What is the difference between ereaders?

2011-01-14T09:23:00.001-08:00

Hello! So you ask, "What is the difference between ereaders" but don't want to read spec sheets and tech jargon, eh? Wish someone else would compare ereaders and then explain ereaders in non-tech terms? Looking for info on KINDLE vs NOOK? Maybe you're curious about Sony PRS 650 vs KINDLE. Or NOOK COLOR vs NOOK e-ink. Or maybe KINDLE vs KOBO. Or iRiver STORY vs KINDLE. You want to compare ereaders but technical stuff makes your head spin. Read on!

We at Best E-readers 2011 are Geek-speak interpreters, here to interpret all the geeky tech stuff for you non-geeks. If the tech descriptions of electronic reading devices confuse you more than they help you, give us a read; we make choosing an ereader easy. We've done the research and give you current ereader reviews in easy layman's terms so that you can choose the ereader that is best for you. [Warning: Geek-speak may be found at the bottom of some pages.] If you prefer to read in Swedish, please click on over to bästa läsplattorna. If you're not Swedish, "bästa läsplattorna" means "the best ereaders"...but you kinda figured that out by the context. :) ]

We'll have a look at a few of the most popular ebook readers of 2011, including Amazon's KINDLE, Barnes & Noble's NOOK, Sony's PRS series, iRiver's STORY and Borders's KOBO. We'll even discuss a little bit on KINDLE vs NOOK, on KINDLE vs Sony PRS, and PRS vs NOOK, etc. Keep your eyes peeled for more great ereader reviews as they catch our fancy. As we're in Sweden, we'll note anything that might influence the Swedish e-book enthusiast's (svenska eboks entusiasters) choice of e-reader.

Why buy an e-reader?
Ebooks (or e-books) are electronic books; books put online allowing you to read them on your computer, just as you're reading this article now. That's great for folks who like to sit at a desk and read, but for those of us who like to curl up with a good book, a 22"-screen and a computer fan wheezing nearby just won't do.

Most of us book readers want to hold a book in one hand, lie on our side and read, flip over on our stomach and continue to read, or get comfy under a warm blanket on a soft couch and get lost in our favorite books. And that's where a good ereader comes in.

To read an electronic book while sitting in bed, you need an electronic reader. These gadgets are hand-held devices about the size of a book, though considerably thinner and lighter in weight. They come in different sizes and weights, and we'll fill you in so you can compare NOOK vs KINDLE or Sony's PRS vs NOOK and so on. For those who read a lot, a couple of ounces in weight can make a difference between ereaders and comparing ereader weights and sizes can help you choose the best ereader for you.

Where to find the latest ebooks—and even where to find classic books in ebook format
You buy your favorite ebook online or loan it from your public library or find it at one of the free-ebook sites we've listed and then load your new ebook onto your carefully chosen ebook reader. Once you choose an ereader, there are three ways to load an ebook onto it and we'll cover these in a moment. Keep in mind when choosing an ereader that not all ereaders read all ebooks. We'll explain ereaders and what ebook formats they read later.

Besides giving you the ability to get cozy while reading good ebooks, there are other reasons to invest in an electronic reader. When you buy a paper book online, you'll have it within days or perhaps weeks. When you buy ebooks online, you'll be reading within a minute. Most good e-readers hold a several thousand ebooks—purchased or free ebooks—so you can carry your entire library in one hand. Not only that, many of your favorite ebooks are cheaper than paper books and there's no shipping cost. In time, your ereader will pay for itself, especially if you are a Swedish ebook reader! It's no wonder they are fast replacing paper books, magazines, comic books, and paper documents because they're so very convenient.

