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In the age of scientific and technological progress, hardly anyone wants to carry heavy and bulky paper books with them. In addition, you need to buy them, and after reading them, store them somewhere. An excellent alternative to paper books is an electronic book, which is also called a book reader. It allows you to free up more space in the house or apartment, and is very convenient for those who like to read in any place and at any time. How to decide on a suitable model? You can choose a good one e-book in QwertyShop, an online store for electronic equipment, but it is worth first familiarizing yourself with the main parameters that you need to know and take into account when buying.
Display options
The choice of the screen is the most important criterion in the reading room, because it affects the comfort of reading.
A type
The main component of an electronic book can be called a display, which comes in two types: electronic paper and LCD. Each of them has its own working principles and affects the human eyes in different ways.
The current and optimal option is E-Link and its analogues (Flex, SiPix). Without going into scientific terms and details, one can say that this display imitates ordinary printing - a kind of electronic paper. The technology is based on the phenomenon of electrophoresis – in the case of electronic books, this is the movement of negatively and positively charged black and white pigments in a microcapsule with a transparent liquid, respectively. Electronic ink can display text and images.
This type has several subtypes: Vizplex, Pearl, Carta. The differences between them are insignificant: in contrast or color.
Vizplex is characterized by low contrast and a resolution of 600 by 800 pixels. Displays of this type generally have a diagonal of 6 inches. This option is considered outdated and can be found in inexpensive or old models.
Pearl has almost 2 times more contrast than Vizplex. This option is often found in modern book readers.
Carta - in addition to 16 shades of gray, has more than four thousand shades, which allows you to display colors on the readers' display. In addition, in this type, the contrast is higher, the reflection coefficient is increased, and page updates are less noticeable and more comfortable for the eyes.
There are other technologies that are alternative to E-Link, but differ in certain characteristics.
The Flex (Mobius) type differs from the same Vizplex and Pearl in its greater resistance to mechanical influences. If the substrates of the last two options have a thin layer of glass, Flex uses plastic that can be bent.
The SiPix type differs from the E-Link in that during reading it is possible to notice a grid of microcapsules on the screen; white pigments have a gray tint, and black ones look more saturated. In modern devices, this generation of displays is rare.
The text in electronic books with E-Link and its alternative versions is easy to read in bright lighting and does not have a negative effect on vision. Devices with displays of these technologies are very economical in terms of energy consumption.
Book readers with an LCD display are an order of magnitude cheaper, but in terms of characteristics, they are in many ways inferior to E-Link. When reading in bright sunlight, there is a glare effect that creates discomfort. And in the dark period, liquid crystal displays produce a lot of light, which "cuts" the eyes. If you compare LCD with E-Link, then the former discharge much faster.
Resolution
Resolution is what determines the quality of the text and the ability to display it on a sufficient scale. The optimal value of this parameter for e-books is 480 by 800 points. This is enough for convenient and comfortable reading. There are also variants with a resolution of 320 by 460, and their cost is an order of magnitude lower. But it is better to choose a display of 800 by 600 pixels, this is one of the standard computer resolutions. Naturally, the higher the resolution, the better the text is displayed, therefore, if financial opportunities allow, then 1448 by 1072 pixels will be the ideal option.
Screen dimensions
Of course, the main criterion when choosing a screen size is the buyer's wishes. It is convenient for someone to take a small book reader with them everywhere, and for someone it makes their eyes tired.
The optimal screen size of the reader is 6 and 7 inches. If the small size of the device is extremely important for a person, then it is better to choose a 5-inch book reader.
If it is more convenient to read from a large display, then you can safely choose an 8-inch e-book.
Supported device formats
An important criterion for choosing a reader is supported formats. There are many different book formats on the Internet - pdf, fb2, txt, html, epub, djvu and others. Most of the literature can be found with txt, fb2 and epub extensions, and pdf and djvu are more often used for technical documentation.
txt files are supported by almost all readers. This format is exclusively textual and does not include pictures.
Support for the doc format, which everyone has heard about, will come in handy. Books, and mainly documents, articles, scientific works, with this extension, will be available not only for reading, but also for editing, which is possible in some models of electronic books.
Practically all modern book readers support more than 10 formats, the above and others. So there should be no problems with the definition of this parameter in the selection. It is worth noting:
- some electronic books have copyright protection, which prevents reading unlicensed books;
- there are specific electronic readers that support only one format.
But even if it happens that the purchased book reader does not support some format, you can always use a file converter.
Control Options
Developers of e-books currently offer two control options: touch and button. Each of them has its own merits and peculiarities. There is also a third option - combined management. In this case, the device has both a sensor and buttons. When choosing, you should rely on individual preferences. It will be more convenient for someone to use the touch control, for someone the button control. Mechanical buttons are more practical. They are easy to replace, and their operation is not affected by low temperature, unlike the touch display, which can hang in cold weather.
Memory Capacity
It is not difficult to determine the amount of memory of an electronic book. The minimum values of this parameter are from 2 to 4 GB. If this volume is not enough, then there are models to which you can connect an external storage device. In addition, there are e-books with memory card support, which slightly increases the cost of the device. But even 2 GB will be enough if you use the device as intended. That is, it will be enough for storing and reading books of this volume. Electronic books with a memory capacity of 8 to 32 GB give the reader more opportunities. This option is suitable if many "heavy" files are used, as well as for storing audio files (it makes sense if their playback is supported by the reader itself). When choosing the amount of memory, you should be guided by your wishes and how you plan to use the device: exclusively for reading books or additionally for viewing images, movies, if it is a book reader with an LCD display.
Dimensions and weight of the book reader
Depending on the size, book readers can be divided into three types: compact, medium-sized, and full-sized. When choosing the size of an electronic book, you should take into account where the person is going to use it. If you plan to carry it with you and read, for example, in public transport, then it is better to choose a compact one - these are the above-mentioned models with a diagonal of 5-6 inches. If the e-reader is purchased for travel, then the medium size is suitable, which will also provide comfortable reading. If it is intended only for home use, you can safely choose large sizes.
When choosing a reader, it will not be superfluous to take into account its weight, which ranges from 150 to 550 grams.
Additional features
Electronic books can have additional features and functions. A SIM card slot, a Wi-Fi module or Bluetooth allow you to directly download literature or transfer it to another device. USB connectors make it possible to connect an external storage disk. LED lighting will increase comfort while reading in the absence of light and reduce eye strain. It is also possible to install some applications if the book works on the Android platform, which is difficult to do on devices running on the Linux OS.
You should pay attention to these and other features when choosing a device, as they may be needed in the future.
To summarize
In general, if there is a need to buy a device that is suitable not only for reading, but also includes many of the functions listed above, then attention should be paid to more expensive models.
If the book reader is only needed for comfortable reading, then for a small amount you can choose a good option as well. It is optimal if it is a light and small electronic book with one of the types of E-Link technology screen and a battery with a capacity in the range from 600 to 2000 mAh.
Taking into account all the specified recommendations and tips, as well as personal preferences, choosing the right device for the most comfortable reading will not be difficult.
