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, similar 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 give attention to 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 give attention to the book-buying expertise and stable {hardware}, similar 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 cannot 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, large 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 straightforward to purchase; most are bought on Amazon, which has a liberal return coverage.
Most individuals give attention to just a few various things when shopping for an e-reader. Does it have a great bookstore the place they’ll buy digital books, comics, magazines, newspapers, or manga? What working system does it run? Linux is probably 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 want black and white e-readers. Display dimension can also be an element to contemplate; 6 inches was the gold customary, however it’s straightforward to search out them in all types of various sizes, all the way in which to 13.3 inches.
Hardcore lovers take a look at the issues above however take into account some very various things. For instance, the display screen’s PPI? The upper the PPI, the extra exact the textual content will likely be when studying for hours. Does the display screen have a flush display screen and bezel or a hole one? Processor, RAM, storage, or the inclusion of an SD card are additionally vital. 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 probably it’s to help the entire mainstream and fringe apps for a very long time earlier than the builders now not help it as a result of not many individuals are utilizing it anymore.
Once you need to purchase a brand new e-reader, what are the primary issues you might be searching for? {Hardware} design, software program expertise, a model you will have heard of, or a liberal return coverage? What concerning the official or third-party equipment to switch your e-reader? Hold forth beneath.
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 Put up and the New York Instances have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.