As we live in an increasingly digital world, eReaders have grown significantly in terms of usability and popularity. With eBooks gaining importance as a digital source of information, eReaders have exploded in the market. The global eReader market is projected to grow with a significant growth rate of 6.1% from 2019 to 2024 and reach a market value of USD 12.33 billion by the end of 2024.
What is an eReader?
An eReader is an electronic device that is designed to read eBooks, documents, periodicals, and other digital documents. An ideal eReader is generally the size of a paperback with low-resolution and low-glare black and white XD screen, though the colored versions are also available.
What are the Benefits of eReaders?
Compared to a laptop, computer, or smartphone, which are usually backlit, the eReaders are thin and have long battery life. An eReader can support several proprietary formats. However, keep in mind that not all eReaders can handle all formats, for example, some will support HTML, plain text, and JPG, but not the open-standard ePUB.
eReaders offer plenty of additional benefits.
- Portability
- Increased Capacity
- Better Reading Experience
- Storing Multilingual eBooks
- Tracking the Reading Progress
- Hassle-free Sharing
- Connect to Social Media
How to Choose The Best eReader for your Institution
With the proliferation of eReaders in the market, choosing the eReader that best suits your needs becomes important. Choices can be confusing at times and therefore, it is crucial to figure out which eReader will serve your institution better.
It is an exciting and evolving technology, and as with every new technology, there are several factors to consider before investing in the best eReader for your institution. Weighing these factors would ensure that you don’t waste your money or end up investing in something that doesn’t work for you.
As with purchasing any other electronic gadgets, there are several factors to consider to ensure that the eReader is exactly what you want for your institution. Here are some features that will help you make an informed decision while purchasing the best eReader for your institution.
Memory:
What is the storage capacity of the eReader and how many documents and eBooks can it store? Secondly, can the memory space be increased, if required? The storage capacity of the eReader should suit your requirements and should be easily scalable.
Format Type:
Not all eReaders can support all types of publishing formats. While choosing an eReader for your institution, make sure it supports ePUB files, PDFs, Word documents. This will allow your readers to access all your learning and development material, and sync with other devices.
Besides, ePUB is supported by technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3, which makes it possible to hyperlink content with internal and external references. It is also SEO-friendly, making content searchable on various browsers, based on keywords.
And finally, it should support the fixed and reflowable layout. In fixed layout, the eReader replicates the printed page and in case of a reflowable layout, content flows to take up the size of the screen of the reading device. Here’s more on Reflowable or Fixed-layout ePUB – Which is Better? and Here’s How to Convert PDF to ePUB3 while Keeping the Format Intact.
Connectivity:
It goes without saying that the eReader you choose should have internet connectivity so that readers can access content while on the go. Readers can also download eBooks while they have internet connectivity and access them offline.
Viewability:
The eReader should be screen-friendly and consider factors such as color, size, and reflectiveness. Besides, the content should be easy to read. Are your end-users more comfortable with a physical book? If yes, then the best eReader should be the one that gives them the feel of a printed book.
An eReader is available in black and white, and color format. While black and white are easy on the eye, the colored ones are ideal for content that is rich in graphics and photos. Such eReaders can provide a complete reading experience.
Size:
Compare the eReader screen size with the size of non-dedicated readers such as the iPad or laptop and see what your learners are most comfortable with. Although eReaders are available in a variety of screen sizes, six inches seems to be the standard size. eReaders let you change the font size while you’re reading, so even a smaller screen can display a significantly larger font size for your convenience.
Reflectiveness:
The best eReader is the one that makes reading easy irrespective of the amount of light available. eReaders should make it much easier to read in sunlight than a normal tablet without reflecting, glaring, or loss of image.
Weight:
Ideally, the eReader should weigh less than the usual paperback, and should be easy to carry and hold.
Battery life:
Your students may spend hours on the eReader. Ensure that the eReader has a long battery life. Also, find out if you can replace the battery on your own or do you have to send it to a technician for replacement? eReaders with e-ink displays have an exceedingly low power consumption, and this means that they do not need charging that often.
Shareability:
Does the eReader allow you to share content with your students, colleagues and other stakeholders? It must enable you to collaborate with other users and share content internally. eReaders should also have a feature to connect your social media accounts so that you can share the content through social media if required.
Product Reviews:
While this may seem like a time-consuming activity, it is a good idea to read through product reviews since you are not only investing in an expensive product but also in one that would have constant updates.
The best approach is to read both professional reviews and user-submitted content for a balanced view. While technology experts tend to focus on the technical aspects of the eReader, the end-user feedback provides a glimpse of their experience of using the product.
Compatibility:
While it may be tempting to purchase eReaders from overseas, it is important that you check for compatibility in your local area. Also, check the method by which it allows downloads. While some provide WiFi download compatibility and USB download, there are others that only offer USB download.
Other Features:
Check for other features that the eReader provides. Since you are investing in an eReader for your institution, it should allow your learners to add notes. Then again, how easy is the process to add notes?
Can readers browse through the content to find some information?
Does it have a library of additional resources and is it possible to upload new ones?
Can you highlight portions of the documents and share them on social media?
Case Study:
McGraw Hill used ebooks to build conceptual understanding, computational fluency & problem-solving skills in everyday mathematics
Conclusion
While there are several eReaders available in the market, you may wish to invest in a proprietary eReader that can be customized to the needs of your institution. Once you have done your research and have made a list of the features that your eReader should have, talk to the eReader vendors and discuss your requirements with them.
Be sure to discuss factors such as customer support, more so because new products can come with problems and it is reassuring to know that you can return them or have the problem fixed at minimum or no cost and hassle.
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