Which e-book is better to buy for reading

Electronic books( they are readers) entered our life in the past decade and almost immediately became a mass phenomenon. Only six or seven years ago, electronic books were perceived as incredible novelties, and today in any transport you can see several readers with readers in their hands.

Electronic books are based on a special technology of electronic ink( e-Ink).The screen of this book simulates the page of this book. It does not have built-in lighting and is perceived by the human eye much more naturally. Therefore, reading on the reader does not tire the eyes. At the same time, the functionality of the electronic book is very extensive. And the power consumption of electronic ink due to lack of backlighting is minimal, with moderate reading the reader can keep on one charge for weeks or even months.

So, you decided to join the world of electronic books. Or they lost their old "reading room" and want to buy a new one. Let's try to help you by reviewing the existing options.

What to look for before buying

The situation with manufacturers of devices for reading is somewhat similar to the situation with writers: there are also consistently well-written authors, and "the authors of one book", writers "not for everyone", and the creators of books "for the poor".In addition, many manufacturers do not develop the devices themselves, but they order the basis for Chinese developers and "finish" it for the domestic market.

Therefore, recommendations such as "what kind of e-book to buy" can not be reduced to formulas such as "producer X - good, producer Y. - bad, the best e-book manufacturer Z".Since you are a person who is reading and thinking, you are able to make your own choice. And we'll tell you what parameters you should pay attention to.

Diagonal display

This is not just a question of personal preferences, but also a script for using the book. For reading fiction or simple text, a minimal display is also suitable. But for working with drawings, schemes and scans of primary sources in PDF or DjVu formats - the larger the diagonal, the better. There are even readers with a diagonal of 11.75 inches - a professional class. The very same miniature e-books display less than modern smartphones - up to 4.33 inches. In general, it is better for a child to take a book of medium size, for an adult - to his taste.

ELECTRONIC BOOKS WITH VARIOUS DISASSEMBLY DIAGONAL

Display resolution

Fortunately, e-books have passed that resolution race that we recently observed in smartphones. The normal resolution is 800x600 pixels for a 6-inch screen. The maximum values ​​can reach 1080x1440 or even 1200x1600 pixels - this, however, is also inherent in professional models for working with drawings and diagrams.

The amount of memory

What is called, "no one will leave offended": today even the simplest readers have 2 GB installed - enough for the whole library. Besides, rarely what book today lacks a slot for memory cards, so that its capacity expansion is not a problem.

Operating system

Recently, e-books have adopted the Android system. Even in the cut-down monochrome it allows you to install your favorite programs for reading, use Internet services and even multimedia applications. Books without Android are limited to those functions originally provided by the manufacturer( although sometimes alternative firmware with advanced features are available).

Support for book formats

This is important for books without Android( in books with Android you can install a software reader for any format).In the world today the most popular format of digital books is ePub( its support, in particular, is provided in Apple devices).A universal PDF format is also common. However, the Russian reader has the honor of FB2 format, in which you can download many more books. If you do not want to bother with converters or long to find the right book in the right format, take care that the reader is able to read FB2 and, if necessary, other formats.

Generation of electronic ink

Today three generations of e-ink-Wizplex( oldest), Pearl( developed in 2010) and Carta( 2013) are available. With each new generation, the contrast of the display increases, readability improves, and power consumption decreases. In principle, even books on Wizplex-displays provide sufficient comfort for reading. But you have to look with your own eyes to compare.

displays generation Wizplex and Pearl

Battery capacity

To be honest, with a low power consumption of electronic ink does it really matter whether to charge the device every two or three weeks? And yet the capacity of the battery is bigger, the better.

Price

This is the most important parameter, we did not accidentally put it last. Buy a decent e-book today, you can for $ 100 - $ 150, while the device will cope with all the functions - reading books, downloading them via the Internet, synchronizing with a computer, etc. You need to have good reasons to buy more expensive books. Someone needs a large display with high resolution, someone - a glamorous appearance, someone - a full-fledged OS.

On what additional functions should pay attention to

It seems that the main task of an electronic book is reading. However, around the main function, you can find many side effects that make life and work easier. It is worth paying attention to the following reader parameters:

Availability of Wi-Fi

It is now difficult to find a book without a built-in Internet module. As a rule, through Wi-Fi basically new books are downloaded from paid or free sites.

