Which e-book reader to buy?

If you have a modern phone or tablet such as an iPhone or iPad or one running the Android operating system (like the wonderful HTC Desire), then you might be happy to run an e-book reader app on it and not bother to buy a specialist e-book reader device. You might also consider running e-book reader software on your PC or laptop.

Think carefully about what you personally want to use a reader for. If you like sitting down for a good read with a paper book and want to switch to electronic reading you probably will benefit from buying a reading device. But if you just want to snatch a few minutes while out and about, and don’t want yet another thing to carry, you might be better off with an app on your phone.

Perhaps the device with the best screen for reading simple black and white text, especially fiction, is the Amazon Kindle – but if you buy one you are locked into a proprietary option. If you mostly want to be able to read non-fiction, with neat layout, colour and pictures, then you’ll need something very different.

If you want to steer clear of proprietary devices but only want something simple then concentrate on EPUB readers.

Once you have a good idea of what your requirements are then you may find the following two web links useful for selecting the best product for you:

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