale on the web site, older gadgets by no means obtain updates.
Kobo sells its e-readers on its web site, Amazon, and thru a sequence of bookstores and massive field retailers worldwide. It is vitally straightforward to purchase Rakuten Kobo since so many locations allow you to attempt it before you purchase it.
Beneficial Kobo Merchandise
Kobo Clara Color | eReader | 6” Glare-Free Color E Ink Show | Darkish Mode Possibility | Waterproof |…
- 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗥 – Learn in color with a 6” E Ink show to get pleasure from eBook covers, comics, graphic novels, illustrations, and extra.
- 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗥 – With a number of colors obtainable on the contact of a finger, you’ll be able to spotlight your eBooks. Add, erase, or change colors as you go, and simply see all of your highlights by chapter at a look.
- 𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗬 𝗢𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗦 – ComfortLight PRO routinely reduces blue gentle and personalize your studying settings by way of font dimension, line spacing, and even Darkish Mode
Kobo Clara BW | eReader | 6” Glare-Free Touchscreen with ComfortLight PRO | Darkish Mode Possibility |…
- 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗬 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 – Glare-free 6” E Ink Carta 1300 HD enables you to learn in shiny daylight with out reflections with quick page-turns and non-compulsory Darkish Mode for higher nighttime studying
- 𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗬 𝗢𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗘𝗬𝗘𝗦 – Use ComfortLight PRO to regulate your eReader’s brightness, color temperature, and blue gentle so that you received’t be stored awake
- 𝗜𝗣𝗫𝟴 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥 – Full waterproof safety and meets necessities of IPX8 ranking – waterproof for as much as 60 minutes in as much as 2 metres of water
Kobo Libra Color | eReader | 7” Glare-Free Color E Ink Kaleido™ 3 Show | Darkish Mode Possibility |…
- 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗦𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗥 – Guide covers, comics, graphic novels, illustrations, note-taking and extra come to life. No glare in daylight, no notifications – simply you and your eBooks in full-color
- 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗟, 𝗗𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 – Dive into your tales with colourful markups. With Kobo Stylus 2* compatibility (*bought individually), annotate, spotlight, and notice take your eBooks in shade
- 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗖 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡 – Ergonomically designed with page-turn buttons, left/proper display screen rotation, full font dimension and margin customization, and panorama mode
Pocketbook
Pocketbook has been making e-readers for a bit bit longer than Kobo. They’re a European firm, however their e-readers are bought worldwide. They help most e-book codecs within the enterprise, so you’ll be able to learn your manga in CBR/CBZ and even purchase books from different retailers and use Adobe Digital Editions to load them. Pocketbooks have at all times been bullish on page-turn buttons, which most trade gamers have deserted. Pocketbook has its bookstore, however it isn’t as polished, nor does it have the identical Kindle or Kobo content material, so you’ll primarily purchase this since you’re not locked into a selected ecosystem.
Pocketbook e-readers are normally bought by third-party retailers. Amazon appears to be the only option as a consequence of its liberal return coverage.
Beneficial Pocketbook e-readers
PocketBook Verse Professional E-Reader Waterproof | Eye-Pleasant 6” E-Ink Carta™ HD Touchscreen |…
- EYE-FRIENDLY & GLARE-FREE TOUCHSCREEN: The E-Ink Carta touchscreen offers a high-resolution studying expertise, making it ultimate for lengthy studying classes. Take pleasure in an eye-friendly 6-inch show that comes as shut as potential to a web page on paper.
- PERFECT LIGHTING: The adjustable SMARTlight permits you to personalize the display screen’s brightness and shade tone. With the automated mode, it adapts to the time of day and your setting. The Darkish Mode reduces eye pressure by darkening the background and brightening the textual content in low-light settings.
- WATERPROOF: Dive into e-books with IPX8 waterproof safety! Take pleasure in uninterrupted studying as this e-reader withstands immersion in contemporary water as much as 2 meters deep for as much as 1 hour, with none worries or dangerous penalties.
Pocketbook Period E-Reader, Stardust Silver, 16GB | 7ʺ Glare-Free & Eye-Pleasant Contact-Display screen with E…
- GLARE-FREE & EYE-FRIENDLY SCREEN: PocketBooks latest 7-inch E-ink Carta 1200 display screen delivers a 15% improve in picture distinction and a 20% increase in contact display screen response time. Because of the glare-free display screen, studying is even potential in shiny daylight. Take pleasure in your favourite books on the paper-like E-Ink display screen!
- WATERPROOF & ANTI-SCRATCH PROTECTION: The small e-book reader is waterproof and IPX8 licensed. It may be immersed into water as much as 2 meters deep for one hour. The improved display screen safety completely protects the e-reader from scratches.
- AUDIO-BOOK SUPPORT: Take heed to audio-books by way of Bluetooth linked headphones or built-in speaker. The Textual content-to-Speech operate permits the e-paper pill to learn any textual content file aloud in considered one of 26 languages.
