What Is the Best Device to Read Books on
The research
- Who should buy this (or upgrade to it)
- Why you shouldn't but read ebooks on a tablet
- Ebooks and DRM
- How we picked and tested
- Our selection: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids
- Flaws but not dealbreakers
- A non-Amazon option: Kobo Clara Hard disk drive
- An Oasis alternative: Kobo Libra 2
- What about colour e-readers?
- The contest
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
Who should buy this (or upgrade to information technology)
An ebook reader is a dedicated device that lets y'all read electronic books—usually those you purchase from the reader'due south ain ebook shop, just also some you tin can download elsewhere. Over the by few years, the prices of ebook readers accept fallen dramatically while the hardware has improved significantly, and loftier-end features like a backlit, loftier-resolution screen and waterproofing have become standard. If you don't have an ebook reader, there'due south never been a better time to get i.
For current e-reader owners, an upgrade isn't necessary merely can make a globe of divergence. If yous struggle with finding calorie-free to read, go frustrated with wearisome folio turns or low resolutions, or merely hate how big your electric current ebook reader is, upgrading might exist worthwhile. You can get a keen reader that addresses all of those concerns for a fair price.
Why you shouldn't only read ebooks on a tablet
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo all offering apps that allow you to access each ebook reader'south library on an iOS or Android tablet or smartphone; you lot can also use a tablet or phone to read ebooks from Apple'southward iBooks Shop (on iOS) and the Google Play Shop (on iOS and Android). This flexible organization can be dandy for times when you may not take your reader handy: You can read a few pages, and your progress syncs to the cloud so that you can pick up correct where you left off on whichever device you prefer.
For regular reading, all the same, nosotros think dedicated ebook readers are a better option for a number of reasons: Nonreflective, electronic-ink displays requite y'all a more paperlike visual feel (including enjoyable reading outdoors and less eyestrain compared with an LCD screen), plus lighter weight and a significantly longer bombardment life. And a dedicated ebook reader offers fewer distractions—y'all won't be tempted to switch apps to cheque Twitter or your email.
Ebooks and DRM
When you purchase an ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, or Google, that book is usually protected with a digital rights management (DRM) scheme, which ways the book is available for reading only on devices that back up that shop's DRM system. For example, you tin read Amazon-purchased ebooks simply on Kindle devices or in Amazon'south Kindle apps for other platforms—you tin't view them on a Barnes & Noble or Kobo reader.
This isn't an issue specific to any 1 seller, and it isn't a problem with the DRM-costless ebooks you lot can purchase from some contained sellers or download from sources such equally Project Gutenberg. But DRM is worth keeping in mind, considering information technology means that once you commit to an ebook reader, you lot'll likely end upwards sticking with it considering you won't be able to transfer your DRM-protected ebooks to another platform.
How we picked and tested
Few companies ever fabricated ebook readers, merely these days the number has dwindled to just three serious competitors. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo are the only major hardware makers with digital bookstores to back up their corresponding devices. Among them, they offer merely a handful of distinct readers, non counting the Nook tablets and Nook-branded Samsung tablets that Barnes & Noble sells, nor Amazon'due south Burn down tablets, which have a Kindle app. You can observe a few niche devices, such as those from Ectaco, but goose egg else comes in at a reasonable toll with a library to back upwards the hardware.
Here'south what we looked for in determining the best ebook readers:
- Built-in lighting: Most due east-readers provide their ain low-cal for reading in dark environments. (Unlike tablets such as the iPad, ebook readers employ a side-lighting system that provides a glow across the screen, rather than from behind it.) Because this feature is then prevalent, we didn't examination any readers without information technology.
- Screen quality: We gave preference to devices with a pixel density of 300 dots per inch, the highest available in any ebook reader and what most models offering. Anything lower will mean less well-baked text and images.
- Build quality and size: While most ebook readers are made of plastic, some feel improve than others in your hands. Six-inch screens are the near common size, too as the most portable and probable to be pocketable, although newer readers pack larger screens into similarly sized bodies, which is a bonus.
- Battery life and storage: Most of the readers promise battery life somewhere between six and 8 weeks (depending on usage) and offer 8 GB or 32 GB of storage. In other words, nigh specs are less important than how good the ebook reader feels in the hand.
- Other features: While not required, features similar waterproofing and Bluetooth sound can make a proficient east-reader great.
- Library: Ebook readers tin't stand up on the strength of their hardware lone. While all readers allow you to side-load unprotected content, information technology's important that they provide easy access to a large library of commercial books.