How to choose a good e-reader
When choosing an e-reader there are a few things you need to know, no matter how so not geeky you are and no matter how allergic to the technology behind your beloved technology you might be. Even cheap ereader devices like the KINDLE and NOOK non-color cost a considerable chunk of money and buying one because it's the cheapest ereader you know about or it's the most popular ereader today or it's the one your friend has could lead to a poor reading experience and a hole in your pocket where your wallet used to be. Avoid disappointment: Come along as we take a quick and painless look at a few essentials to help you buy the best e-book reading device for you:

Types of ereader screens
How to load an ereader
Where to buy e-books
Where to find FREE e-books online

And now for the low-down on the types of e-reader screens.

Types of e-reader displays

E-ink
Backlit LCD

What is e-ink? Is e-ink better than a backlit LCD display?

The KINDLE e-reader from Amazon is the best-known e-reader with e-ink. (It's also one cheap ereader!) Electronic ink, or e-ink, is pretty amazing stuff. We've listed it first because e-ink IS first. The first time you look at an e-reader with an e-ink screen, you'll do a double-take; an e-ink page looks remarkably like an ink-on-paper page. The e-ink page also reflects light like a paper page does, so the screen is pretty close to glare free. You can move an e-ink display like the KINDLE to any angle you would move a book and still read it without straining your eyes. The e-ink page is static—no flickering—and e-ink features an eye-friendly gray-scale type in up to 16 shades; depending on the ereader you purchase, you can adjust the size and shade of the print and some ereaders offer a variety of fonts, too. With e-ink, there's no headache or squinting like you get from LCD (computer-like) screens. E-ink is cheaper than color LCD screens but if you're a big reader, forget the color and choose a cheap ereader with eink!

KINDLE—easy on the eyes

It seems e-ink readers won't cause insomnia, though LCD screens seem to. If you read in bed at night, this is something to keep in mind when choosing your ereader.

If you're a bedtime reader, you'll need to have a light on to see your e-ink reader, just as you do with paper books. Some ebook-reader covers come with handy built-in lamps. Some KINDLE leather covers come with built-in lights. They cost about $60, but the KINDLE is among the cheapest ereaders, so you can splurge a little for the cover. Another alternative is to purchase a small clip-on lamp made especially for your ebook ereader.

For the voracious reader, choosing an ereader without e-ink, you'll soon get one big headache—literally! But some of you aren't big readers; maybe you only read on your commute or a little while on vacation or just a little now and then. Or maybe you read mostly blogs and online magazines. For you, the backlit LCD color display, discussed below, might be the best bet.

What's a backlit LCD screen and when is LCD better than an e-ink screen?

Backlit LCD screens are like the ones you see on newer model laptops. They make you say, “OoOoO! Shiny!” and dazzle your eyes with brilliant colors. Boarders's NOOK COLOR is probably the most popular ereader with an LCD screen. Devices with LCD screens often offer loads of functions. One of the most popular devices that reads e-books and features an LCD display is Apple's iPad, but it's not the LCD screen that makes the iPad popular; it's the fact that it's not really an e-reader, but a small computer that also allows you to read ebooks. Because the iPad is not an ereader per se, we won't review it.

The LCD screen is great for short spans of indoor reading, especially for those of you who read magazines and blogs, as the LCD screen shows off all the glorious color. For that same reason, choosing an ereader with an LCD display can be good for children who read picture books.

But—and this is a big ol' but—if you're a beach baby who reads while working on your summer tan or if you're a nature child who enjoys a good read in the great outdoors, beware the e-reader with an LCD screen: they fade out to nothing in bright light, just like so many mobile phone displays do. Even in proper lighting, glare and a flickering screen can cause eyestrain and, if you're an avid reader, you just might end up with deep squint-furrows between your brows. Choose an ereader with an LCD screen if you are a light reader who reads indoors for short spans of time or if your reading will be enhanced by a color display.

Where to buy e-books

Another thing to keep in mind when you compare ereaders are the ebooks they read; not all ebook readers read the same e-book formats. We'll cover this under the individual e-reader reviews, so for now we'll just say that most ereaders read the most widely used ebook formats, but not all do. When you choose an ereader, you'll see on our ereader reviews where to buy ebooks for KINDLE, where to buy ebooks for NOOK, where to buy ebooks for Sony PRS, etc. For now, hang in there. For where to buy ebooks for the ereader of your choice, check under that ereader's review.

