How to choose an e-book and not be disappointed
Miscellaneous / / May 11, 2022
We have collected the main characteristics that you should pay attention to.
Decide on the type of screen
E-books use black-and-white or color displays based on E-Ink electronic paper. The contrast of the picture in them is formed by reflected light. Readers are able to work for weeks without recharging, the readability of the text can be quite good even under the bright sun. But the refresh rate of the e-book screen is noticeably lower than on tablets or smartphones. Flipping through the pages in some cases is similar to a paper book - just as slow.
E-Ink displays have several generations. They differ in image clarity, resolution and color reproduction. The very first generation was called the Vizplex. Such screens have weak image sharpness and resolution up to 800 × 600 pixels with a rather low contrast ratio.
Then came E‑Ink Pearl with the same resolution, but increased contrast. For E-Ink Pearl HD, the parameter was increased to 1,024 × 758 pixels. This was already enough for a fairly comfortable reading. Devices on Vizplex, Pearl and Pearl HD are no longer released.
The most widespread series of technologies at the moment is E-Ink Carta and Carta Plus with a resolution of up to 2200 × 1650 pixels. Compared to Pearl, Carta has increased contrast, which makes the letters clearer. Such text is easier to read without tension.
There is also an alternative variety of Carta - Mobius. These screens have a plastic backing instead of glass, making them more durable. This is important for readers with a large diagonal, for which manufacturers quite often choose Carta Mobius.
The latest E-Ink Kaleido technology is capable of displaying up to 4,096 shades, not just monochrome pages. The clarity of the color picture in the first version was quite low. Kaleido Plus has higher contrast, richer colors and faster page refreshes when flipping.
In the newest version - E‑Ink Kaleido 3 - even improved color reproduction and response time. On such screens, you can comfortably watch videos and make notes by hand with a stylus, if it is included in the kit. Triton technology was the harbinger of Kaleido, but it was not widely adopted due to its high cost.
It is best to choose an e-reader with a screen from the E‑Ink Carta or E‑Ink Kaleido series if a color image is important. The rest, earlier versions of the displays are rarely found on sale, and they are hardly worth it now. to spend money.
Which e-book to buy
- PocketBook 740 with a 7.8-inch E-Ink Kaleido Plus color screen, 30,293 rubles →
- Amazon Kindle PaperWhite 2021 with 6.8-inch monochrome screen E-Ink Carta, 17,990 rubles →
- ONYX BOOX Faust 4 with a 6-inch monochrome screen E-Ink Carta Plus, 15,990 rubles →
Choose your resolution and screen size
Resolution is an important characteristic of an e-book. A 1,872 x 1,404 pixel display can fit more lines of text than an 800 x 600 pixel display, and the letters will be sharper.
Reader screens can be from 5 inches to 13.3 inches. The most common diagonals now are 6 and 7 inches. For reading artistic literature, most users will be fine with a model with a 6-inch screen and a resolution of 800 × 600 pixels. This should be considered as a starting point where medium and large fonts are legible and do not cause much eye strain. Of course, for comfort, you should choose a larger resolution and a diagonal of 7-8 inches.
E-books with 8-13-inch screens are often not for entertainment, but for reading documentation, making notes or creating sketches. On large displays, the entire page is visible, with images, graphs or diagrams.
For screens, indicate the pixel density in PPI. The higher the density value, the less noticeable individual pixels are, the lines of the fonts are smoother. If you have an appropriate budget, it is better to choose a model with an indicator closer to 300 PPI. On such displays, even small fonts won't cause much discomfort.
Which e-book to buy
- ONYX BOOX Max Lumi 2 with a 13.3‑inch screen with a resolution of 2,200 × 1,650 pixels, 97,990 rubles →
- ONYX BOOX Darwin 8 with a 6‑inch screen with a resolution of 1,448 × 1,072 pixels, 15,990 rubles →
- PocketBook 606 with a 6-inch screen with a resolution of 1,024 × 758 pixels, 8,948 rubles →
Check for backlight
The display with built-in backlight allows you to read the text in low light or no light at all. You can purchase a reader without this option, but then you have to constantly look for a suitable place in order to better view the contents of the screen.
In current models, you can adjust the brightness of the backlight, as well as choose a shade - yellow or blue. Budget e-readers have fewer diodes and may not have a hue setting.
It is also important that the backlight does not flicker. To do this, it must operate on DC voltage using Flicker‑Free technology. If a read a lot, then it is better to choose a book with this property, otherwise the eyes will get more tired.
Learn about management options
Touch controls are now often used to navigate menus and turn pages. So it is more convenient to view voluminous books and documents. Touchscreen capabilities are usually duplicated by buttons below the screen.
The touch screen is important if you use dictionaries and translate from foreign languages. This makes it much easier to highlight the right words and sections of text. Premium devices come with a stylus and allow you to not only take notes, but also draw. Most models are released with a touch screen, but readers with only one button control can still be found.
