Blue Scream of Jeff: Tips on buying an e-reader

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Tips on buying an e-reader

I was recently asked by a friend looking to buy an e-reader which one was the best.

Not having had the opportunity to review all of the devices currently on the market designed to let you read books published in electronic format, it was hard for me to give her a definitive answer. However, I was able to offer her some guidelines to help her choose the best model for her.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

The first thing I recommend BEFORE anyone goes out and buys one of these devices is to figure out what exactly you want to do with your e-reader.

You might think the answer is rather obvious – read.

But it’s not.

Many of these devices are capable of playing music or audiobooks, sending e-mail, basic web browsing and some can even store and display your photos as well as play movies. So if all you really want to do is read a book, then buying a reader with a color screen and stereo speakers would be overkill. Likewise if you want to subscribe and read your favorite magazine on your new e-reader, you probably will need a device with a color screen.

Another thing to consider is how you will get your books. Many of these devices come in two “flavors” WiFi-only and WiFi/3G or 4G. Both these options let you download books to your device over the air. But with the WiFi-only versions, you must be connected to someone’s computer network, whether that be your own home network, a network at a hotel, airport or even the one at your favorite coffee shop. Three and 4G models can download books anywhere you can get a cell phone signal, so if you get a hankering to download the latest best-seller in the middle of a bus or train ride, you can.

LEARN THE ABCs OF E-READER FORMATS

Now that you know exactly how you want to use your new e-reader, the next thing to do is check out the selection of books for sale at the two major online book sellers: Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. These days, most publishers release their books in both formats, but it doesn’t hurt to check. You don’t want to buy a device for Amazon.com e-books only to find out that your favorite author is only available in Nook format. Unfortunately, e-readers don’t support both formats, so Amazon Kindle e-readers can NOT download books from Barnes & Noble and Barnes & Noble Nook devices can NOT download books from Amazon.com. Other e-readers, such as the ones made by Sony, BeBook and Kobo also support only one format or the other, so once you’ve made your decision which format to go with, you are stuck with it for the life of your e-reader.

In addition to Amazon.com and Nook formats, many e-readers also support other types of e-books, such as those published in .PDF (Adobe Acrobat), .TXT (plain text file), .DOC (Microsoft Word), .HTML (Web Page), .MOBI, .PRC and BBeB Book formats.

What does all this alphabet soup mean?

More places to get reading material from. There are many sites out on the Internet that offer free or low cost e-books in these formats. But their selections are limited and you will probably buy most of your e-books from either Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble, so it is important you choose which format you want to go with carefully.

SET YOUR BUDGET AND BEGIN SHOPPING

With these things decided, you can now narrow your search down to the e-readers that do only the things you want them to do and support the book formats you’ve chosen. This will also give you an idea of the price range you are looking at and let you know if the device you want is within your budget.

Now start shopping.

I always prefer to go out to a brick and mortar store so I can play around with the devices myself instead of relying only on what others have said about them, and I recommend you do this also. Things like screen size and clarity, weight of the device and the feel of the controls are subjective things. A small screen that looks good to me may not look as good to you as a larger screen on another model.

Don’t just look at the screen. Test the controls. Do you prefer buttons to turn pages or like to use the swiping motions you use on touchscreens like your smart phone? If you are choosing a model that has web or e-mail capability, do you want a built-in keyboard, or can you type on a touchscreen keyboard? If a built in keyboard, test it. How does it feel? Is it easy to use?
All these things are subjective and just because some tech guru or any other reviewer likes something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s perfect for you. After all, if the screen size is too small or controls are difficult for YOU to use, you are not going to wind up using your new e-reader for long.

Once you’ve decided on the make and model you like best, then you can go online and check to see who has the best prices. And while you are online, make sure you search for coupon codes for your preferred device or store. This can often save you a few bucks or at least get you free shipping if you are buying online.

OTHER OPTIONS

If you do not want to be locked into either the Kindle or Nook formats, then another, albeit more expensive option, is to go with a full-fledged tablet computer like the iPad or an Android tablet such as the Samsung Galaxy. Both of these devices offer free apps that let you download and read books from either store. If you already have a smartphone, you can skip the expense of buying a tablet or e-reader altogether and just download the Kindle or Nook apps to your phone.

Yes your cell phone screen may be small, but if you don’t read a lot of e-books yet or are still unsure which format to go with, you can try them out for free before you lay down your hard-earned cash for one of these devices.

If, after all this, you are still unsure of which e-reader to get, here are some more resources for you:

http://ebook-reader-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://reviews.cnet.com/best-ebook-readers/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20009738-1/kindle-vs-nook-vs-ipad-which-e-book-reader-should-you-buy/

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400310,00.asp

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/e-book-readers.htm

Good luck with your search and let us know which e-reader you have and what you like about it.