Summer is upon us, and it is time to curl up and read a good book. Most people read on their smartphone since it is always in their pocket. However, e-readers have a tremendous advantage because the screen does not get any glare from the sun, and the battery lasts for weeks instead of days. When it comes down to it, e-readers are the closest thing to actual paper. What are the best e-readers for summer 2024? We will look at some of the best that money can buy.
Onyx Boox Palma
The Boox Palma has the same form factor as a smartphone but is a dedicated e-reader. It uses Google Android 11 as the operating system and fully supports the Google Play Store, so you can download your favourite apps or discover new ones. Users will likely want to download their preferred e-reading ecosystem, such as Kindle, Kobo, or Nook, and library apps like Libby or Hoopla.
The Onyx Boox Palma features a 6.13-inch capacitive touchscreen display and utilizes E INK Carta 1200 for fast page refreshing. The resolution is 824 x 1648 with 300 PPI. Reading an ebook is bliss; fonts are razor-sharp, whether using an app or sideloading your content. The screen is flush with the bezel and protected by a layer of glass. The device colour scheme is a piano black on the front and back platting. It has two speakers, two microphones, a volume rocker (which can double as page-turn buttons), and an ambient light sensor to adjust the front-lit and colour temperature system based on the environment. It does not have a front-facing camera but does on the rear with a 16 MP snapper and LED light. A USB-C port will charge and transfer audiobooks or ebooks to the device. It retails for $279.99.
Onyx Boox Go Color 7
The Onyx Boox Go 7 Color is a brand-new e-reader for 2024. This model is a dedicated book reader with the latest generation of e-paper, Kaleido 3. The screen can display over 4,000 different colours, which makes it ideal for reading digital content such as comics, magazines, webtoons, and PDF files. The big selling points are the physical page-turn buttons, Android 12, Google Play and a thin design, making it portable.
The Onyx Boox Go Color 7 has a 7-inch E INK Kaleido 3 color e-paper screen and Carta 1200 for enhanced page turns and performance. The black and white resolution is 1680×1264 with 300 PPI, while the colour content resolution is 1240 x 930 with 150 PPI. The device’s body is sleek black, and the screen is seamlessly integrated with the bezel and protected by a layer of glass. The textured back delivers a paperlike feeling and a secure grip. It adds a touch of sophistication and is easy to hold. Perfectly blending practicality and elegance every time you use it. Thanks to the front-lit display and colour temperature system, you can read during the day or night, including white and amber LED lights. A software slider bar can adjust the lighting with warm and cool LED lights. The Go Color 7 retails for $249.99.
Bigme Hibreak Color
The Hibreak Color features a 5.84 E INK Kaleido 3 colour e-paper display with a 720×1440 and 275 PPI black-and-white resolution. The color PPI is 91.9. The phone is black on the front and all along the bezels. The back is perforated, which makes it easy to hold. A front-light display only has white LED lights to read in the dark and is controlled by a software slider bar.
Underneath the hood is an octa-core MTK6765 with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage; there is also a MicroSD slot. There is a camera on the front with 5MP, and the rear camera is 13MP. It supports a myriad of network bands with a 4G connection. You can see the entire supported network range HERE. There is a single microphone for talking to someone with a speaker. If you want to go hands-free, there is support for Bluetooth 5.0 accessories. Users can charge the phone with a USB-C powered by a 3,000 mAh battery.
One of the most compelling aspects of the Bigme HiBreak Color is Android 11 and full access to the Google Play Store. This provides customers with millions of free and paid apps. Many people have their ideal choice for digital content and Play mostly as everything, although. You can also elect to sideload in your stuff. The phone retails for $249.99.
Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight Plus – 2023 Model
Barnes and Noble released their flagship premium e-reader in 2023. It has a well-thought-out design, a large 7.8-inch e-paper display, and a matte screen protector installed at the factory to reduce glare. It is waterproof, has audiobook functionality, and has page-turn buttons to make ebook reading enjoyable.
The Glowlight Glowlight 4 Plus features a 7.8-inch E INK Carta HD e-paper display with a 1,404 x 1,872 and 300 PPI resolution. The screen is flush with the bezel and protected by a layer of glass. A matte screen protector was installed at the factory; this is used to reduce glare from overhead lighting or the sun. It r details for $199.99 and is primarily aimed at US customers.