PocketBook InkPad Shade 3 E-Guide Reader | Enhanced 7.8” Shade E-Paper E-Ink Display screen | Eye-Pleasant…
- FULL OF COLORS & TOTALLY EYE-SAFE: PocketBook InkPad Shade 3 is supplied with a big 7.8-inch shade display screen primarily based on the brand new expertise E-Ink Kaleido 3. This eye-friendly and glare-free display screen shows 4096 colours and demonstrates a 50% enchancment in shade e-page decision, so you’ll be able to get pleasure from your books, comics, and manga much more!
- EYE-FRIENDLY SMARTLIGHT & DARK MODE: uncover superior studying consolation with SMARTlight. Regulate display screen brightness and shade tone for cozy evenings or shiny mornings. Use Night time Mode for eye-safe late-night studying with out extra lighting.
- ENJOY AUDIOBOOKS WITH A BUILT-IN SPEAKER: PocketBook InkPad Shade 3 helps 6 audio codecs, so you’ll be able to at all times change from studying to listening. Dive into thrilling audiobooks utilizing a built-in speaker or pair the e-reader with different audio gadgets by way of Bluetooth.
Onyx Boox
Onyx Boox has a wide selection of merchandise, primarily specializing in e-readers and e-notebooks. Totally different display screen sizes and performance make it straightforward to spend a few hundred for one thing nearly as good because the Kindle Paperwhite or generally even higher. Onyx employs the Android working system; all their gadgets have Google Play and Google Play Companies. This enables customers to make use of an E INK display screen and craft their expertise. Onyx sells its gadgets on its web site and varied Amazon shops.
Onyx provides a number of black-and-white e-paper readers, e-notebooks, and shade gadgets. Relying on the display screen dimension you need, Onyx has strong choices. Nonetheless, Onyx merchandise price greater than Android as a result of Android requires extra processing energy and RAM.
Onyx has a web-based retailer. St-generation and previous-generation {hardware} can be found of their Amazon shops. Nonetheless, they don’t have correct retail visibility, so attempting the USA and Europe, the place you should buy straight from them, isn’t straightforward. They’re additionally before you purchase.
Beneficial Boox Merchandise
BOOX Palma2 Cell ePaper eBook Reader Fingerprint Recognition Good Button Twin Microphones Off…
- Display screen: 6.13″ HD Carta 1200 glass display screen with flat cover-lens Decision: 824*1648 (300 ppi) Contact: Capative contact CPU: Octa-core + BSR RAM: 6GB ROM: 128GB Connectivity: Wi-Fi + BT 5.1 Entrance Gentle with CTM (Heat and Chilly) G-sensor for Auto Rotation Gentle Sensor 16MP Rear Digital camera with LED Flash
- OS: Android 13 Doc Codecs: PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX Picture Codecs: PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF Audio Codecs: WAV, MP3 Helps Third-party apps
- Button: Energy Button with Fingerprint Recognition, Quantity/Web page-Flip Buttons, Good Button USB-C Port (Helps OTG or use as an audio jack) microSD Card Slot Constructed-in Speaker Constructed-in Twin Microphones Battery: 3,950mAh Li-ion Polymer Dimensions: 159 x 80 x 8.0 mm (6.3″ x 3.1″ x 0.31″) Weight: Approx. 170 g (6 oz)
BOOX Pill Go Shade 7 ePaper E Ink Pill 4G 64G Entrance Gentle (Black)
- Display screen: 7” Kaleido 3 (4,096 colours) Carta 1200 glass display screen with flat cover-lens Decision: 1680 x 1264 (B/W 300 ppi, Shade 150 ppi) Contact: capacitive contact CPU: 2.4Ghz Octa-core RAM: 4GB ROM: 64GB Connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz) + BT 5.0 Entrance Gentle with CTM (Heat and Chilly) G-sensor for Auto Rotation
- OS: Android 12 Doc Codecs: PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX, EPUB3 Picture Codecs: PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF Audio Codecs: WAV, MP3 Helps Third-party apps
- Buttton: Energy Button, Web page-Flip Buttons USB-C Port (Helps OTG or use as an audio jack) microSD Card Slot Constructed-in Speaker Constructed-in Microphone Battery: 2,300mAh Li-ion Polymer Dimensions: 156*137*6.4mm (6.1″ x 5.4″ x 0.25″) Weight: Approx. 195g (6.9oz)
BOOX Pill Observe Max 13.3 No Frontlight B/W ePaper Pocket book Carta 1300 300 PPI 6G 128G
- Display screen: 13.3″ Carta 1300 glass display screen with flat cover-lens Decision: 3200 x 2400 (300 ppi) Contact: BOOX stylus contact (4,096 ranges of stress sensitivity) + capacitive contact CPU: 2.8Ghz Octa-core + BSR RAM: 6GB ROM: 128GB Connectivity: Wi-Fi + BT 5.0 G-sensor for Auto Rotation No Entrance Gentle
- OS: Android 13 Doc Codecs: PDF, CAJ, DJVU, CBR, CBZ, EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, MOBI, TXT, DOC, DOCX, FB2, CHM, RTF, HTML, ZIP, PRC, PPT, PPTX Picture Codecs: PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF Audio Codecs: WAV, MP3 Helps Third-party apps
- Button: Energy Button USB-C Port (Helps OTG or use as an audio jack) Constructed-in Twin Audio system Constructed-in Microphone Battery: 3,700mAh Li-ion Polymer Dimensions: 287.5 x 243 x 4.6 mm (11.3″ x 9.6″ x 0.18″) Weight: Approx. 615 g (21.7 oz)
Exceptional
In case you are a Kindle Scribe proprietor and need to get out of the e-notebook area, there isn’t any higher model than Exceptional. They popularized all the note-taking trade and have the best-in-class options and polished software program. They frequently push out firmware updates to introduce new options and bug fixes. Their enterprise mannequin is about e-notebooks; they don’t even make e-book readers. Their mantra is “distraction-free.” You’ll by no means see popups and notifications, something to stop you from the duty at hand.