Estimate the size of permanent memory
Persistent memory is used in readers to store books. Models with memory from 8 to 16 GB are most common, but there are also more expensive options with 32 or 64 GB. Manufacturers often add microSD card slots to expand the amount of available storage. Which memory size to choose depends on how many books you intend to collect and in what format.
If these are works in FB2, EPUB, TXT formats or MS Word files, then even 4 GB of internal memory will suffice. But for files in PDF much more space is needed. In this case, it is better to choose a device with 16 or 32 GB of internal memory. If you need to store heavy images, audio and video recordings, you will need to find a model with even more available space or add a microSD card.
Consider battery capacity
E-books can last weeks and even months without recharging. Displays on electronic ink consume energy only at the time of turning and updating page content. Therefore, a battery with a capacity of 1,500 mAh will suffice. This is enough to read five or six books. But only on condition that the model does not use a complex operating system with various applications.
Books on Android will need more power. Most often, manufacturers install batteries with a capacity of 3,000 mAh or more. These devices may be more expensive, but with a wide range of features, they can work for a week or more offline.
Which e-book to buy
- ONYX BOOX Edison with a 2,000 mAh battery, 27,490 rubles →
- ONYX BOOX Volta 3 with a 3,000 mAh battery, 13,990 rubles →
- PocketBook 628 with a 1,500 mAh battery, 11,973 rubles →
Understand model performance
For reading books without a lot of pictures in formats like FB2 or EPUB, a simple processor with a small amount of RAM is also suitable. At the same time, the menu and page turning will be slow, but you can get used to the shortcomings if you can’t get something more powerful.
For difficult-to-handle PDFs and DjVu you'll need a quad-core processor and more RAM if you don't want to put up with slowness. In fast models, chips with a frequency of 1,500 MHz are used. Weaker devices offer around 600-1000 MHz and fewer cores.
In order for the reader not to freeze and slow down regularly, in modern realities it will need from 512 MB of RAM. For heavy books, it is better to choose devices with 1 GB of RAM or even more. In budget models, there may be 128 or 256 MB of RAM, but in this case, you need to prepare for periodic problems in operation.
Which e-book to buy
- ONYX BOOX Kon‑Tiki 2 with an octa-core 1.8 GHz processor and 3 GB of RAM, 24,990 rubles →
- PocketBook 632 Aqua with 1 GHz dual-core processor and 512 MB RAM, 16,390 rubles →
- Digma M2 with a 600 MHz processor and 128 MB of RAM, from 6,999 rubles →
Check strength characteristics
Electronic books with quality protection will last longer. The protective glass on the screen will not completely protect it from damage, but the chances of breakage are reduced. The body of the device can be made of plastic or metal alloy. In the second case, the vulnerability is less, but the price can be noticeably higher.
Plastic models are also able to withstand falls from a small height. In more expensive devices, the material will most likely be stronger.
Moisture protection is also helpful. Budget models are usually not afraid of splashing water, while more expensive ones will withstand full immersion, for example, when falling into a pool. For reading in the bath, on the beach or on a mattress in the pool, it is better to choose an e-reader with IP67 or IP68 protection. If such a waterproof device is not useful to you, then you can get by with the IP54 class or avoid situations with drowning reader.
Select operating system
Current models support a large number of formats: FB2, EPUB, TXT, PDF, DjVu, HTML, DOCX, RTF. Also, many devices can work with images in JPEG, PNG, BMP and TIFF. Some readers are able to open comics in CBR and CBZ formats.
Medium and premium e-books differ from budget e-books in a large set of options for setting fonts, margins and intervals. They conveniently display footnotes and generate a table of contents when there is none. Not all entry-level devices have these features.
Readers run Linux or Android. These are versions of systems with proprietary shells. In most cases, readers on alternative Linux modifications for e-books do not load hardware and battery like Android, but they also offer fewer functions.
Devices on relatively fresh Android 10 and 11 are similar in their capabilities to tablets, but still they are not a replacement for them. They can install third-party applications or even office packages, but E-Ink screens are not suitable for all applications. Models on Android 4 and other older versions of the system are best avoided if you need additional chips and something other than working with book files.
Which e-book to buy
- ONYX BOOX Leaf on Android 10.0, 26,990 rubles →
- PocketBook 970 on Linux, 24,990 rubles →
- Amazon Kindle 10 2020 on Linux, 11,242 rubles →
Check what communication interfaces and additional functions are available
Most e-readers have a Wi‑Fi module for downloading files, running the browser, and updating the system. The Bluetooth module is also quite common. It is useful for copying files from gadgets nearby, connecting a keyboard and transmitting sound to wireless headphones or columns.
The ability to play audio is an additional feature that is being added to current reader models more and more often. It is useful not only for listening to music, but also for audio books, which is closer to the main purpose of these devices. Many models have a standard 3.5mm mini-jack for wired audio output.
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