Which Is The Better Choice – An eBook Reader or a Tablet?
E-book Reading Devices
e-books are picking up momentum with regards to popularity due to their convenience and their ability to store a large amount of data in such a small space. And with the increase in e-book popularity has also come an increase in the variety of devices available for reading them.
There are a number of devices that can download eBooks, mostly thanks to the use of applications that are available for those devices. These include smartphones and computers, but neither of these is ideal for reading eBooks.
Smartphones are generally too small to function well as eReaders, and as such they have screens that are harder to read. Laptops and netbooks on the other hand are too hard to handle. They have a large screen, which is easy to read, but they are much larger than a paper book, and often considerably heavier. In short, they are more machine than is needed to just read a book.
eBook readers are a similar size to smaller tablet computers. At around seven inches, they are similar in size to a paper book, and in fact because they are so slim they are actually smaller and easier to handle than a normal book. The question becomes, what is best as an eBook reader-a tablet computer or a dedicated eBook reader?
The eBook reader has a couple of large advantages over the tablet. Firstly, most employ an eInk technology that provides a high contrast display that is visible in even bright and sunny conditions. It works in fact, in the same conditions that printed paper is visible-meaning that you need a light source to view it. This can be a drawback in the dark where an artificial light source will be needed, but provides a more restful reading experience than a backlit screen.
The eBook reader battery life is also far better than a tablet’s, with the average eBook reader lasting for at least a couple of weeks between charges-and up to a month. A tablet is only likely to last around eight to ten hours on average, in part because of the screen back light putting an extra strain on the battery.
The drawback to an eBook reader is that it only works for displaying eBooks and other documents. It is a locked down device, unlike the tablet. A web browser may be included but is likely to be very basic, and may even be monochrome. Tablets are multi-purpose devices. They can browse the web, play media and games and also run applications such as the eBook reader. The sizes of the two devices is incredibly similar-so much so that size alone is not a good reason for choosing one or the other.
If you want a dedicated device, that can hold thousands of books and can last for up to a month on a single charge, then the eBook reader is for you. But if you want the flexibility of having a device that is capable of far more, then you might want to consider a tablet.
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