Kindle Alternatives 2012
An eBook reader is a digital device whose primary use is reading digital books or periodicals. These days, people can also choose to read the newspaper on an eBook reader. The size of an eBook reader is like that of a tablet computer. The trend of eBook readers was started by Amazon when they came up with the first eBook reader called Kindle. Since the time it was introduced, it has undergone a lot of change. The first competitor came in the form of Nook from Barnes and Noble. This was followed by a procession of alternatives. There are a number of Kindle substitutes which are vying for the attention of the customers.
Devices as Alternatives to Kindle
Barnes & Noble NookThis is one of the best Kindle alternatives that 2012 has offered till now. It has a large collection of books, newspapers and magazines. There are two models of Nook in the market, namely, Nook color and Nook 3G with Wi-Fi. It is the Nook 3g which has gone on to becoming very popular. It has inbuilt Wi-Fi connectivity and one does not need a PC. It comes with 2 GB of internal memory and has a microSD expansion slot. The best part about this eBook reader is that it also plays MP3 music files, which one can play when one is not reading books. It is the first eBook reader with Android operating system and the users of this eBook reader have given it a huge thumbs-up.
Apple iPadIf you have to take a look at the eBook reader comparison chart, it is Apple iPad which has set the bar way higher for any of the eBook readers currently available. The iPad is available in different storage capacities. Depending upon the need each person has, one can choose the right storage size. It has a multi-touch screen with which the user can do multiple actions at the same time. As compared to most other eBook readers, the iPad is lightweight. It weighs approximately 1.5 pounds and the thickness is 0.5 inches which makes it very convenient to carry around. The screen size is 9.7 inches (diagonal) with LED backlit display. The battery life of an iPad is up to 10 hours, so a person will not have to worry about the battery dying out when one is traveling.
Sony PRS-900BCAs compared to the iPad, this eBook reader is slightly smaller. The size of the eBook reader from Sony is 7.87x5.04xo.38 inches and it weighs about 12.75 oz. It has 2 GB memory of which the user is able to use 1.6 GB. It has dual memory card expansion slots, with which the memory can be increased up to 32 GB. Since the weight of the eBook reader is not much, people find it easier and more convenient to use it for extended periods. One of the points where this eBook reader scores over other eBook readers is the long battery life. It can last for 7 days on a single charge. The appealing fact about this reader is that one will get good battery backup even when the wireless connection is kept on all the time.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7The beauty of this tab is its Super AMOLED display. It runs on Android 3.1 Honeycomb and it can be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as well. Dimensions of this tab are 196.7 x 133 x 7.89 mm and it weighs only 340 grams. It can be used as a smart TV remote control as well.
Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101It has Android 3.2 Honeycomb OS and can be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich. Adobe Flash 10.2 support is included in this tab. It is the first tablet which runs on quad-core processor NVIDIA Tegra 3. It has praiseworthy graphics capabilities due to which it can also be used for playing different games. It is one of the slimmest tablets with 8.3 mm thickness. The screen size is 10.1 inches ad has an 8 MP rear camera and 2 MP front facing camera.
Lenovo IdeaPad A1This is another tablet with Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. If you have to buy this tablet, you will not have to worry about memory card as it comes with a 16 GB internal storage. It is also Wi-Fi enabled, has Bluetooth and has both front as well as rear camera. While the rear camera is a 3 MP camera, the front camera is a 0.3 MP camera. The only thing it lacks is HD or HDMI output.
Archos 70BIf you want to buy an eBook reader but are not keen on spending a lot of money, this is the best bet for you. It has Android 3.1 Honeycomb OS and comes with 8 GB internal storage, mini HDMI output capabilities, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth as well as a microSD slot. It gets negative marks for resolution because the Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich OS give better resolutions on other tablets.
SKYTEX Primer E-readerThis e-reader has a 7 inch display and supports popular e-Book formats like pdf, txt, html, epub, FB2, etc. One can not only read books but also watch movies, view photos and, to top it all, listen to music. It also has a built-in recording software along with speakers and microphone. One can view images in different formats like JPG, JPEG, GIF as well as BMP. As a matter of fact, it is one of the cheapest e-readers currently available in the market.
iRiver StoryThis one gets rave reviews among the various eBook readers available. It has a 6 inch screen and a QWERTY keyboard. It is one of the few eBook readers, where one can store files in different formats. Other than as an eBook reader, it can also be used for doing a number of tasks. One can use it for handling office functions like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. It has an expandable memory of up to 32 GB. It is the SD slot which makes it possible. Another feature of this eBook reader, which draws a number of followers to it, is that one can multitask on it. Music files in different formats can be played on this eBook reader and it can be used as an MP3 music player. It can also be used for recording MP3 files.
Velocity Micro Cruz Reader T410It is an inexpensive Android e-reader which comes with a 10 inch capacitive touch screen. Due to the screen size, the experience of using this eBook reader is robust and is a treat for the eyes. However, at the same time, the mobility is not affected. It has Android 2.3 Gingerbread and is compatible with Adobe Flash 10.3. It has a front facing camera and comes with 4 GB integrated memory and an 8GB memory card included. With this reader, one can not only read books, but also view pictures and watch video.
Apps as Alternatives to KindleOne does not necessarily need to have a different device as an e-reader. If one has a phone like the iPhone or an Android phone, then you can get different apps on the phone which can make the device work like an e-reader.
Aldiko Book Reader for AndroidIf you are equally fond of classics as well as modern works, then this is an apt App for you. There are numerable classics and modern works which you can download and read. You can use this App for your Android phone as well as for your Android tablet. Searching books is also an easy task as the search tool is very powerful.
Google eBooks for AndroidIt is compatible with both phones as well as tablets which run Android 2.1 or any higher version. There are about 3 million books which one can read using this App. There are different features which one can use, like adjusting the text size, line space, justifying the text, etc., using this App.
BookShelf for iPhoneThis e-reader App has gone on to become very popular with most iPhone users. The beauty of this App lies in the fact that it auto-scrolls text and has off-line reading of documents as well as Web pages. The downside of this App is that it has limited books. Rather, it has books which are in the public domain only.
eReader 1.3 for iPhoneThis is a free App for iPhone. The presentation of books on this App is soothing for the eyes due to which a number of iPhone users have taken to this App. The downside of this App is that it does not support too many file formats. Also, downloading reading material is a tad difficult with it.
These are some of the alternatives that you can consider buying this year instead of a Kindle. Other than these, some of the other alternatives include Entorage Edge, Cybook Opus, iRex Iliad 2, etc. When you decide to buy an eBook reader, make sure you opt for one which is the latest offering of a brand/manufacturer. This will ensure that you have all the latest features in your eBook reader. If you are a voracious reader, then you will also want to consider the number of books, periodicals, newspapers, etc., that are available with the said eBook reader into consideration as not all the books are available to be read on each one of them.
