eReader : Computer Hardware Buyers’ Glossary

Introduction

aka eBook reader is a portable hand-held device dedicated to reading eBooks (electronic books). The main ones are:

• Amazon Kindle
• Kobo
• Barnes & Noble Nook
• Sony eBook Reader

Other eReaders

Various other multi-purpose hand held units can be used as eReaders such as Blackberries, Apple iPhones and iPads, various tablet computers. Most people may experiment with that route and then get a dedicated eReader.

Choosing the Right eReader

• You can read what I have to say about the various models.
• You can go to a retail outlet like Chapters and see them side by side.
• You can borrow one from your local library to try out. You may discover your library only supports a limited number of models. That is mainly why I chose Kobo for myself. Treat it carefully. If you break it, you are on the hook for its original purchase price which may be double the replacement price.
• You can borrow one from a friend and take it for a test drive, reading, buying a book, borrowing an eBook from the library…
• You can Google your candidates and see what people have to say about them.

They are all light weight. All have excellent screens. All carry far more books than you could ever read. You cannot go badly wrong.

Major eBook Formats

If you own a Kindle, you will buy your proprietary format AZW/KF8 copy-protected eBooks from Amazon.
If you own a Kobo, you will buy your ePub eBooks from Kobo.
If you own a Nook, you will buy your ePub eBooks from Barnes & Noble.
If you own a Sony, you will buy your ePub eBooks from Barnes & Noble or Kobo.

Old eBooks sold at Barnes and Noble are in pdb format. New ones are in ePub.

This is just a rough guide. Before you buy, double check the abilities of the particular model you are considering.

DjVu format has advanced compression technology that makes it very good at handling high resolution images of scanned documents and photographs. With DjVu you can take a 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch) high resolution scan and store it in less than 100 KB. Unfortunately, none of the eReaders currently support it. You have to view it on a computer.

ePub is an open format. Kindle AZW (Amazon Word) and KF8 are proprietary to Amazon. AZW is MOBI (Mobile pocket eBook format) plus weak copy protection. Apple eBook stores use ePub format. BlackBerry uses MOBI format. All else being equal, open: good, proprietary: bad. The two most important formats to create are MOBI and ePub. Apple currently has book-reading software for its iPhones and iPads.

Software Readers

If you don’t have the money for a Kindle or Sony, you can still read eBooks on your computer. There are three basic kinds of readers:

• Dedicated eBook readers, such as the Kindle and the Sony eBook reader. These typically have black and white eInk screen. They are very light and portable with extended battery life. Typically you download files over 3G, WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) or USB (Universal Serial Bus), or get them with a desktop computer from the Internet and upload them over a USB port. See eReader connectivity for details.
• General purpose notepad computers. These are small general purpose computers or cellphones, typically with colour screens and built-in software to read eBooks.
• Laptop and desktop computers. You download files over the Internet and play them with reader software you must first install. If you have Firefox, the free ePub reader for Firefox will let you view ePub format eBooks. If you have a PC (Personal Computer), MobiPocket eBook reader will let your read mobi format eBooks. I have found eBook software in general quite buggy, so if you have troubles seek out better software.

Why might you consider a software reader?

• Free or cheap.
• If it does not work, you can easily try something else.
• You have big screen.
• You have a proper keyboard and mouse to control the software.

• Not portable.
• Software is generally much poorer quality than the firmware in hardware eReaders.