Our pick: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids
Our choice
The 2021 Kids edition of the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is the best e-reader for most people thank you to stellar hardware that makes reading your books a pleasance, a massive ebook catalog that often offers better prices than others, and Amazon'southward ecosystem and services that are unavailable or have fewer features on other readers. You can comfortably navigate your collection, besides as discover and purchase new titles (and download them over Wi-Fi). The Kindle Paperwhite Kids is waterproof, for reading at the embankment or in the bath, and as well features Bluetooth for streaming audiobooks. New to the 2021 version are a larger screen and adaptable colour temperature. And while "Kids" is in the proper name, this is the best ebook reader for people of any age. The $twenty premium over the standard version gets you a encompass, a two-year warranty, and no ads, any of which would exist worth at to the lowest degree $20 on their own.
The ideal ebook reader provides a window for reading without assuasive too many hardware distractions to get in the mode, and that'south just what the Kindle Paperwhite Kids does. It's a thin rectangle of soft-bear on plastic measuring vi.ix inches tall, 5.ane inches wide, and 0.5 inch deep. The dimensions are a fiddling larger than the previous edition, simply that added size gets you a new 6.8-inch-diagonal, 300 ppi touchscreen (up from 6 inches). The Kindle weighs 11.32 ounces—slightly heavier than the average e-reader model we tested, but all the same comfortable to hold for extended periods. It has no headphone port, speakers, or navigation buttons. The screen is flush with the bezel, whereas well-nigh comparable models take recessed screens. Information technology too has no physical inputs or controls, other than the USB-C (finally!) charging port and a power button along the lesser border.
Amazon's e-reader software is piece of cake to use. The homepage presents books you're currently reading, reading lists based off of Amazon and Goodreads, and recommendations from Amazon. Controls for features such every bit screen brightness and airplane way are now easily attainable by borer the superlative of the screen, then selecting the Settings menu.
When you're reading, you can hands plow a page with a tap or swipe. The screen is evenly lit across its entire surface, and the text is incredibly crisp. Amazon also got the pocket-sized details correct: Borer to call back a footnote, for case, opens information technology on the current page instead of taking you to a carve up folio, and you can dismiss the footnote with a elementary tap. And really hitting the footnote is easier than on other readers, thanks to a much larger touch target.
Adjustable screen color temperature isn't new to ebook readers, only 2021 is the first year that information technology'due south come to the Kindle Paperwhite line. You can change how much bluish lite the screen emits, going from a typical white glow to a darker yellow in 24 increments, either manually or on an automatic schedule tied to sunset and sunrise. Wirecutter has written extensively about whether blocking blue lite makes it easier to fall comatose (maybe) or help you lot avoid eyestrain and headaches (probably not). Even if there'due south no demonstrable do good, though, color-temperature adjustment isn't a bad characteristic to have.
The huge collection of services that Amazon and its partners offering is a major reason why we dearest the Kindle Paperwhite Kids. Just a few examples include the adequacy to share purchased books with people on your Amazon Prime account; X-Ray, which helps identify notable people and terms in your books; the optional Kindle Unlimited service, which gives you on-need access to a huge catalog of books for a flat rate every month; and Amazon Kids+, which provides admission to kid's books, movies, Television receiver shows, and more (a free, one-year subscription is included with the Kindle Paperwhite Kids). All of the ebook readers we tested allow you to use OverDrive to infringe free ebooks from your local library. With the Kindle Paperwhite Kids (and all other Kindles), OverDrive uses Amazon'south storefront, also as the same wireless commitment you lot'd expect from a purchase. (The Kobo Clara HD, equally with other modern Kobos, likewise has seamless OverDrive integration; some other readers crave a 3rd-party software client running on a computer to transfer the files to the ebook reader.)
We tested the Kindle Paperwhite Kids's IPX8 waterproofing by submerging it in a pitcher of water for an hour; Amazon says it can survive for that long in water up to 2 meters deep. The reader worked just fine afterward, although we were surprised how much water came out of the USB-C port when we shook information technology. We could fifty-fifty hear h2o sloshing effectually inside, simply afterward a few minutes of keeping information technology upright, the moisture was gone.
Amazon has finally added the power to play audiobooks from Aural, the audiobook company it owns, to the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Paperwhite Kids. You tin pay for an Audible subscription or purchase audiobooks à la carte. You'll have to use Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, however, because the Paperwhite doesn't accept a headphone jack. But the characteristic works well, and if you lot have both the ebook and audiobook version of a title, you tin can switch between reading and listening wherever you left off. You can also utilise the Bluetooth streaming for VoiceView, Amazon's accessibility program that helps the visually impaired navigate the screen.
