Guide to your e-book reader

Here's how you choose your e-book reader.

By Swati Mondal

| Updated: Saturday, February 17, 2018, 20:34 [IST]

E-books are the 'it' gadget of the year. But picking an e-book reader is more difficult than choosing a brand of cereal or a bottle of shampoo.

How do you know which one is right for you?

All e-book readers promise to do one thing well: display text, especially for books. But there are a few more basic requirements: It must offer long battery life, be easy to carry, have a screen that doesn't strain the eyes and can be easily read in all environments including bright sunlight. Fortunately, most e-book readers for sale today meet that basic criteria.

Access to content:

This is probably the single most important factor to consider when you buy an e-book reader. Most e-book manufacturers have their own e-books store. And size matters here. The more publishers the manufacturers can ink deals with, the greater the chances that the book you want is available.

Size and weight

Size matters. Especially on just how portable you want your e-reader to be.

Fortunately, there are all sorts of options out there when it comes to size. Unless you're a kangaroo, you ain't fitting those in your pocket anytime soon. But they're pretty good if you value a screen with larger real estate.

Interface

Button-based controls require less power and are more accurate but can be more cumbersome to use. Touchscreens are more intuitive but can be laggy, smudge-prone, and typically suck more juice from your battery. The latter appears to be gaining popularity as the interface of choice, though, even for E Ink-based displays.

Battery life

Depending on whether you plan to read primarily at home or on the road, battery life is an important consideration. Basic e-readers without fancy bells and whistles typically have longer battery life. Devices with Wi-Fi and Web browsing on the other hand, tend to have shorter operating times.

SEE ALSO: 10 apps that can help you save money

Formats

On a related note, you'll also want to check the formats that a device is capable of handling. Popular file formats include EPUB, PDF, TXT and HTML among other things.

The more formats a device can play the better.

Capacity

This determines just how much media you can fit into your device at one time. The higher the memory, the more eBooks and files you can fit in. Besides internal memory, some devices also come with a slot for an SD card, which allows you to typically bump up your capacity.

Price

What's your budget and how important is the brand for you? In this recessionary economy, everyone's watching their dollars. And while the Kindle is attractive, but it isn't cheap. There are cheaper alternatives to the Kindle, but hey, it isn't a Kindle. Can you live with that?