Due to the wide adoption of tablets and smartphones, the ebook readers market became very challenging. This year, Sony announced that it will discontinue manufacturing its Sony Reader devices and will not introduce new ones in the future either. Nevertheless, a few eBook reader products continue to thrive due to a number of reasons. So, before looking for Top 10 Books of 2014 this holiday season, let’s take a look at this year’s top ebook readers.
Kindle Voyage
Amazon’s latest eBook reader, Kindle Voyage, was released in November. Early reviews show that the device stands out from the competition. It has a sharper screen and it is much more durable compared to its predecessors. With Kindle Voyage, Amazon fixed the mistake it made with Kindle Paperwhite. Avid readers can again turn their pages by clicking buttons and not just by touching the screen of the device. Due to the Black Friday and cyber Monday Deals Week craze, the device is not available for purchase now, but you may pre-order and be amongst the first to receive it on December 18.
New Kindle with Touchscreen Display
Consumers, who prefer to keep it simple and affordable, also received a surprise in 2014. Along with Kindle Voyage, Amazon unveiled a new-generation Kindle with touchscreen display that costs barely $79. Although dirt-cheap, this product comes with all Kindle features, a faster processor and long battery life. And, if that was not enough, it is even lighter compared to all other Kindle eBook readers.
Kobo Aura HD Digital Text Reader
Kobo’s Aura H20 is a one-of-a-kind eReader. It offers high-end quality and it is water-resistant. If you want, you can use it in a 1-meter deep water for 30 minutes. We are not quite sure why would anyone want to do something like that. Still, Aura H20 makes a good vacation eBook reader since you can bring it to the beach, for instance. Another great advantage of this device is its large 6.8” screen and ComfortLight technology, which will enable you to read in the dark. But the main disadvantage of this device is its high price, and therefore is hard to imagine it will ever become a hit or a best seller.
Kindle Paperwhite
Kindle Paperwhite was not released in 2014. Nevertheless, it continues to be Amazon’s best-selling gadget of this class. It has a fast processor, integrated light technology that is sight-friendly and responsive touchscreen. There are even claims that Paperwhite’s screen offers a better reading experience than the new Kindle Voyage. It’s only setback, as it was mentioned earlier, is that it relies entirely on the touchscreen for navigation and page turning.
Nook GlowLight
Barnes & Noble’s Nook GlowLight was launched towards the end of 2013, but like Kindle Paperwhite it still enjoys consumers’ attention. GlowLight is Barnes & Noble’s alternative to Paperwhite. Similar to Kindle’s eReader, it does not come with page-turn buttons. However, it is one of the lightest eReaders out there. Also, thanks to the materials from which it is made, it also offers a good grip. Despite that, Barnes & Noble’s ecosystem is far from that of Amazon’s.
It will be interesting to see what 2015 has in store for the eReader sector. Will it continue to evolve and grow, or will it take a turn for the worse? As per our experience during the 2014 Black Friday sale, even Amazon may discontinue the Kindle readers.
