If you’re considering buying an ereader and wondering which kind to buy, or if you just want to know a little about the devices, read on.

Why buy an ereader?

• Books are cheaper.
• No need to have lots of shelves to store books.
• You have access to a world of books, not just those in your local store, or within reasonable postage rate distances from your home.
• Ereaders are lighter to carry and hold than print books. You can fit War and Peace in your handbag.
• You can adjust the print size to suit.

A few things to be aware of regardless of what kind of ereader you get –

• Ereaders have a non backlit screen called e-ink. Reading on this screen is virtually the same as reading the printed page, except that you can make the print bigger. It isn’t hard on the eyes like a computer screen and you can read it in sunshine just like a printed book. The exception to this is the Kindle Fire, which is why it’s really a small tablet, not an ereader.
• E-ink touch screens (no matter what brand) are frustratingly slow to respond and have no advantage over their buttoned brothers. (I’m not talking about the Kindle fire here)
• Apart from the Kindle Fire, don’t expect to use your ereader to do anything other than read books on. Net browsing is clunky, so you probably won’t use it except maybe checking your Facebook and Twitter.
• You don’t need typing capabilities unless you want to notate books.

Which kind to buy.

I’ve owned three ereaders, a Sony touch, a Kogan (the Aussie version of a Kobo) and a Kindle. Out of those three, I would recommend the Kindle without reservations. I haven’t tried a Kobo or a Nook, but even if they are perfectly fine ereaders, I see no reason not to buy a Kindle and plenty of reasons why. (Note that this isn’t an advertisement, just my opinion; however, if you purchase any of the products on this site via a link from here, I get a percentage of the sale. So if you want a Kindle and wish to support this site, then please buy via a link from here.)

Kindle, Wi-Fi, 6″ E Ink Display – includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers

What’s so good about the Kindle?

The things listed here weren’t true on one, or other, or both of the other ereaders I tried.

• The first time you use it, it guides you through how to use it.
• It’s an intuitive device, easy to use.
• It’s sturdy.
• The buttons are easy to use and well positioned.
• It turns pages quickly.
• The battery lasts a long time.
• The screen is very clear with a good contrast. (The screen on the Kindle Touch isn’t as good as the non touch screens, though)
• It’s the best value. At present prices, I don’t know why you’d buy anything else. If you’re happy to have advertisments as screensavers, you can get them even cheaper.
• An added extra that comes with your Kindle is that you can join an online community of Kindle owners on the Kindleboard forum. It’s a good forum for discussing books, hearing about good ones and sharing recommendations.

Any downsides?
Not that I’ve found. I discovered that my initial suspicious of the Kindle – the reason why I didn’t buy one to start with – are actually pretty groundless.

I thought it was a problem that the Kindle didn’t read word files. Now I realise that

• it’s easy to change other file types to suit your Kindle. You can either email the file to yourself at your Kindle email address, and Amazon will change the file for you, or you can download a program called Calibre and use it to change the file yourself. It’s worth noting that PDF’s are difficult to read on all ereading devices, so it’s a good idea to have this software and change PDFs over too. ( I had to do this on my Sony and Kobo as well)
• it isn’t true; Smashwords and publishers who sell from their own sites also sell kindle files – called mobi files.
• Everyone who publishes ebooks have them for sale on Kindle, so your choice isn’t limited.
• There are a lot of books available on Kindle that aren’t available in other formats.

I didn’t like the fact that you could only buy books for a Kindle at one store. Now I realise that

• it isn’t true; Smashwords and publishers who sell from their own sites also sell kindle files – called mobi files.
• Everyone who publishes ebooks have them for sale on Kindle, so your choice isn’t limited.
• There are a lot of books available on Kindle that aren’t available in other formats.

But there are so many different Kindles; which do you recommend?

The Kindle Light, (picture above) unless you want to annotate books, in which case I recommend the Kindle keyboard. I don’t recommend the touch screen, because the screen is slow to respond.

Kindle Keyboard, Wi-Fi, 6″ E Ink Display – includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers

Or the version with Free 3G + Wi-Fi

What about the Kindle Fire?

Think of this as a small tablet and you’ll get an idea of the capabilities of this device. It’s good if you want something that will surf the net like a smart phone, but is just a bit bigger and so easier to read and type on. The downside of it for reading is that it’s a back lit screen so you can’t read in the sunshine. But the advantage of that is that it’s in colour and has access to all the usual android apps, eg games. It’s a good one for kids, or if being able to comfortably use the net is important to you, but if you just want something to read books on, stick with the e-ink.

I’d buy it for a child or a teen unless they’re an avid reader and like to read in the sun. I’d definitely buy it for a reluctant reader, because it’s cool. You can play games on it, read picture books and graphic novels in full colour, and surf the net with ease.

Kindle Fire, Full Color 7″ Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi

What about accessories?

The case with the light is really good. A power outlet charger is also useful.
Shop in Amazon’s Kindle Accessories Store

This post was written by Tahlia Newland.