Choosing the Best E-Reader For your Reading Needs

Kathy PetlewskiPlymouth District Library

December, 2012

Your Budget! What do you want to do with your e-reader? Will you be reading at night or during the day? Do you plan to only purchase e-books or do you want

to borrow from the Library? Will you be the only person to use this or will you be

sharing it? What is available on the market and things to

consider in making your selection.

Let’s Talk About ….

Dedicated e-readers can range from $69 up to $300 for e-ink (black & white) devices.

Color e-readers associated with book sellers (Kindles and Nooks) list from $139 to $499.

Color tablets (iPad, Nexus, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Microsoft Surface) cost between $199 and $849.

Your Budget

Only read e-books, either purchased or borrowed from a library.

Read e-books and listen to some e-audiobooks. Read e-books but also be able to get e-mail and go

on social media sites like Facebook & play games. Read e-books, play games, use a full-blown web

browser, and also view movies & TV shows. Do all of the above, plus Skype, take photos and do

word processing tasks.

What Do You Want To Do with Your Device ?

Who Will Use Your e-Reader? Are you the only person that

will be using your device, or are you planning to share it with another adult or child?

If so, the Kindle Paper White has parental controls and the Nook HD can have several different accounts on the same device.

Purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, or iBooks.

Download free or inexpensive books from Project Gutenberg, Smashwords, or OpenLibrary.org.

Borrow OverDrive e-books free of charge from your local library.

How Will I Get My e-Books?

Downloading E-Books from PDL PDL is part of a 25-member consortium for e-books

and audio e-books. These books are provided by OverDrive in several

formats: EPUB & PDF for e-readers and WMA & MP3 for iPods and MP3 players.

E-books are single user licenses, so you must place a hold on books that are “checked out” electronically.

Titles are checked out for either 7 or 14 days. After that time they will cease to work.

Android tablets (Google Nexus, Samsung Galaxy Tablet and Droid smart phones ) have a free OverDrive “app” at the Marketplace.

iPads, iPhones & iPod Touch use an “app” from the Apple App Store.

Get the Nook Color and Nook HD Tablets “app” from Barnes & Noble.

Once the apps are installed, you can download your ebooks directly to your device.

Some Devices Are Really Easy with OverDrive

Kindle Fire 2 and Kindle HDs have full browsers, so you search the OverDrive site, check out your titles and download them from the same device using wifi.

Once you check out your title on OverDrive, you are taken to the Amazon site where you log in and complete your downloading from that screen.

The entire process is done wirelessly.

Some Devices Are Easier than Others with OverDrive

Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle 2012 and Kindle Keyboard don’t have full browsers, so you must do your OverDrive searching and check out process using a desktop or laptop computer.

After your title is checked out, you’re taken to the Amazon site where you select your device and tell it to download the title.

Your e-book is downloaded wirelessly to your device if you are connected to wifi.

Some Devices Are Fairly Easy with OverDrive

With the Nook Simple Touch and Simple Touch with Glowlight, you must also use a laptop or desktop computer to search, checkout and download e-books from OverDrive.

You must download first to your computer and then transfer the titles using a USB cable to your device

Adobe Digital Editions software must also be installed on your computer.

Some Devices Are Not That Easy with OverDrive !

Kindle 2012 - $69No audioWi-Fi, 3G optional2GB Memory3-8 week battery lifeWeighs 5.98 oz.Supports parental controls“experimental” browserNo touch screen – controller“special offers” on cheapest model.

Nook Simple Touch - $99No audioWi-Fi only2GB Memory (1 GB storage) micro SD card slot for 32 GB800 x 600 resolution3-8 week battery lifeWeighs 7.48 oz.No browser availableNo landscape mode

What’s Available on the Market –

least expensive e-ink devices

Kindle Paperwhite – $119No audioWi-Fi, 3G optional2GB Memory1024 x 758 resolution3-8 week battery lifeWeighs 7.5 oz.Front lit, high resolution screen.No support for EPUB formatParental controls

Nook Touch GlowLight - $119No audioWi-Fi only2GB Memory - micro SD card slot800 x 600 resolution3-8 week battery lifeWeighs 6.95 oz.Front lit screenNo browser availableNo landscape mode

What’s Available on the Market –

6 inch e-ink devices

Fire 2- $159 & up 7” display – 14.1 oz. Wifi Supports 3rd party apps. 2 speakers, audio jack

and mic. 8-9 hours battery life. Costs more to remove

ads. Great for movies!

Fire HD - $199 & up Either a 7” (13.9 oz) or

8.9” (20 oz) display. No SD slot, but Amazon

Cloud Storage 2 speakers, mic,

Bluetooth, front camera 16 GB memory minimum Supports 3rd party apps. 9-11 hours battery life.

Kindle Fire Color e-Readers

Nook Color - $139 1024 X 600 res. 7” display, 15.8 oz. 8GB memory &

microSD card slot 1 speaker for audio Wifi, full web browser 8 hour battery life. Parental controls

Nook Tablet - $159 & up 1024 x 600 res. 7” display, 14.1 oz. 8 or 16 GB memory &

microSD card slot. 1 speaker for audio Wifi, full web browser 11 hour reading battery

life Parental controls

Nook Color & Nook Tablet

Nook HD - $199 & up 1440 x 900 res. 7” display, 11.1 oz. Dual-stereo speakers 8GB or 16GB memory Parental controls Email & Calendar

Syncing Great kid’s learning

apps!

Nook HD+ - $269 & up 1920 x 1280 res. 9” display, 18.2 oz Dual-stereo speakers 16GB or 32GB memory Up to 10 hrs. reading Create up to 6 profiles Email & Calendar

Syncing Stunning video display.

Nook HD and HD+

Google Nexus - $199 & up 1280 x 800 res. 7” display, 12 oz. 8 GB or 16 GB memory 10 hours of e-reading Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS Wifi & Bluetooth Speaker & audio jack Front-facing camera

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 - $249 (low as $179) or $400 ($299)

1042 X 600 res. or 1280 x800 7” display, 12.2 oz. or 10”, 1.25

lbs 8 - 16 GB but has slot Android 4.0 OS Front & Rear cameras Dual speakers & jack Wifi & bluetooth

Android Tablets

iPad 4th Gen. - $499 & up 2048 x 1536 res. 9.7” display, 1.4 lbs Front & rear cameras

with video 10 hour battery life Dual core processor Speaker & audio jack Largest app selection Wifi – 4G & LTE optional

iPad Mini - $329 & up 1,024 x 768 res. 7.9” display, 10.8 oz 16 GB & up Front & rear cameras

with video 10 hour battery life Speaker & audio jack Wifi – 4G & LTE optional Great app selection!

iPad & iPad Mini

Lots of others on the market, but these are currently the most popular ones.

Make a list of your priorities when looking for an e-reader. Then narrow your choice down to those that meet that criteria.

It’s best to actually have a hands-on demonstration of the device so you can see if you like the “feel” of it.

Realize that something flashier will be released soon, but the products out today are better than those from last year.

Wrapping It Up

Time for Questions & Comments

Thanks for attending today!