The e-book
market
has a player dominating the scene and it's called
Kindle
.
However, as the popularity of these devices grew, other brands gained a foothold among the voracious readers and began to challenge the Amazon brand for its place.
Due to its practicality, the fidelity offered by electronic ink -which is very similar to paper- and the number of books that can be carried, but above all
due to the difference in prices with traditional books
,
ereaders
are increasingly common among readers.
And, in this context, the Kindle is the best known, but it is not the only one.
Despite the fact that a few years ago there was a wide range of options, today the local market has
contracted
, as well as becoming more expensive.
This did not prevent Kobo, Boox, Noblex and even Eudeba, which published one in Argentina called
Boris
-discontinued-, from releasing models that can be purchased locally.
Under this scenario, it is difficult not to fall for a Kindle, due to the ease of obtaining it in relation to its price. But if you are looking for alternatives, these are some of the alternatives that are available in the country, together with their average price per month February 2023.
Kindle Paperwhite 11
Kindle is the most popular in the world.
Photo: Shutterstock
It is the most popular ereader
in the world
.
Created by Amazon as a response to the internal disputes that the company founded by Jeff Bezos had with publishers, it revolutionized the market.
In addition to allowing books to be purchased directly within the Kindle ecosystem, they can be purchased on the web and sent via an email that the Amazon account activates for the user, under the “send to
Kindle” function.
This, in addition to being very useful,
already supports the EPUB format
, which is one of the most popular in the world, since August of last year.
Among its most useful features,
it has its own light
for environments with low lighting (configurable) and it is resistant to splashes (something that may seem minor but is key for those who read in the bathtub or pool).
As against,
it comes with advertisements
(although they are seen only when the ebook is turned off or in the main menu).
It had several models over the years and this is a point that must be clarified: currently, it is no longer necessary to go much higher than the
Paperwhite 10, although there is little difference in price with the 11
(between 50 and 54 thousand pesos).
For the most exquisite
there is the
Oasis
version , larger in size, with a higher resolution (300 dpi) and 32 GB of storage, something totally excessive for the little space that digital books take up.
It costs about
115 thousand
pesos in the country.
Supported formats
:
EPUB, AZW3, AZW, TXT, PDF, MOBI, PRC, HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PMP.
Kobo ClaraHD
Kobo: great device, poor local availability.
Photo: Shutterstock
The Kindle's direct rival: Kobo, an ebook that has always been popular in the world of free culture.
As a main advantage,
it does not have advertisements
like the best-selling version of the Kindle does.
In addition, the light it brings is configurable with
warm
colors .
As against,
it is not the best option
to read the PDF format.
And the transfer of books is done by
USB
, unlike Kindle that allows you to send them by
.
The latest versions come with a
pencil
to make notes and also allows you to synchronize content from other applications such as Pocket to, for example, read a long note from the web on the device.
The problem is how outdated the price was: the "Clara HD" version costs about
130,000 pesos.
And there's even a premium 32GB version (Sage) that costs about $210K, which is ridiculously high for an electronic reading device.
Supported
formats
EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR.
Noblex Er6a15
Noblex, the local option.
Photo Noblex
With a 1024 x 758
screen
, the national option has everything you need: front light, good image quality and
4 GB of storage
.
They all come with a good amount of space for books, which take up almost no storage relative to other types of files (it's estimated that about 6,000 books fit on an average ereader).
It also supports EPUB
format
.
The problem is that, with a reference price of 33,000 pesos,
it is not listed on the official
Noblex website and, on ecommerce sites, there is almost no offer.
Supported formats: Adobe DRM,PDF,EPUB,FB2,TXT,RTF,HTML,MOBI.
Boox Nova Air: the premium option
Box Nova Air, premium e-reader.
photo box
To understand why an ebook can exceed 300 thousand pesos, it is necessary to clarify that it has more functions than "just reading".
However, it still looks disproportionate.
The great distinction is that it is a color device that comes with a stylus that allows you to work and make notes on top of the documents.
The plus of color makes it ideal for those who want to read
graphic novels, comics
, and other types of content that demand more detail than a traditional book.
In large part what makes it more expensive is its
eight-core
Snapdragon 662 processor, something excessive for any traditional ebook, which comes paired with 3 GB of RAM and 32 of internal storage.
It comes with
Android 11 and Bluetooth 5.0.
All this is done by a premium gadget with extras that point more to the world of work than recreation, although it can make the two compatible.
Supported formats: AZW,AZW3,BMP,CHM,DJVU,DOC,DOCM,DOCX,EPUB,FB2,FBZ,HTML,JPG,MOBI,MP3,ODT,PDF,PDF (editable),PNG,PPT,PRC,RTF, SWX,TIFF,TRC,TXT,WAV.
Boris (Eudeba) - "On Stand By"
Boris, the eudeba ereader.
Photo Eudeba
Boris
is the national ereader of Eudeba, the publishing house of the University of Buenos Aires.
It comes with 512 mb of ram memory, 4GB of internal storage and
can be expanded with a
Microusb card of up to 32 (although it is not usually necessary).
It is compatible with all known online stores.
The problem is that the official page lists it as currently out of stock and, as Clarín found out with
Eudeba
, "the project is open but on
standby".
It came with 20 free ebooks, headphones (for audiobooks) and USB cable, but only one used copy appears in Mercado Libre.
Supported formats: PDF & EPUB DRM, TXT, HTML, CHM, PDB, MOBI, FB2, DJVU, PDF, EPUB, DOC, MP3, WMA, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF.
Why use an ereader
Ebooks, allies of practicality and economy.
Photo Pexels
Beyond these differences, why should you buy an electronic reader?
In the first place, because in front of a tablet or a cell phone the screen
does not have the characteristic brightness of these gadgets
that we use every day.
And that, with the passage of time, damage the view and bother.
Second, there are other associated benefits, ranging from dimly lit displays for reading in darker environments to features like
highlighting
, saving notes, and quickly searching for words and chapters.
But
one of the biggest selling points is
the price difference.
While a physical book for mass consumption can cost 5,000 pesos,
there are cases where the digital version costs 1,500.
And, in addition, for
books that are free of copyright
, ereaders allow formats such as
MOBI and EPUB
, which are available online, for free, or even on pages dedicated exclusively to downloading books that meet these conditions.
There is another no less advantage:
the battery lasts a long time.
We can read intensely
for 2 weeks
without charging it, or up to a month if we read more moderately.
Ereaders are great companions, as well, not only for travel, but also for
everyday reading.
look too
Z-Library: two Russians connected to the world's largest book download site are arrested in Córdoba
Kindle will now support Epub, the standard e-book format