eReaders are steadily becoming increasingly popular, perhaps partly thanks to the release of Amazon’s Kindle. Although many people thought eReaders were another technology fad when they first came out, it looks like they are here to stay. However, not everyone is convinced. Some say that there is nothing quite like holding the book in your hands and that they prefer the ‘traditional’ method to reading books. However, sales of eReaders are rising and more companies are bringing out their own models. So just what are the benefits of using an eReader?
The first, and probably biggest, benefit is portability. If you are going on a long journey or a holiday then the last thing you will want to be doing is lugging lots of heavy books. Besides, if you are flying by plane then there are the weight limitations to take into consideration. Having an eReader gets rid of these issues and all of your books are stored on a single device. The majority of eReaders are light and thin, meaning that they are perfect to take with you on the go. It’s the perfect device for those who have to commute.
A benefit that stems from this is that it frees up storage space. A lot of people have books all over their house on shelves or stored away in the garage. The likelihood is that the majority of these books are rarely, if ever, touched again. Just imagine how much space you could save by consolidating all of that reading on a single device.
Another plus to reading eBooks is that they can be sent to your device very quickly. Rather than having to go to the shop or order them online to be delivered by mail, eBooks can be simply downloaded within moments. This means that if you are recommended a book or fancy diving into something new then you will be able to do it straight away. There’s no waiting around and the library of eBooks is vast.
When reading a book, particularly non-fiction, you may want to find a certain phrase or page. Although there are usually contents pages, these are often not specific enough. eReaders have the ability to search through the entire book to find a word or phrase that you are looking for. This would especially come in handy for students who have their academic text books in eBook form.
Some people will say that they don’t like the idea of reading their books off a screen because they get tired when using a computer. However, most eReaders use something called eInk. This means that light is reflected from the screen in the same way that it does when you are reading from paper. You can also resize fonts or change the type face completely in order to suit your needs. This is great, especially for those who are short of sight.
Finally, you can get a lot of eBooks for free, especially older works that are now in the public domain. Companies like Amazon also make some eBooks free for a limited time, meaning that you can always discover new stories for the price of nothing.