The Kindle Paperwhite Kids doesn't accept any ads on the lock screen or homepage, unlike the regular Kindle. The cost to buy a version of the non-Kids reader without those is the same as that of our recommended model with its extras. You may exist asked to gear up up a parental control Pivot and add an business relationship for a child, but you don't have to ready any sort of limits that would foreclose you from using your Kindle as if information technology weren't the Kids model, and you can turn off kids fashion altogether past going to the settings, choosing parental controls, entering the PIN you created during setup, tapping the edit push, and and so tapping delete profile.
You lot have your choice of three different cases with the Paperwhite Kids: plain black, or colorful "robot dreams" and "emerald woods" designs.
Amazon promises wide protection with its two-year warranty: "If it breaks, return it and nosotros'll supersede it for free." That'southward useful for both kids and adults.
Flaws just non dealbreakers
Kindles don't natively support EPUB, an open up-standard format for unprotected ebooks that's common for public-domain and other freely bachelor books, but this is a pretty pocket-size limitation to get around. Calibre is gratuitous software for Windows, macOS, and Linux that allows you to reformat EPUB files into the proprietary format that Kindles can read. PCMag has a great commodity that explains the process.
Previous Kindles have been available in a configuration with 3G, allowing you to download books fifty-fifty if y'all're not on Wi-Fi. The 2021 lineup does not accept a cellular option, and 2G and 3G networks are being phased out, meaning if you have an older Kindle, you'll just exist able to get online using Wi-Fi. Nosotros don't think this is a trouble for most people, though, since it's easy enough to load up on as many books as you might need when you practise take admission to Wi-Fi, and you don't need to be continued to read them.
Afterwards information technology'south been off for a few hours, the Kindle Paperwhite Kids tin can take about 10 seconds to wake from sleep. This is near equally long as some of the other ebook readers you tin can find, and not specially bothersome.
A not-Amazon choice: Kobo Clara Hd
Likewise swell
Kobo Clara HD
A non-Kindle pick
If you don't desire an e-reader from Amazon, this is the next-best pick. Information technology's not waterproof, at that place'southward no Bluetooth, and the device isn't tied into the Amazon ecosystem, but the hardware is otherwise about identical, and the book selection is similar.
If yous insist on something other than a Kindle, the Kobo Clara Hard disk drive is the option we recommend. The Kobo Clara HD'southward specs are comparable to those of the Kindle Paperwhite, except it lacks waterproofing and Bluetooth, and information technology's a flake smaller in every dimension. We nevertheless recollect Amazon has an insurmountable atomic number 82 when it comes to the reading ecosystem, but if you don't like the company or its products, you'll exist well-served by this due east-reader. Information technology works with Kobo's ebook store, which is similar in size and price to Amazon'south (at to the lowest degree for best sellers), and like the Kindle, it has on-device OverDrive integration for borrowing books from public libraries.
You lot could hands confuse the Kobo Clara Hd for a Kindle at first glance. The body is made of a similar black plastic, although we like the unique recessed-dot design on the back that provides some grip. The 6-inch, 300 dpi screen looks every bit skilful as any Kindle's display, and it's just as responsive. Like the Paperwhite, it lacks physical page-turn buttons; unlike the Paperwhite, it isn't waterproof and lacks Bluetooth.
The one thing that sets this ebook reader apart from almost others is its "natural lite" feature. This diminishes the amount of bluish light the screen puts off as the twenty-four hours progresses, which some people advise helps you sleep meliorate at night. There's an option to have the lighting profile change automatically based on your bedtime, but y'all tin modify the brightness of the screen only manually.
An Oasis alternative: Kobo Libra ii
Upgrade selection
Kobo Libra 2
Physical page-plow buttons and a larger screen
The Libra two matches nearly all the features of Amazon's high-end Kindle Oasis for less coin, minus the Amazon ecosystem. It'due south waterproof, includes physical controls and Bluetooth, and has a 7-inch screen, as well as screen light color-temperature adjustment for tardily-night reading.
Buying Options
We've generally constitute more expensive due east-readers to not be worth the toll, especially when the more affordable models work so well. Only if you're assail an ebook device with physical page-turn buttons and a larger screen, nosotros recommend Kobo's Libra 2. It matches the features of Amazon'south Kindle Haven (10th generation), including physical folio-turn buttons, a larger screen, waterproofing, and screen low-cal color-temperature adjustment, notwithstanding costs significantly less. The 2021 edition adds Bluetooth, with support for Kobo'due south audiobook store, and increased storage of 32 GB. If you're locked into the Kindle ecosystem, information technology likely won't be for yous, but if yous're platform agnostic, willing to convert your Kindle ebooks into a different format, or buying your first reader and value these features, it'southward the ane to get.
