eReader guide: How to find the reader for your e-books
Several thousand books fit on an e-book reader. For bookworms, they are the perfect companion for the daily commute, on the sofa and on holiday. Find out what you need to consider when choosing your eReader here.
The most important question when choosing an eReader is: Where do the books come from? The answer ranges from one source of supply to an almost completely free selection from booksellers and libraries. Only in the second step would I look at technical features and make a decision based on this.
Ecosystem: Where do the books come from?
Amazon started out as a bookseller and offers a very well-known, if not the most well-known, eReader in the form of the Kindle. However, with a Kindle you are tied to Amazon's e-book range. Books from other sources must first be converted into the correct file format - for example with Calibre - so that the Kindle can display them. Kindle Unlimited offers a flat rate with one million books and 2000 audiobooks.
The eReaders from Kobo (part of the online retailer Rakuten), Pocketbook and Tolino (a network of bookstore chains from Germany, Austria and Switzerland), on the other hand, support several e-book file types out of the box. You can therefore copy them directly to the devices without conversion. Nevertheless, each supplier has its own online shop from which you can download the e-books directly. With the Tolino models, however, you can choose from the shops of the participating bookstore chains. Due to fixed book prices, which also apply to e-books, freedom of choice is not as relevant in Germany as it is in Switzerland, where fixed book prices no longer exist.
Another source for e-books can be public libraries. However, you need to check with your local library to find out which file format they lend e-books in or whether they have a list of supported e-book readers.
Once you have decided on an e-book system, you should be able to find what you are looking for. Almost all manufacturers have several models on sale, ranging from inexpensive entry-level devices to premium e-readers with special functions. If you look closely, you will notice that some models from Tolino and Kobo are identical - if you ignore the brand image and the installed software.
Technical differences
E-Ink displays may only show greyscale and are much slower than you are used to from your smartphone. But texts can be read much better on them and are easier on the eyes. Most eReaders have a six-inch display. This is more than enough and ensures that the e-book readers fit in jacket pockets.
The resolution is usually 300 dpi. A higher resolution offers no added value to the human eye. And even models with a lower resolution, such as the Tolino Page 2, display texts clearly and distinctly. The only difference: with the same font size, slightly less text fits on a page.
More important than the resolution is the illumination of the display. For me, it's not about the display lighting up in general - they can all do that - but that the colour temperature can be changed. Ideally automatically, so that a light colour shines in the evening that is easy on the eyes.
The storage space of the eReader is only decisive for the purchase in exceptional cases. Even with models with a capacity of just four gigabytes, you can easily store more than 1000 e-books after deducting the space occupied by the operating system. That should be enough for many hours of reading. The exception is models that can play audio books and music. More storage space is worthwhile here, but there are currently no models with more than 64 gigabytes and even 32 or 16 gigabytes are the exception. The most common is 8 gigabytes - and even that can hold a good 60 hours of music in CD quality. More tends to fit audiobooks.
Beginner models
Reading without all the bells and whistles. You don't have to spend a lot of money on an eReader.
Models with scroll buttons
The vast majority of e-ink displays on eReaders have touchscreens. You turn pages by pressing on the right or left of the display. However, there are also some models that have extra buttons for turning pages.
Large eReaders
You should consider the eight-inch e-ink displays of the Kobo Forma and Tolino Epos 2 if you want as much text as possible on a page. Onyx and Pocketbook have even larger models on sale, which are too big as a paperback replacement, but are useful for comics, reference books or sheet music. You can mirror your computer screen on the Onyx Boox Max 3 as an additional benefit.
Waterproof eReader
Since hardly anyone reads books in the rain, waterproof eReaders are most likely to be used in the bathtub. However, just like paper books, you should not wilfully submerge them, despite their compliance with protection classes. Manufacturers do specify periods of 30 or 60 minutes that the devices can withstand submersion in water up to one or two metres. However, this refers to clear water. In other words: bath additives do not have a positive effect on the eReaders.
eReaders that read aloud
If you don't just want to read yourself, but also have a book read to you, there are also suitable eReaders for this. You can download and listen to audio books and music files on the corresponding models. The connection to headphones is wireless via Bluetooth.
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When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.
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