Bookworms, are you thinking about buying Kindle paperwhite? Are you sure about that? Thought about its alternatives? No? You may want to take a look…
An eBook reader is a digital device whose primary use is reading digital books or periodicals. These days, people can also choose to read the newspaper on an eBook reader. The size of an eBook reader is like that of a tablet computer. The trend of eBook readers was started by Amazon when they came up with the first eBook reader called Kindle. Since the time it was introduced, it has undergone a lot of change. The first competitor came in the form of Nook from Barnes & Noble. This was followed by a procession of alternatives. There are a number of Kindle substitutes which are vying for the attention of the customers.
E-book Readers
NOOK Glowlight 3 (E Ink)
E-book + water = Chaos for readers! But no more! Barnes & Nobel came to rescue with Nook Glowlight 3, which is water and dustproof. Nook added a new feature, Night Mode reading, which gives you strain-free bedtime reading. What more we want, right?
It has a huge collection of books, newspapers, and magazines. It has anti-glare, scratch and fingerprint resistant screen, which gives paper-like reading experience. It has 6-inch display screen, built-in WiFi, backlit, and up to six weeks of battery.
Kobo Aura H2O (2017)
This year Kobo launched its new e-reader and we are grateful for it. It is waterproof, extremely lightweight, has clear bright light, access to over 5 million titles, weeks of battery life, and did we tell you that it’s waterproof?
It comes with 6.8-inch screen, weighing around 0.45 lbs (207 g), and 8 GB of on-board memory which can embrace over 6000 ebooks. It supports 14 different file formats in 10 languages, so you and your e-reader won’t have a language barrier to deal with.
Tablets
Tablet or e-reader?
If Shakespeare was concerned with to be or not to be, we bookworms are concerned with to buy or not to buy a Tab! Before making any decisions, we ask you a few questions and then you’ll be able to answer on your own.
1. Do you read more than two hours frequently?
2. Are you highly concerned about eye strain due to the LCD display?
3. Is it okay to be away from social media and web while reading?
4. Is it okay not to have any background music while reading?
If your answers are Yes throughout, then you should go for a good e-reader rather than a tablet. But if you want an access to social media, music, Internet along with a good e-reader, then a good tablet is what you need. Keeping that in mind, have a look at the best tablets for e-book reading…
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
Samsung never ceases to amaze us! In March 2017, Samsung unveiled its new Tablet, S3, which is perfect for e-reading. It has Android Nougat OS, 9.7-inch display, and it comes with Samsung’s most responsive S Pen yet. It weighs around 0.95 lbs and has Li-ion long lasting battery (6000mAh) which can last up to 102 hours.
Apple iPad (2017)
Apple launched its new iPad this year which, tuned out to be the best Kindle alternate so far. It has a huge Retina display of 9.7-inch, 1080p resolution, storage up to 128 GB, and weight around 1.03 lbs, which made every reader around the globe delighted.
Along with a good reading experience, iPad works flawless for watching media and gaming. It has 8 MP camera, 1080p HD video recording with feature of slo-mo, and battery life which can last up to 10 hours with Internet surfing.
Lenovo Yoga Book 10.1” (2017)
This is another tablet with Windows 10 Pro OS. If you have to buy this tablet, you will not have to worry about storage ever again. It has 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, which is expandable to 128 GB with microSD. It is WiFi enabled, battery of 8500 mAh, and has both front as well as rear cameras.
Apps
Bookari
This app can be a good alternative to the Kindle. For one, it’s free of cost and second, it gives the simplest UI with a vast library. It provides synchronized book shelves, enables to take notes, if you want. With its advance PDF support, you can enjoy reading immensely.
Google Play Books
It is compatible with phones as well as tablets. There are millions of books which one can rent or buy, and can read even when you’re offline. Supports different features which one can use, like adjusting the text size and line spacing.
Scribd
Now, wait till you hear their offers and then decide what would you prefer, Kindle or Scribd! It gives access to ebooks, audiobooks, news, documents, personalized recommendations, memberships which gives three book credits and one audiobook credit every month, and unlimited access to magazines and much more! And each and everything is just one install away. Happy reading!
These are some of the alternatives that you can consider buying this year instead of a Kindle. When you decide to buy an eBook reader, make sure you opt for one which is the latest offering of a brand/manufacturer. This will ensure that you have all the latest features in your eBook reader. If you are a voracious reader, then you will also want to consider the number of books, periodicals, newspapers, etc., that are available with the said eBook reader.