Availability of 3G

Amazon once offered its Kindle book with free 3G Internet worldwide. This attraction of unprecedented generosity was explained simply: it was assumed that the owner of the book will buy new items in the online store Amazon and upload them to the device. And from this money it is possible and to pay expenses to operators. This is an exclusive feature of the Kindle book, other manufacturers can not afford such luxury.

Audio playback and headphone output

It would seem that the device for reading does not have to be musical. But many users prefer reading to music. It is also worth remembering about such a genre of art as audiobooks - they too can be enjoyed through a boukrider.

Backlight display

At first, it seems nonsense - electronic ink is so good that they work without illumination. But for reading in the dark, the optional backlight is priceless. However, you can buy special cases with illumination.

Camera

That's what seems like a real excess: cameras and so now in smartphones, tablets, laptops, there was not enough in books! However, while the camera boasts only one existing reader - the dearest PocketBookUltra 650. The main purpose of his camera is not so much the creation of pictures as the scanning of text. The reader has a special application for optical recognition of text and its saving in the document format.

E-book firm PocketBook

Support for cloud services

Agree, it's convenient: just put the library on your computer in a special folder from which the files are automatically downloaded to the e-book!

Slot for memory cards

As a rule, for ordinary books in popular file formats, there is enough internal memory, which does not happen less than 2 GB.However, if you like music or audiobooks, you do not need to skimp on the spot. And here the memory card will be more than welcome.

QWERTY keyboard

In its time on the Amazon readers it was perceived as a miracle. But the very idea of ​​typing large texts on an electronic book is pretentious and reminiscent of the famous anecdote about Chukchi, who is not a reader. Especially the keyboards, as a rule, are deprived of Cyrillic alphabet. If for you the typing is relevant, take a closer look at the touch-sensitive readers on Android.

Which e-book is better: touch or push-button

Almost all devices on which there is a screen - telephones, laptops, cameras - sooner or later become sensory. Touch control is often more convenient than push-button operation. On books it is also similar to turning over ordinary paper pages.

However, the touch screens have their drawbacks. If you install a special touch layer on the display, the image becomes more cloudy. To avoid this, we managed, say, Sony, which used infrared sensors on the sides of the display to detect touches. However, the Sony books screen was, frankly, not the most responsive.

reader by Sony

In general, it is impossible to answer which e-book is better - touch or push-button. However, there are cases when the answer is unambiguous:

• If you need an "intelligent" book with a full OS, then it must be a sensory book. Touchscreen is necessary for the normal operation of Android, even in an adapted version.
• If you take notes by hand, then the touch screen is also necessary for you.
• In all other cases, look at a specific model. For normal flipping, buttons may be more familiar, but the gesture on the screen perfectly replaces them.

So, there are no cases when the button book would be definitely preferable. Conversely, there are cases when the sensory is definitely better.

Which e-book is better depending on the company

The modern world is one big glade of competition. In such a promising industry as the production of electronic books, both world-famous and niche brands compete. For many of them, the production of devices for reading is only an auxiliary occupation that supports the trade in digital books. Others, on the contrary, specialize in devices.

Let's try to list the most famous manufacturers and briefly describe their products.

Amazon

Perhaps, number one among world manufacturers of readers. Devices are distinguished by excellent build quality, high functionality and low price. It is assumed that the main profit should be paid by downloading books through the company's online store.

Barnes & Noble

The American network of bookstores produces its readers of excellent quality. True, they are intended mainly for the US market, but post-Soviet readers also highly value these devices. As a rule, these are simple and relatively inexpensive readers. As in the case of Amazon, a low price should encourage the buyer to become a regular customer of a digital store.

Sony

Although the Japanese company has stopped publishing e-books, Sony readers can still be found on sale. They differ in sane price, wide functionality( thanks to the installed Android OS) and high-quality display.

PocketBook

This Ukrainian company today is one of the market leaders. Produces books for every taste - from miniature budget readers to stylish premium models and professional readers for engineers and scientists. The assortment of PocketBook books is perhaps the richest of all represented manufacturers, and the quality of products at the level of the best world standards.

Onyx

A very visible manufacturer of electronic books - as they say, "the right China".The company from Guangzhou shows the electronic industry of the Celestial Empire from the best side. It is worth noting the competent adaptation of the model line for the Russian market. The software is translated perfectly, for different models, author's covers and design are created. The lineup includes both affordable simple devices and professional readers on Android with a high-resolution display.

Gmini

Medium-price and decent quality devices.

Ritmix

The company adapts Chinese devices for the post-Soviet countries. In the range there are both good models of these readers, and questionable "under-plans"( see below about them).

