If you don’t know any better, the name ebook readers or electronic book readers can be misleading. True, eReaders have been designed primarily to replace your paperback, which is why most eReaders come with a display size of 6 inches. However, eReaders can display more than just ebooks; they are built to display a wide range of reading materials.
Magazines
As with print, you need to subscribe to magazines to be able to access them. Most 6-inch eReaders on the market can display e-magazines. For those who feel they are too small to comfortably display full layout of magazines, there are wider-screened eReaders. Examples of magazine-oriented eReaders are the Kindle DX, Fujitsu Flepia, and Irex 1000S. They come with screen display sizes ranging from 8 to 12 inches.
Most consumers feel, however, that eReaders are not as good in displaying magazines as they do ebooks. Some of the common complaints include:
- Inability to render inline videos.
- Inability to render true color of e-magazines.
Despite these criticisms, e-magazines for eReaders continue to grow in numbers. For instance, in May, there were only 9 e-magazines on the B&N store. Now there are 13. Similarly, the Kindle Store seems to add 1 new magazine each month; it now offers 58 US and international magazines.
Newspapers
eReaders offer easier access to newspapers as well. For devices that don’t support 3G or WiFi, you can drag and drop the file from your PC. On the other hand, with eReaders that make content available via 3G or WiFi, you’d be able to pick up your New York Times or LA Times anytime. The Kindle, B&N, and Sony Stores all carry e-newspapers. When you subscribe to a newspaper, it will be directly delivered to your device by the store.
Comics
If you’re an avid comic reader, you’d be glad to know that eReaders can display comics, too. You’d get the graphics and cloud speeches. What you won’t get is the color. Again, current group of eReaders (with the exception of the iPad) support only grayscale so you will miss out the color.
RSS Feeds/ Blogs
Some eReaders just as the Kindle 2 and the Sony Daily Edition can receive and display RSS feeds or blogs. Some eReaders offer RSS feed delivery for free, but some, like the Kindle charge you a certain amount per month for each RSS feed you subscribe to.
PDFs
PDF is probably one of the most preferred file formats by ebook publishers because of their ability to embed fonts and images. PDF is also the preferred format for product manuals, brochures, and white papers. If majority of your ebooks or personal documents are in PDF form, you would probably want an eReader that can support PDFs. Fortunately, most can – even the Kindle now has a built-in PDF reader.
Commonly Supported eBook Formats
eReaders tend to display a broad range of formats (some can display as many as 16, 22, or more file formats). Commonly supported formats include: DOC, TXT, HTML, FB2, PF, LIT, PDB, PRC, MOBI, and EPUB
Closing thought
eBook readers are not designed to replace your paperbacks and hardbound only. They are an all-around, carry-all reading device, putting all types of reading materials – from ebooks to brochures and comics to personal documents – at your fingertips, anytime and anywhere.
wish there were more and a better selection of e-books to borrow from library system. They are so expensive to buy!