My Kindle Oasis just died, and Im asking myself the same question.
E-readers like the Kindle and Kobo are niche products.
Theyre designed for reading black text on a white background, and little else.
Kobo
But dedicated e-readers still offer several significant advantages over our more complex pocket computers.
The first is the screen, itself.
E-ink screens act like paper, instead of shining lights into our eyes.
Amazon
This makes them as comfortable to read as paper, and also means they use way less power.
You also can read an e-book in full sunlight, just like paper.
Try that with an iPad.
Those low-power screens also mean that the battery life is measured in weeks, not hours.
An e-reader is also a lot cheaper than a phone or tablet and often more rugged.
Focus
Another less quantifiable advantage is that e-readers can be less distracting than tablets and phones.
On an iPad, you may suddenly decide to look up something you just read in the Kindle app.
Safari is only a swipe away, as is your mail app or your favorite game.
“Being a dedicated reading gadget is another great thing going for the e-readers,” says Beshkov.
“No notifications popping up, no apps demanding our attention, or calls interrupting our reading.”
you might use this independence to enforce internet downtime.
Are Fancy E-readers Worth the Extra Cost?
They may not be for everyone, but if youre an avid reader, you probably will love them.
This brings us to the final question: Which one should you buy?
Should you buy a cheap, entry-level model or jump to one of the fancier models?
I know many people that would rather have long reading sessions on an e-reader than on any other gear.
For most people, the $150Kindle Paperwhiteis the best option.
Its not the cheapest Kindle, but it is waterproof and has a much higher-resolution screen for crisper text.
Are these features worth the extra hundred bucks or so?
Thats up to you.
All I know is I have to buy something because reading books on my iPad is just terrible.
