3 of the Best… E-Readers

 

The new txtr Beagle, an e-reader that costs just £8 could pose a huge threat to e-book giant Amazon, but it has massive limitations – it can only hold 5 books at a time, has no Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity and there is no rechargeable battery for it. It’s a good, no-frills alternative for frugal people, but if you’re looking for something a little more functional for the festive season, we’ve listed 3 of our favourite e-readers.

1) The Kindle Paperwhite – For e-reader elitists

Released in October 2012, the Kindle Paperwhite has a 6 inch display with a built-in light, which makes it perfectly suited to all lighting conditions. The lack of glare and the 8 adjustable sizes means the Paperwhite is extremely easy to pick up and read. At £109, there are cheaper e-readers out there, but few are as adaptable and uncomplicated as the Paperwhite. It can hold up to 1,100 books, and over 650,000 of the titles in the online store are priced at £3.99, including some pretty big names in the literature world. Built-in Wi-Fi means that you can download books in under a minute, and, if you’re impatient like us, you understand how handy that is!

We love the Time to Read feature. It essentially keeps track of your reading speed and lets you know roughly how long it will take you to read a chapter.  This is a really helpful feature for people who dedicated a specific block of time to reading – it’s nice to know that you’re aware of the amount of time that you have left.

2) Kobo Glo – For simple tastes

Although the Kobo range of e-readers hasn’t received the same fame as Amazon, that isn’t to say that it’s not a great investment to make. The Kobo Glo is similar to the Paperwhite because of its built-in ‘ComfortLight’ and can hold around 1,000 books.  Priced at around £100, it’s only slightly cheaper than its Amazon competitor. The Paperwhite does have a sharper screen, but only marginally so – the Glo’s XGA Pearl E Ink screen boasts high resolution and prevents glare. If you’re looking for something cheap(ish) and cheerful, we think the Kobo is a good choice.

3) Sony Reader PRS-T2–For slim & light

The Reader from Sony is ultra-slim and extremely lightweight at just 164g. If you’re avid readers like us, you can spend hours reading a book, so having something so easy to hold is perfect for those long-haul reading sessions. It also has a 2 month battery life, so if you’re really a literary obsessive, you’ll have no worries. The Reader can hold up to 1,300 books in 12 different languages, and 8 font sizes make it an easy read. We love the Evernote Clearly service that allows you to store notes and images on your Reader, and its sleek design is easy on the eye, but at around £120, you might think it’s a case of style over substance.

 

Of course, you don’t have to listen to us. These are just 3 e-readers we happen to enjoy. What’s your e-reader of choice and why? Let us know in the comments!