Although you can read a book with any phone or tablet if you have an application like Apple Books, Kobo, Kindle or Nook installed, a much more enjoyable and less disturbing reading experience awaits you with a dedicated e-reader. Thanks to coronavirus pandemic, your local bookstore and library are no longer places to linger while reading. But with e-books, any book category can be accessed with a quick download, whether you’re looking for classic literature or the latest guilty pleasure thriller.
Dedicated e-readers don’t have social media, email, internet or other entertainment options to keep you out of the book, and they have a big battery to boot. Unlike tablets and smartphones, which can be faded by direct sunlight, many e-book readers use E Ink technology and are water resistant, so they are great for reading in the pool or on the beach without eye strain. Your the local library can offer free e-book downloads for its members and free ebooks abound online.
Are you looking for the best way to read all those digital books in your electronic library? It’s time to update your e-reader. While many people are still attached to their dead tree books, e-readers offer a wide variety of advantages. You can change the font size, you can search and highlight passages with a touch screen, and you’re never out of luck if you don’t have a reading light, because all the best e-readers on the market have self-illuminated screens.
This list, which we update periodically, is dominated by Amazon Kindle models, including the Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Oasis and the classic Amazon Kindle, because we think it is still the best digital “ecosystem” for reading. It offers many budget and subscription options as well. And while Barnes & Noble still makes its Nook reader, we suggest that anyone who wants to stay away from Amazon opt for a Kobo model.
So, ready to start reading? Whether you like biographies or comic books, you’ll find this list the perfect e-reader for your digital book needs.
Sarah Tew / CNET
If you are looking for someone who is looking for the latest Kindle e-reader, this is the Goldilocks line on Amazon and our current CNET Editors’ Choice Award winner in the category. Here are some things we love about Kindle Paperwhite:
- It is 10% thinner and lighter than the previous version.
- It has a “flush front” design with a back made of a softer and more sticky material instead of rigid plastic.
- It is a totally waterproof Kindle, like the latest generation Kindle Oasis, and has a plastic screen that, according to Amazon, is resistant to scratches and breakage.
- It has built-in Bluetooth, so you can download Amazon Audible audiobooks and listen to them with wireless headphones.
Although the waterproof Kindle Paperwhite is listed for $ 130, it usually receives discounts for $ 90 (and sometimes even $ 85), which is when you should buy it. It is likely that Amazon will update the Kindle Paperwhite in 2020, but it is unclear when or how much of the update will be. For example, USB-C charging can be added and perhaps the lighting scheme can be updated, but we would not expect dramatic updates. Read our review Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2018).
Sarah Tew / CNET
The top-of-the-line e-reader from Amazon E Ink was slightly updated in 2019 – but this Kindle e-reader device is basically identical to the previous Kindle Oasis, except for one fundamental difference: it has a new integrated color-adjustable light that lets you personalize the color tone from cold to hot, depending on whether you are reading during the day or at night. You can also schedule the screen to warm up automatically with sunrise and sunset – not unlike Night Shift mode on Apple devices.
At $ 250, Oasis is expensive for an e-reader. Most people will be happy with the more affordable Paperwhite for their reading of Kindle e-books and basic Kindle needs, but if you want the best of the best with an anti-glare screen for your reading experience – and don’t mind. pay a premium for it – Oasis is arguably the only one. The Kobo Forma, which also sells for $ 250, has an 8-inch screen, larger than the 7-inch Oasis. Read our review of Amazon Kindle Oasis (2019).
Sarah Tew / CNET
The latest iteration of Amazon’s basic e-book reader, which Amazon simply calls the Kindle, now has a self-lit screen and an updated design. For $ 90, this e-book reader costs $ 10 more than the previous model, the Kindle 2016, but this Kindle device usually sells for just $ 60. We prefer the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, which has a high resolution (text and images appear a little sharper), it is waterproof and has a slightly better lighting scheme. But if you don’t want to spend a lot on an e-reader, the standard Kindle is a good option, especially when you have a discount. Read our review of Amazon Kindle (2019).
Kobo
Rakuten manufactures a line of Kobo e-readers that are not only powered by the Kobo store, but also support 14 file formats and e-books natively (EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ and CBR). In other words, if you get your e-books – or any other digital documents – from anywhere Besides Amazon, this device will most likely read them. Kobo has its own e-book store with thousands of books and has integrated support for checking out e-books from local libraries through the OverDrive service. (You can get books from the library on Kindles through the Libby app from OverDrive, but it’s not that easy.)
The Kobo Libra H20, which sells for $ 170, is in the middle of the line and, as the name implies, is completely waterproof. It has a 7-inch E Ink HD screen (1,680×1,264 pixels resolution), a built-in light and no ads (you have to pay $ 20 to remove them from Kindle devices).
Available in black or white, you can use Kobo Libra in portrait or landscape mode. Other Kobo devices include the Kobo Clara HD ($ 120) and the flagship Kobo e-reader, the Kobo Forma ($ 250), which has a larger 8-inch high-resolution screen.
More e-reader and tablet recommendations
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Kindle Paperwhite gets waterproof redesign, adds Bluetooth …
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