The Kobo Libra two'southward plastic body, like that of the Kindle Oasis, is asymmetrical, with a narrow bezel forth one border and a wider edge on the other that houses the two page-plough buttons and rises in thickness to create a comfortable angled grip. There's no left side or right side, as the e-reader has an accelerometer that registers which mode is up and automatically adjusts the screen to the proper position. You lot can even turn it so the Kobo is in landscape orientation with the buttons underneath the screen (although the homepage works just in portrait).
We found the buttons to click crisply and a bit loudly. The page turning is as responsive equally on whatever other reader, with no lag. If you adopt, you tin can tap the screen to get back and forth, but the buttons are the main reason to pay the extra money. We were initially thrown off by whether the "upwardly" button was meant to accelerate or flip dorsum, only we appreciated that information technology could be gear up to our preference in the Settings bill of fare.
The 7-inch screen has the same 300 dpi resolution as the Kobo Clara Hard disk drive. And like the Clara HD, the Kindle Paperwhite, and the Kindle Haven, the screen's color temperature tin exist set to filter out blue light as yous approach your bedtime, while the brightness is adaptable simply only manually. (This is one area where the Haven clearly beats the Kobo, equally Amazon's reader does support auto brightness.) The Kobo Libra 2 is likewise waterproof, with an IPX8 rating. This means it'll easily survive splashes and dunks, too every bit submergence for up to an hour in under 2 meters of h2o.
What about colour e-readers?
Every ebook reader nosotros recommend here (and almost every e-reader, period), is monochromatic. Black and white, while perfect for reading novels or nonfiction, leaves a lot to be desired for content with color images, such equally comics and graphic novels. There have been a scattering of color ebook readers over the years, and the early on 2021 introduction of the E Ink Kaleido Plus display with support for iv,096 colors at 100 dpi has led to more new, mainstream models. Both Bag'south InkPad Color and the Onyx Boox Nova 3 Color use the East Ink Kaleido Plus in 7.8-inch configurations.
While these devices are conceptually cool, we don't recollect either is worth their loftier price. Color images on the screens of both the InkPad Color and the Nova three are fine at best. The very nature of an e-ink screen means you lot won't get the bright, vibrant images you may exist expecting (of the two, we plant the PocketBook InkPad Color'southward images to be a bit more done out). Compounding that, page-turn artificating that's annoying on monochrome readers is fifty-fifty more distracting on these colour readers. The effect is a bit like reading a poorly produced comic on cheap, thin newsprint—yous can literally see the ghost of the previous page underneath what you're currently reading. Yous tin can increase how oftentimes the page fully refreshes, but that'll diminish the reader'southward battery life.
Then at that place's the content itself. Y'all tin load your own content in various formats over web-based services, or, in the case of the PocketBook, a microSD card. Only neither has straight access to the book stores offered by Amazon, Google, Apple, or any other major seller. The Linux-based InkPad Color lacks any sort of US-based store, period (there's a limited selection of books for sale in euros, but a spot-check pulled up very few all-time sellers). It's a slightly unlike story with the Nova 3, which runs Android. From its built-in app store, y'all tin download apps including Kindle and Libby. You can also, through a somewhat convoluted procedure hard to observe if you're not specifically looking for it, install the Google Play shop and accept admission to any Android apps. But the default bookstore on the device includes simply public domain works.
We'd recommend staying abroad from these color e-readers for at present. The technology is still young and expensive: The PocketBook InkPad Color costs $330, and the Onyx Volume Nova iii Colour is $420. The tech will improve over fourth dimension, and in that location will likely be a point when it's gear up for wide consumption.
The contest
The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (11th generation) is identical to the 2021 Paperwhite and Paperwhite Kids reader, save for 3 small differences: Information technology has 32 GB of storage infinite (four times that of the other models,) it supports Qi wireless charging, and the backlight automatically adjusts thanks to a sensor to a higher place the screen. These are all nice-to-have features, just not worth the premium toll for nearly people.
The Kobo Sage has an even larger 8-inch screen than the Libra 2 and offers a slew of custom accessories, including a charging cover and a stylus for note-taking. But those benefits come with a hefty $260 cost tag, so unless yous know you want to be able to write on your reader's screen or will definitely benefit from a larger display, information technology's not worth the higher cost.