For geeks: software to convert ePub to KINDLE's format and vice versa
There is software—a free downloadable program—that converts formats for free (CALIBRE is bar none the best), so which ebook format your ereader manages is not really a problem. Still, if you're one of the very ungeeky, you'll probably prefer to buy ebooks that your ereader reads without having to convert them and so forgo the fun of converting ebook formats. Again, you can compare ereader ebook formats by reading each review.

Do ereaders read library ebooks?
Most ebook reading devices today read the format that most libraries use for their ebooks. If you detect panic in your librarian's voice when she informs you that their books are DRM-encrypted, don't worry: nearly all library books are. And nearly all ereaders read DRM-encrypted books after you use your library's free conversion software. KINDLE doesn't read library books, but if you read the KINDLE review, you'll find out that there's a bit of free software specially made to enable KINDLE to read library books.

Where to find links to free e-books
We're money-wise mamas and love deals—especially freebies. We've done Internet searches and asked around among our more literate friends and have found a goodly number of links to free e-books. Yes, we said a "goodly" number. Have a look at the column to the left and at our FREE e-books page.

How to load ebooks onto an ereader
Another thing to look for when you compare ereaders is the way they load ebooks. There are three ways to load ebooks onto your favorite ereader:

Plug the ereader into your computer
WiFi
3G

Plugging in your ereader
Many ebook readers come with a handy USB cable. You plug one end of the little cable into your ereader and the other end into your computer. Next, you go to your ereader's bookshop (KINDLE's is amazon.com, NOOK's is bn.com, and so on) or one of the links to free ebooks we've recommended. Next, choose an ebook and follow the instructions given for downloading an ebook via USB. Most of us have computers at home so this is really all we need, but it's not the most convenient way to purchase ebooks.

What is WiFi?
A big difference in ereaders is WiFi. WiFi is what you use when you connect to the Internet wirelessly. To do this, you need a high-speed Internet connection and a wireless router. You're probably wireless when you use your laptop at home or at the local coffee shop or in your backyard. To use WiFi to load an ebook, you need to be near a WiFi signal, be that at home or the coffee shop or at work or anywhere else. Surprisingly, not all ereaders have WiFi. If you like convenience, you'll want an ereader with WiFi!

There are areas where you get free WiFi. These areas, called hotspots, enable you to purchase ebooks on your ereader when you're not at home. If you live, work, or play near hotspots or have a wireless router at home, you'll find using WiFi to be more convenient than hooking up your ereader to your computer and surfing to the ebookstore. Amazon has a handy map of that shows hotspots. Hotspots on the map.

Do I need WiFi?
Anyone who has a computer with Internet at home has no need of WiFi, though the more popular ereaders have WiFi. Once you use WiFi, you'll see how convenient it is.

So what is 3G?
3G is another wireless connection. Instead of working off Internet signals, 3G works off cell phone signals. The beauty of 3G is that you don't need to have a cell phone or even pay for the 3G service on most ereaders. You can be at the beach and, as long as there's a cell phone signal, you can purchase an e-book. This is even more convenient than WiFi and it's becoming more common because of this.

Do I need 3G?

Globetrotters spend a lot of time in hotel rooms, airports, and regions of the world that don't readily offer Internet. An ereader with 3G allows travelers to purchase books pretty much anywhere, any time. 3G is also a great choice for the technically challenged and for people who don't have Internet at home. If Grandma loves to read but still thinks of furry little critters when you say "mouse," get Grandma an ereader with 3G.

Best e-reader reviews
Ready to roll? Now that you know the difference between the two types of e-reader displays and the three ways to connect to your ereader's bookstore, it's time for a jaunt through the best e-book reader reviews to enable you to find the best e-reader for you. Hold onto your hats; here we go!

Best E-readers 2011 starts our e-book reader reviews with Amazon's insanely popular KINDLE.