Prestigio

Approximately the same as Ritmix. The range of goods is quite extensive, among the models there are very worthy, but they are also correspondingly.

Explay

The devices are priced at a low price, but the functionality and quality are appropriate.

LITERS

The Russian analogue of Amazon. You can recommend those who basically buy digital books for money in the online store. However, now the company, apparently, refused to experiment, on the site litres.ruiders are marked as missing on sale.

Numerous third-tier manufacturers like Evromedia, Enot, Wexler, Treelogic, etc. If to take, then only from complete despair. Although sometimes decent models come across, but is it worth playing the lottery?

PocketbookTouch or Sony

The question of which e-book is better - PocketbookTouch or Sony, for a long time had no answer. Now it can be answered: although the specifications for PocketBookTouch 2 and SonyPRS-T3 are similar, on board the Sony book - a full Android, which is cut in functionality, but this is solved by flashing. Moreover, the book Sony can be found for less money. This makes SonyPRS-T3 preferable to PocketBookTouch 2.

Alas, at the moment this dispute is ended not in favor of the Japanese company. The fact that Sony stopped producing electronic books, now on sale you can find only the old models, stale on the shelves. PocketBook also produces more and more new models( including touchscreens) and keeps pace with the times, and even outstrips it. For example, the Ultra 650 is a true masterpiece of technology that Sony will not release a worthy response.

• See also: Which e-book to choose - brand review

Special editions of

Can I buy an "author's" e-book? Yes, you can. In particular, Boris Akunin has already joined the fashion. He published his book jointly with the company, whose name sounds somewhat unprintable for the Russian ear - eBookApplications, and for the "iron" part was answered by OnyxBook. The book has an author's design, it pre-installed "fandorinskaya" series with special illustrations, there is an application for reading the author's blog and for buying other books.

AkuninBOOK

However, there are no fundamental functional differences from other e-books. Such special issues are intended solely for fans of writers. If the experiment proves successful, it's possible that other Russian writers will acquire their own "author's readers".

Which e-book is better: color or black and white

Color e-book! Is it possible? Producers sometimes claim that yes: on such a book, according to advertising, you can watch movies, photos, play games and download applications!

color and black and white electronic knife

It sounds more than tempting. And five years ago it seemed possible. The company Qualcomm entered the race with E-Ink and announced its own technology of color displays in electronic ink. Moreover, several such books even appeared on sale. However, in practice, such books proved to be inconvenient: dim displays, slow updating, small productivity, sky-high price.

Comparison of color and black and white e-book

However, what the producers of "budgets" offer is even worse. As a rule, these are truncated tablets from extremely cheap components, with vyrviglaznymi TN-matrix and resistive touchscreen, and even without it at all.

Take such devices should not in any case. Although they are able to open files of books, but they lack the main advantage of electronic books - a display in electronic ink. And consequently, reading from them will be a real torture for the eyes. As a tablet, these hybrids also show themselves terribly. For the eyes it is better to buy an e-book on normal electronic ink. Fortunately, now color mutants on sale almost do not occur.

Alternatives to e-books

What if you do not want to buy a separate device to read books? There are also alternatives that allow you to do without a separate boukrider and do not strain your eyes while working with a luminous display.

1 Surely in due time you heard about the "first Russian smartphone" - YotaPhone. With all the skepticism about its origin, at its not the most affordable price one should recognize one thing. If you often read, then the display on the electronic ink on the back of the phone - it's convenient. We advise, however, to wait for the second release of this device, where many flaws in the first one have been corrected.

Smartphone in electronic ink

There is an alternative - a smartphone OnyxPhone E45 Barcelona, ​​where the display on electronic ink is the main one. An electronic book with which you can call is a pleasure for an amateur, especially for 8 thousand rubles. But such a development also has a right to exist.

2 For modern flagship smartphones, cases with an integrated e-ink-display are available. Such cases, in particular, are issued by the Singapore company OAXIS and the Ukrainian PocketBook. However, it is not so easy to find them in free sale, it is necessary to look for them in online stores, besides, they are not expensive.

So, if you want to buy the perfect e-book - just think what you need it for. In what conditions will you read, on the road or at home, in the dark or in the light. What will you read - fiction or technical, solid text or books with illustrations. Is it more convenient to use buttons or a touch screen. And how much you are willing to pay for the device to read.

Proceeding from this, you will be able to choose a book for your liking and for your pocket.