Exceptional presently sells a UB e-reading app that permits you to use 25,000 totally different colours. It primarily focuses on freehand drawing, taking notes, and viewing/enhancing two merchandise: the succesful Exceptional 2, which has a black-and-white e-paper show, and the Exceptional Paper Professional, which has a Gallery 3 e-paper show able to taking a break and studying a ebook. Nonetheless, Exceptional rarely advertises this characteristic.
Certainly one of Exceptional’s most controversial facets is its subscription program, Join. Join provides you limitless, safe cloud storage for all of your paperwork, making certain they’re at all times immediately accessible and able to use in your paper pill and in our companion apps in your different gadgets. Seize a thought in your cellphone, develop it intimately in your paper pill, and end it in your pc. Construct the workflow that works for you with Join, which provides you full entry to the facility of our apps. It prices round $4.99 month-to-month and has a free 100-day sub on new gadgets.
Exceptional sells its merchandise straight on its web site. It additionally provides an intensive array of first-party circumstances, styluses, and keyboards. The corporate sells on Amazon to a restricted diploma. The Paper Professional is simply obtainable with a bundle deal, however the older Exceptional 2 is extra extensively obtainable. The corporate has additionally established partnerships for retail in Europe, so shopping for at a bodily retailer is extra manageable now.
Beneficial Merchandise
reMarkable Paper Professional Bundle – Contains 11.8” reMarkable Paper Pill, and Marker Plus Pen with…
- THE ULTIMATE PAPER TABLET – For the primary time on a reMarkable paper pill, you’ll be able to write, sketch, and skim in shade. Extremely-slim and transportable, however with a full-size 11.8” shade show, adjustable studying gentle, and an unmatched paper-like writing expertise.
- WHAT’S IN THE BOX – You’ll discover reMarkable Paper Professional, a digital pocket book for unprecedented paper-like writing with 11.8” Canvas Shade show; Marker Plus, the reMarkable pen with built-in eraser; 6 spare Marker ideas; and USB-C cable.
- PAPER-LIKE WRITING – Designed to work completely with the groundbreaking shade show to ship sensible friction and pure writing really feel, the included Marker Plus provides exact management, unimaginable responsiveness, and all-day consolation.
reMarkable Starter Bundle – reMarkable 2 is The Authentic Paper Pill | Contains 10.3”…
- THE ONLY TABLET THAT FEELS LIKE PAPER – With a paper really feel by no means earlier than skilled on a digital system, reMarkable 2 redefines note-taking, studying, and reviewing paperwork. At simply 4.7 mm thick, you’ll be able to take it anyplace.
- WHAT’S IN THE BOX – You’ll discover reMarkable 2, a digital pocket book for paper-like writing with 10.3″ show; Marker Plus, the reMarkable pen with built-in eraser; 9 spare Marker ideas; and a USB-A to C cable.
- ALL YOUR WORK, ORGANIZED – Kind your notes and paperwork with folders and tags, write straight on PDFs, and convert handwritten notes to typed textual content. All the pieces’s in a single place and simple to seek out.
Wrap Up
These corporations I like to recommend if you wish to get away from Amazon and change to a different model that has been round for a very long time and has a longtime observe file. I left Barnes and Noble primarily as a result of it’s only obtainable in the USA, making shopping for digital content material in a foreign country tremendously difficult. I additionally left off Bigme as a result of they give attention to AI software program that may’t be uninstalled but additionally runs Android and Google Play.
Amazon is the world’s largest e-reader firm and sells essentially the most e-books in North America and Europe. I at all times get requested what you do, and no person is aware of what I imply after I point out I write about digital ebook readers. I then say, “Just like the Kindle,” and everybody has heard of it, if not is aware of somebody who owns one. Within the wild, all I see are Kindle e-readers; I hardly see the rest, and I reside in Canada, the house of Kobo.
Amazon doesn’t allow you to genuinely personal your books; it solely licenses them for you. This enables them to take away any ebook, anytime, with out cause. Barnes and Noble and Kobo have comparable insurance policies and ditto with app-based platforms comparable to Google Play Books and audiobook platforms comparable to Audible. These corporations have some type of DRM, which protects the content material. Nonetheless, it’s far simpler to again up your books regionally, and extra options to strip the DRM from the books, offering precise possession of the books you purchase.
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 Submit and the New York Occasions have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
