I have decided I am going to buy myself the best ebook reader available this year for Christmas. Contrary to what you may think many of the ebook readers available on the market do not quite fit into the perception of what an ebook reader is all about.
Before you can fit an ebook reader into a niche you will have to set some rules. These would have to center on the display and the size. For example the Kindle DX is a little too big to be an ebook reader,ve more suited for newspaper and comics really. Despite anything Steve Jobs might say, the iPad is a multimedia device and would be totally wasted if it was just used for reading ebooks.
Other factors involved in the buying decision are the formats that the ebook reader can handle, what type of connection is available to download ebooks and what extras are there over other ebook readers. Also there is the matter of cost, the cheapest isn't always the best but then neither is the most expensive.
The displa y has got to be the e-ink technology, preferably the latest incarnation. An ebook reader with a color screen has got to be backlit, which takes away the whole point of an ebook reader in the first place. It has to be easy on the eye like a normal hard copy book.
It can't be too heavy, preferably around eight ounces or less. Any heavier than that and it starts to make my arm ache after an hour or so. I have to think of the extra weight as well when I'm travelling by plane.
I want it to be ablee to read PDF and epub documents. Most of the online bookstores seem to favor these and the public domain is filled with PDF ebooks. Also I would like to be able to read text documents so I can use it to read notes I have made earlier.
Some of the available ebook readers have some interesting extras. The Sony Touch screen has a virtual keyboard for taking notes while the Kindle has built in speakers. The Nook can boast both of these extras and also allows you to change the battery yourself.
While Wi Fi is a good way to download books it isn't really necessary. I'm never very far from my computer and I would only need to hook up once or twice a month to download my books. Being able to manipulate your book collection in bulk has got to be easier than one at a time on the ebook reader.
So finally we come to cost. The average price for an ebook reader seems to be around the $150 to $200 mark. Most ebooks are around 20 - 30% cheaper than real books, and because I read a lot, I would expect my ebook reader to pay for itself within 6 - 8 months.
I'm still looking and checking all the ebook reader reviews and will make my decision very soon. It's a bit frightening to think that once I have an ebook reader I will wonder how I could have lived without it before.
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