Everyone reads a good book once in a while. But if you read multiple copies, it can sometimes be difficult to lug all your books around. That’s where an e-reader is a perfect solution, but how does the gadget work?
An e-reader is an electronic device designed specifically for reading digital books. The gadget has a screen that resembles paper, making reading comfortable for your eyes, even for long periods of time. They are lightweight, have a long battery life and you can store quite a few books in them.
The first e-readers did not have a touchscreen, but had buttons to turn the pages of an e-book. But that’s long gone. The e-reader has become a handy gadget, almost indispensable for any bookworm.
Here’s how an e-reader works
The special thing about an e-reader is that you hardly notice you are reading from a screen. This is because of the special screen technology, E INK Carta HD. This provides sharp text and fast page changes. The Carta HD screen typically offers an experience of 300 PPI on a six- or seven-inch screen.
Many well-known brands, such as Kindle, Kobo, Pocketbook and Barnes and Noble use Carta HD. Almost all e-readers today also have built-in front lighting, so you can read even in low light. Most models use amber LED lights, which provide a pleasant candlelight effect.
Some options even allow you to listen to audiobooks. For example, the Kindle Basic, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Voyage have Bluetooth and can connect to the Audible store for buying and downloading audiobooks.
Here’s what to look out for
So with an e-reader, you actually have an entire library in one little device. Yet the options are still fairly limited. In fact, many companies only offer internal storage for e-readers, with no option for an SD card. That means you can’t download new books if the hard drive of your gadget is full.
Amazon and Kobo, however, do have different storage options for certain e-readers. Although some models with USB-C have the ability to connect an external SD reader, this is not that common.
In addition, do not have too high expectations for an e-reader. The gadget is not a tablet, and it is not made for that. This is due to the limitations of the E Ink screen. E Ink technology uses microcapsules containing white and black particles. By applying electric fields, the particles are brought to the surface to create text display.
This process makes e-readers great for reading e-books and PDFs. But if you want to take notes or draw with a stylus, a digital notebook is an appropriate choice.
Is an e-reader what you?
So an e-reader is a great tool for reading books and PDFs when you’re on the go or at home. Most e-readers have a built-in store where you can buy and download books. You can also download books from other websites or transfer ebooks from your computer to your e-reader.
You then read those texts in fine quality, giving you a real “book feel. However, are you looking for more features, or more advanced technology? Then we recommend you look further. In this case, a tablet, iPad or digital notebook is a better choice.