Rakuten Kobo Clara BW
The Kobo Clara BW uses the latest generation E INK Carta 1300 e-paper screen. Not much is known about this e-paper type since even E INK hasn’t officially announced it yet, but it’s been utilized in many Chinese e-readers and e-notebooks in the past five months. Kobo told me they went with these new panels mainly because they were the only ones available for mass production then, which was as simple as that. Kobo also disclosed that the average user would be hard-pressed to see any advantages or performance gains if you put the Kobo Clara 2e and the Clara BW side by side.
What are the major selling points behind the Clara BW? Aside from the Carta 1300 screen, it has a hollow bezel and no glass. This ensures no glare when reading outside in direct sunlight—Ditto with overhead bright lights. I have always liked this type of e-reader design since fonts and text on the screen look better at 300 PPI when reading. Text pops better; glass tends to defuse text. Suffice it to say that the Clara BW is one of the best e-readers around.
The Rakuten Kobo Clara BW features a 6-inch E INK Carta 1300 e-paper panel that is 25% more responsive than the previous generation Kobo Clara 2e. The resolution is 1448 x 1072, and the system is in comprehensive Dark Mode and 300 PPI. The screen is recessed and does not have glass. Text will pop due to the exposed e-paper screen being closer to your eyes. The e-reader only comes in one colour: black. The ComfortLight PRO adjustable brightness system will give you both white and amber LED lights to read during the night. I have often found that the white lights at 35% and amber at 7% tend to make the screen very white, similar to the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. This e-reader retails for $129 and has wide availability.
Pocketbook Verse Pro
The Pocketbook Verse Pro is a new premium e-reader with a six-inch screen, making it pocket-friendly and easy on the wallet. The device has a glorious 300 PPI screen, so the fonts look razor-sharp. Turn pages with ease, thanks to the touchscreen and manual page-turn buttons. The Verse Pro is a great ebook reader for those who do not want to be locked into a specific ecosystem and want the freedom to load their books or buy books through other online retailers and sideload the EPUB files via Adobe Digital Editions. It comes in two different colours, Azure and Passion Red. The colours surrounding the bezel are black, as are the colours on the side and the back plate.
PocketBook Verse Pro features a 6-inch E Ink Carta screen with an HD resolution of 1072 × 1448 and 300 PPI. You may indulge in e-reading without worrying about eye strain: the device has optical characteristics as close to those of a printed page as possible for a gadget. The E Ink display does not glare in sunlight, making it ideal for outdoor reading, while the clarity of the page and perfectly crisp text promise that you will get the absolute pleasure of e-reading. And what is always worth mentioning: the energy-efficient E Ink technology ensures up to one month of reading on a single battery charge. This e-reader retails for $169.99.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
The gold standard for e-readers, even if this model is getting a little long in the tooth, is that it still provides one of the best e-reading experiences in the world. The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 11th generation features a 6.8 inch E INK Carta 1200 touchscreen display with a resolution of 1236 x 1648 and 300 PPI. There is a front-lit display and warm lighting system with 17 white and amber LED lights. A new system-wide Dark Mode can be pulled down from the drop-down arrow above the search bar. It inverts the black-and-white e-paper display, so the background is black, and the fonts are white. You can use white and warm lighting to customize the screen’s brightness.
One of the big draws of the Kindle Paperwhite 5 is purchasing Audible audiobooks right on the e-reader and connecting a pair of wireless headphones or an external speaker. This is because it is running Bluetooth 5.0. The sound quality is excellent, but it entirely depends on the quality of Bluetooth accessories. It is rated IPX8 to protect against accidental immersion in up to two meters of fresh water for up to 60 minutes and up to 0.25 meters of seawater for up to 3 minutes. This is useful if you read in the bathtub or spill something on the Kindle; you can run it under tap water to clean it without worrying about damaging it. What is interesting about the USB-C port is that it has moisture-detection capabilities. If the device is wet, a notification will appear on the screen, and you cannot charge your Kindle until it is dry. Amazon says you can still use your Kindle after getting a liquid detection notice, but you just won’t be able to charge it. The battery will last around ten weeks, which is solid for an e-reader. It retails for $149.99.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
