Which eBook Reader Is Best For You?

In the past five years, it’s fair to say that the publishing world has been turned on its head, with the advent of the ebook and the ereader. No longer do you need to carry around large tomes with you where ever you go, but instead you can carry a whole library of digital books in you back pocket. The ebook has casued many heated debates since its became popular many claiming it will be the death of publishing and others just not wanting to give up that feeling you get from reading a physical book. Nevertheless, millions around teh globe don't agree and now more than ever people are consuming books electronically and the trend shows no sign of declining.

Recently we've seen a slew of new ereaders on the market and as a result it leaves those looking to buy which a choice to make. To help you make up your mind, we put together a little guide, along with all the reveiws and latest nest about ebboks and ebook readers to help you find your way to the perfect product for you.

What are eBooks?

An electronic book (also called e-book, ebook or digital book) is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices.

Ebooks come in various formats with some ereaders only accepting proprietary formats, most notably the Amazon Kindle. The most popular format for ebooks is EPUB, an open standard for ebooks. Ebooks can effectively be read on any device which can display text such as laptops, PCs and tablets, but its on the ereader which has been designed just for the task of reading where they have truly found their home.

What is an eBook Reader?

EReaders, e-reader, eBook Readers or whatever you like to call them, are devices which are designed with one thing in mind, to let you read ebooks. They are not tablets and use (in the vast majority of cases) an E-ink screen to allow for a paper-like display which won't hurt your eyes when reading for long periods of time. The non-emissive nature of e-ink screens also means long battery life and on some models, a single charge will get you months of reading.

There are a large range of manufacturers making eBook Readers, but the leader of the pack is Amazon, with its Kindle range garnering over 50 per cent market share globally. The Sony Reader range is also a very popular model globally, with the Barnes & Noble Nook selling very well in the United States. New entrant to the market, Kobo is looking to steal a march on them all with aggressive pricing.

Tablets vs eBook Readers

Of course ebooks can also be read on tablets such as the Apple iPad or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. However as these feature emissive LCD screens, it is a lot tougher on your eyes than reading the e-ink screens of ereaders.

Another issue is size, with a lot of tablets chosing 10.1in screens which are difficult to hold in one hand and therefore make holding it while reading an ebook, much more difficult. Tablets also tend to weigh a lot more than ebooks which again adds to the strain.

Of course on the other hand, tablets do offer so much more than just ebook reading, with hundreds of thousands of apps giving you access to a huge range of services. And as much as some ebook readers may claim they have MP3 playback and access to a browser, these are not fully-formed features and are experimental at best.

Which eBook Reader is best for you?

The choice is now a lot more varied than only a couple of years ago and as such you can pick and choose the features or price point you want without losing out on too much. So here we go with our eBook Reader reviews, which will help guide you through the choppy ebook waters, and help you make the choice of which is the best ebook reader for you.