With an e-reader, you carry several thousand books in your pocket to read them everywhere, day or night, by adapting the size of the characters to your sight. Here is our selection of the best current models.
Who has never had a digital e-reader in their hands, does not know the pleasure of reading really serenely. No more eyes squinting to decipher tiny characters! The battle with the bedside lamp in the middle of the night is also over so as not to wake up your other half and continue reading peacefully. Because these electronic devices which have known since last spring a real success (according to the magazine Livres Hebdo, the online sales platforms of digital books recorded an increase of 75 to 200% in April) do not lack assets to seduce.
Starting with their appearance. As compact as a pocket book, an e-reader can accommodate thousands of works in digital format (the famous ebooks or e-books, for electronic books). No need to carry around several kilos of novels to satisfy your reading desires during the holidays. In addition, all models adopt a screen using electronic ink (e-ink) which offers real reading comfort, close to the traditional paper book. Unlike tablets such as iPads or Android models which rely on a backlit or OLED LCD type screen, the e-reader panel uses this reflective display technology, which uses ambient light in the same way as conventional paper. Covered with an anti-reflective film, it allows you to read in full sun without the slightest discomfort. And when darkness arrives, LEDs nestled under the edges of the screen gently illuminate the surface.
From these technologies results a major advantage: autonomy. E-readers consume very little energy (the fixed display only in ambient light does not consume any energy), so they can stay away from an electrical outlet for weeks. Convenient when you go on a mop. Finally, for even more comfort, recent models are equipped with an anti-blue light system. The color of the displayed page may take on an amber tint at nightfall so as not to disturb the reader's sleep rhythm by dazzling his retinas. And to add comfort, all e-readers offer several different fonts whose size is adjustable. No need to use a magnifying glass when your eyesight is weak or you feel tired. This is one of the many advantages of e-readers over the classic book.
You still have to define the model that suits you best by observing a few criteria:
- Screen size: most e-readers adopt a 6-inch diagonal (15,2 cm) screen. It turns out to be a little smaller than a paperback book but in no way interferes with reading. There are also 7 and 8 inch models that allow you to display more text, but they are also more expensive.
- Display quality: while all e-reader screens use electronic ink technology (e-ink), they do not all offer the same display quality. In addition to the definition, which corresponds to the total number of elementary points displayed (the famous pixels) and which is presented in the form of a product, as on any screen, it is also necessary to take into account the resolution, i.e. the density of points displayed per unit length. The minimum is 150 dots per inch (dpi), but it is better to aim for a resolution of 300 dpi to approach the rendering of books printed on paper.
- The weight of the device: as with a paper book, you will have to hold your e-reader in your hand to read. A model that is too heavy may, after a while, tire your wrist.
- Storage capacity: no need to worry about this! Since ebooks take up very little space (from 500 KB to 1 MB on average), you can actually keep thousands of books in an e-reader with "only" 4 GB of storage space. Enough to last a few years, in principle ...
- Buttons: They may seem archaic and a bit dated and yet they are very useful. The "clickable" physical buttons present on some models allow you to move from one page to another without having to pass your finger on the screen. Useful in winter if you don't want to take off your gloves while reading outside on a station platform.
- The library catalog: electronic books are files sold directly by platforms such as Fnac, Amazon, Decitre, Cultura, Vivlio, etc. There are also many free e-books on the web. These may contain works that have fallen into the public domain or offered free of charge by the platforms themselves. Thus, during the first confinement of 2021, Fnac had made available 500 titles to download without paying a cent. Amazon for its part, offers its Prime subscribers one free book per month and a loan formula, like in a library.
- File formats: e-readers can read many types of files. EPub and Mobi (the most popular electronic book formats), Txt, PDF, Doc files, etc. However, one of the major players in the industry, Amazon, is doing nothing like the others. To favor its own catalog, its e-readers are abandoning ePub files in favor of the in-house AZW format. Fortunately, free software like Caliber (available on both PCs and Macs) offers to convert files to read them on the e-reader of your choice. As for comics, even if many e-readers accept the file formats specific to this art (CBR and CBZ), they hardly comply with the exercise. Their narrow screen and grayscale display does not pay homage to the designs. It is better for this use to entrust the task to a tablet.
- Audiobooks: these are standard works read aloud by professional actors or enthusiasts. They allow you to "listen" to a book rather than reading it. With this format (like that of Audible offered on Amazon) you can therefore attend to other occupations while listening to your book. Your e-reader must also accept it and offer a Bluetooth connection or a mini-jack to connect a headset.
- Interfaces: all e-readers are equipped with a USB socket used both to recharge their battery and to import ebooks from a computer. All have a Wi-Fi interface for connecting to the Internet to buy and collect eBooks from online stores. Some also have a Bluetooth interface allowing them to communicate wirelessly with various devices. A nice addition, but not essential.
Our selection Best value e-reader Cheap e-reader Best screen e-reader Waterproof e-reader Light e-reader Audio e-reader Solid e-reader Large-format e-reader PDF-compatible e-reader Who has never had a ...