Amazon'south 10th-generation Kindle (the 2019 version, not to exist confused with the 10th-generation Kindle Paperwhite) is the first entry-level Kindle to characteristic an illuminated display. The biggest downside to this model is its 167 ppi resolution, which means text is fuzzier and images are blurrier than on the 300 ppi Paperwhite. Smaller flaws—the lack of waterproofing, the recessed screen, and dimmer lighting, for example—might be adequate at the lower toll, but the display just isn't adept enough to justify a recommendation, specially when the Paperwhite often falls to a similar price during Amazon'due south semiregular sales.
The Kobo Nia is the company'southward newest entry-level reader. Compared to the entry-level Kindle with a 167 ppi screen, it has a sharper 212 ppi screen. Just information technology has similar flaws, including a recessed screen and no waterproofing.
Amazon'south Kindle Oasis (10th generation) is the most avant-garde, and the most expensive, due east-reader Amazon sells. Its design is unique compared with that of other Kindles, equally it features an asymmetrical body (0.13 inch on the thinner edge, 0.33 inch on the thicker border) with physical page-turn buttons forth i edge. The Oasis is a little wider than the Paperwhite, though it weighs well-nigh the same, and it also has a larger 7-inch screen. Overall, the Oasis'south larger size makes information technology less practical to carry and concord than the Paperwhite. The Haven is no longer the only waterproof Kindle, but it does have an automobile-brightness feature that automatically adjusts the screen's brightness level based on ambient light. Amazon has besides added a nighttime-mode feature that shifts the display's color temperature; you can set it to change automatically on a custom schedule or at sunrise and dusk, only it doesn't automatically adjust based on ambient lighting atmospheric condition. At that place'south a lot to similar about the Kindle Oasis. Just its $250 starting cost is significantly higher than that of even our top pick, withal it isn't clearly better for even frequent readers.
The Kobo Forma was Kobo's outset take on the Kindle Oasis, with a similar asymmetrical torso, larger screen, water resistance, and premium cost. Nosotros think you're better off with the Kobo Clara HD, which has a smaller screen (past 2 inches) and a far lower price tag.
The Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight 3 is less polished than any Kindle or Kobo and hints at B&N's lack of enthusiasm for the category. Like about due east-readers, the Nook GlowLight 3 has a plastic body, but it'due south wider and taller than any 6-inch-screen competitor and feels hollow. The 300 dpi screen is set back quite a flake from the thick bezel, something you'd likely find while typing on the on-screen keyboard. And although the previous GlowLight was waterproof (with an IP67 rating), this version is non. A seven.8-inch version, dubbed the GlowLight Plus, is waterproof but based on the same full general design. We appreciate both models' page-plow buttons and automated low-cal-temperature aligning, simply not plenty to recommend a Nook over other e-readers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an east-reader and a tablet?
Different tablets, which can exercise as much as a laptop, ebook readers are (mostly) defended to i task: reading. Both the hardware and software are designed to make the reading feel cracking. The monochromatic, e-ink screens on our picks render text sharply while using very little battery, but they're not great for about other tasks. Eastward-readers counterbalance less than tablets, with the Kindle Paperwhite coming in at about two-thirds the weight of the iPad mini. Since they can do less, ebook readers are besides generally cheaper.
Do due east-readers reduce eyestrain?
Most people discover that e-readers are much easier to read for long stretches than tablets. At least one study backs up the idea that e-reader displays don't fatigue the optics whatever more than newspaper. In some cases, e-readers tin can actually exist a little easier to read than paper: You tin can increase the font size any time if information technology makes yous more comfortable, and the border lighting means you'll never be stuck reading in low calorie-free.
Which e-reader is best for library books?
Both summit e-reader brands—Amazon and Kobo—support checking out books from your local public library through OverDrive, but Kobo allows y'all to do so direct on your reader. Once you lot've signed in, you tin browse and infringe titles correct from the device. If y'all have a Kindle, you have to use a divide computer or your phone, and and then your rented books will exist sent over the air to your ebook reader.
What east-reader is all-time for college textbooks?
In nigh cases, if you desire to put your textbooks on an e-reader, y'all should go a Kindle. Though the Kobo e-readers tin can store and display any book in the EPUB format, the choice of textbooks is more limited. Amazon has an entire textbook storefront that includes the option to rent books. Not all books are well suited for e-readers, though; if your form or content requires a lot of flipping dorsum and forth, or needs color images, you may desire to stick with a print edition.
Sources
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Sascha Segan, How to Put Free Ebooks on Your Amazon Kindle, PCMag , Dec 15, 2015
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Brad Rock, Amazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle, The New York Times , July 17, 2009
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Nate Hoffelder, The Showtime of the Terminate: B&N Shutters the International Nook Store, The Digital Reader , July eight, 2015
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/amazon-kindle-is-the-best-ebook-reader/
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