Tablets and smartphones may overlook eBook readers, but dedicated readers who don't like carrying heavy books hold a very dear place in the market. E-readers today offer a wide range of choices, whether looking for the most affordable, the most ergonomic, or simply the best e-reader on the market.
If you're looking for a Father's Day gift and want your dad to finally go digital, here's a guide to the ten best e-book readers of 2023 and what makes each stand out.
The Best eBook Reader by Price
The price of e-book readers has dropped dramatically since they first appeared. You can essentially choose an eBook reader in 3 price brackets. The cheapest e-book readers, such as the basic Kindle and the Amazon Fire 7 tablet, cost under $100. They don't boast a lot of bells and whistles, but they do a great job of delivering a quality reading experience.
Mid-range e-book readers include the very popular Kindle Paperwhite, NOOK Glowlight Plus, and Kobo Clara HD, all of which retail between $100 and $200. These readers offer some extras, like waterproofing and backlighting.
Finally, if you want a full-featured e-book reader with the best ergonomic design and balance, you can pay $250 for high-end readers like the All-New Kindle Oasis and Kobo Forma.
The Best eReaders for Battery Life
Battery life is essential for an e-book reader because no one likes to put down their book in the middle of the action. After all, it's out of power. However, this may not be a significant factor in your decision, as all e-book readers use very little energy.
However, if you travel often or forget to charge your devices, some e-readers have been known to last longer than others. The Kindle Oasis, for example, can last up to 8 weeks on a single charge. The Kobo Aura One can go about a month without seeing a power outlet, while the Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight Plus has enough battery life for about six weeks.
The Best eBooks for Reading Experience
The biggest test when choosing an e-book reader is the quality of the reading experience. While you might think that the most significant issue is screen size, that's not necessarily the case.
Most e-book readers have 6-inch screens. Kobo's readers are larger, at 7.8 inches for the Aura One and a massive 8 for the Forma. This means you can read larger fonts more easily, but it also makes them less comfortable to hold in one hand.
Screen resolution is more important than screen size for readability. The best e-book readers have a density of 300DPI (dots per inch), including the Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Aura One, and Barnes & Noble NOOK GlowLight Plus. The essential Kindle reader still has only 167 DPI, which is a huge difference.
The new e-book readers are much easier on the eyes because they use Carta E Ink technology instead of LED or LCD screens. They're unlikely to leave your eyes with the tired, strained feeling you get when you stare at a screen for too long. Kobo models use Carta E Ink to achieve beautiful, crisp text that's easy to read and easy on the eyes.
One of the best e-book readers for good reading is the Kindle Paperwhite. It uses a specially designed font called Bookerly along with E Ink, which allows the eye to recognize words faster for faster page scanning. The contrast is sharp, and the display is carefully designed so that no glare can make it difficult to read under certain lights.
eBook Readers and Backlighting
While the earliest e-readers didn't have integrated lighting, it's become one of the best e-reader features and one you can expect on most devices.
While more basic devices have LED backlighting, the best e-book readers today include advanced lighting features. All Kobo eReaders feature ComfortLight Pro technology, including the Kobo Aura One, which has a colour-shifting filter to reduce blue light and make it easier to fall asleep. You can also leave it to the e-book reader to choose the lighting you need. Some readers, like the Barnes & Noble NOOK GlowLight Plus and the Kindle All-New Oasis, detect ambient light and automatically adjust the backlight for the best reading experience.
Touchscreen eReaders
Whether or not a touchscreen will change your choice of eBook reader is a matter of personal preference. A touchscreen can make it easy to scroll through a long library list of books, like the one offered on the Amazon Fire 7 tablet, which doubles as an e-reader. That said, physical buttons like the basic Kindle could be more ergonomically friendly and more convenient when you're reading on the beach or with gloves and can't easily activate the touchscreen. Some of the best e-book readers give you two options: the Kindle All-New Oasis.
Supported Formats
After the reading experience, perhaps the next most important factor when choosing an eBook reader is the supported formats. Not all eBook readers support all formats, which means you either have to do some clever reconfiguration to get your eBook reader to support other formats or start by deciding which formats you prefer and then choose the right reader accordingly.
All Kindle readers and Amazon's Fire 7 tablet support Amazon's Kindle books, which come in .mobi format or AZW, as well as .pdf and .txt files. Amazon's library is by far the most accessible and extensive.
Kobo's eReaders support the broadest e-book formats, including EPUB, .mobi, .pdf, .html and .txt. With the Kobo Aura One, you can read Kindle books in the open .mobi format and Google EPUB books. Still, there are no periodicals in Kobo's library, and neither Amazon's lending library books nor Apple's Books can be read using the Kobo reader.
The Barnes & Noble NOOK GlowLight Plus and NOOK GlowLight 3 are available at Barnes & Noble's entire bookstore, possibly even more significant than Amazon. The NOOK also supports documents and books in EPUB, .pdf, and .png formats, but you can't read a Kindle or Apple iBooks eBook on a NOOK reader without converting it first.
Your choice of e-book reader can be tailored to the format you read the most. If you already have Amazon Prime, a Kindle may be the best choice, but most US public libraries also provide e-books through the Overdrive program. Kindles don't have native support for Overdrive formats, but Kobo's Libra H20, Aura One, and Clara HD all do.
The Best eBook Readers for Android and iOS
Today, you do not need physical books to read books, but you don't need your e-book reader with you. Some of the best e-book readers have easy-to-use apps for Android and iOS to access your entire e-library from your smartphone and tablet. Kindle offers free, easy-to-use apps for Android and iOS that collect all the books in your Amazon account and provide simple, straightforward reading on your device. Barnes and Noble's NOOK devices and Kobo eBook readers also include Android and iPhone apps that let you read on your phone, tablet or device.
Weight and Size
The weight and size of your eBook reader also varies. While the tablet doesn't feel heavy when you first pick it up, if you hold it in one hand for hours, you'll start to feel the weight. There's a significant difference between the Amazon Fire 7 tablet, which weighs 14 ounces, and the mainstream Kindle, also from Amazon, which is one of the lightest e-book readers at just 5.6 ounces.
Most e-book readers weigh between 6 and 7 ounces, with the Kobo Libra HD and Kindle All-New Oasis weighing 6.8 ounces, for example. However, some e-readers, such as the Amazon Fire 7 tablet and the Kobo Forma, are designed to be larger, weigh more, and take up more space in your bag.
The Best Waterproof eBook Readers
If you want to read on the beach, by the pool, or just in the tub without worrying about what splashes of water might do to your eBook reader, looking into one of the new generations of waterproof e-readers is a good idea. The Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight Plus is IP67 certified, meaning it can survive up to 1 meter of fresh water for up to 30 minutes. The Kindle Oasis and Kobo Aura One both have IPX8 certification to survive up to 60 minutes in 2 meters of fresh water. While this doesn't mean we recommend reading underwater, it's reassuring that your eBook reader can survive a drop in the bathtub or pool.
Choose the Best eBook Reader For You!
Whether you want to take a stack of books on vacation (without a stack of books) or pull an eBook reader out of your bag while you're online, there's an eBook reader to fit your needs and price range. , reading habits and comfort level.