Book 2.0 – XNUMXth century reading

E-readers have taken their place on store shelves forever, successfully replacing traditional books. No wonder - they offer a compact size and the ability to have a large collection of books on a small device, and there are already attractive e-book promotions on the Internet. It's easy to be tempted, especially since the holidays are just around the corner... In this test, I want to convince everyone who loves to read paper books and spend time reading that the cost of acquiring a reader is a must-have purchase in our time. But which device should you choose? A cheaper classic version or something from a higher shelf?

For comparison, I present to you two six-inch inkBook readers from the Polish company Arta Tech - a budget, classic InkBook Classic and a more expensive, ultra-modern InkBook Obsidian.

inkBOOK Classic

The "classic" model is cheaper, it costs about PLN 300. The price-quality ratio is perhaps one of its main advantages. The device is made very neatly and it is pleasant to hold it in hands. The display is of good quality, with a resolution of 1024 × 758 pixels. Interestingly, the inkBOOK Classic uses state-of-the-art E Ink e-paper technology in the Carta version with a fast page refresh time, so we get the impression that we are reading a paper edition with a clear print. The appearance of text - i.e. font, text size, margins and line spacing - can be optimally adapted to your needs, and even the screen orientation can be changed from portrait to landscape. When you finish reading, you can turn off the reader so that the next time you turn it on, the device remembers which page you left on. We can also add bookmarks, just like in printed books, only this way is more convenient.

The presented reader is equipped with a Wi-Fi module, 4 GB of internal memory and an additional slot for microSD cards, so we can easily expand the internal memory up to a maximum of 16 GB. To the left and right of the screen there are convenient buttons for turning pages. The power button is located on the bottom of the case. A short press will put the reader to sleep, a longer press will turn it off completely.

There is a micro USB 2.0 port on the bottom, which will be useful both when downloading and uploading books to our book collection. We can also download e-books to this device via Wi-Fi. We also have the option to create a free backup of the library in the cloud called Midiapolis Drive. You just need to register on the site www.drive.mediapolis.com, and in addition, after registration, we get more than 3 free titles and the opportunity to use the Midiapolis News Reader application, which allows you to conveniently read news and articles from your favorite websites and blogs on electronic paper, i.e.

In my opinion, for a basic, first reader in our selection, the device has a lot of functions, and since it works flawlessly, I can safely recommend it to people with a less well-to-do wallet.

obsidian inkwell

The second reader - inkBook Obsidian, with Android 4.2.2 - has all the features described in the "classic", but also boasts a Flat Glass Solution touch screen, made using E Ink Carta ™ technology, perfectly imitating a sheet of paper. The device also has a comfortable, eye-safe dim backlight with adjustable intensity.

The front of the reader makes a big impression because it is completely flat - the screen is integrated with the frame. The back of the device is covered with rubber, thanks to which the whole thing is well kept in the hands. The reader is lightweight, weighing only 200 grams.

The power button, micro USB connector and SD card slot are located on the top. Obsidian has two pressable page switching keys - one on the left and one on the right. An interesting option is the ability to customize the reader buttons for left-handers and right-handers. Below the screen, there is a back button that works the same as it does in Android.

At the bottom of the screen there are shortcuts to four applications and the list of applications itself - we can edit these shortcuts in the settings. Using the menu buttons and keyboard actions displayed on the screen occur without the slightest delay. The device is equipped with a dual-core processor with a capacity of 8 GB, expandable up to 32 GB after installing a microSD card.

The device glows red while charging. Charging, unfortunately, takes quite a long time, more than three hours, but the battery lasts for several days.

Since I am a fan of touch screen devices, this reader has won my heart. Although it costs more than its predecessor, this time you will have to spend about 500 PLN, but I can assure you that the model is worth it.

Lighter suitcases - the moles are happy

It would seem that in the era of widely available tablets and smartphones with a large screen, such e-readers will not find many supporters, but nothing could be more wrong. Although the tablet will work in many multimedia applications, it also has many drawbacks and does not perform well when you try to read books on it. The LCD screen installed in this type of device tires the eyes, and the battery life leaves much to be desired.

If you try using a screen made from the e-paper technology called e-ink that readers use, you will feel the difference. This type of screen imitates a standard sheet of paper and additionally consumes a minimum amount of energy. This is because it only loads it on a page change. Therefore, readers can boast of long-term work from a single charge. So we're sure we can spend a week's holiday with e-books on a single charge, while the tablet will make us look for an outlet or power bank on the same day. In addition, the screen in e-ink technology does not blink, does not imitate unpleasant light, so our eyesight practically does not get tired. When we spend a sunny day in a sun lounger on the beach, we will not be annoyed by the reflections on the glass, because the matte screen remains perfectly readable and there are simply no reflections on it.

An additional advantage of readers is their versatility. Although the most popular standard for e-books is the EPUB format, the reader also opens Word, PDF, or MOBI files. So even in a situation where we have to view a document from work or school, we will not have the slightest problem with it.

I recommend buying e-books to all bookworms. Why stuff a travel suitcase or backpack with kilograms of books? It is better to take a 200-gram e-book with you.