While Amazon and Apple continue to dominate the digital reading marketplace with their respective devices, that hasn’t stopped other manufacturers from introducing new upgraded e-readers, both dedicated E Ink devices, tablets, and hybrids. Microsoft released the Surface Pro early in 2013, and a growing number of “budget-priced” high performance tablets—check out Archos and Acer below—are the newest trend in mobile reading. Probably the oddest phenomenon is the rise of the “Phablet,” a Frankensteinian amalgamation of phone and tablet that offers the consumer a smartphone with a screen nearly the size of a mass market paperback. Yes, it may look a little odd being held to your ear for a call, but it couldn’t be better when it comes to easy-on-the-eyes reading time.
In this updated guide to the digital reading device landscape we’ve added new and/or upgraded e-ink devices as well as tablets. Remember, in the brave new world of digital reading, it’s not only about the book you’re reading, but what device you’re reading it on.
Tablets
Surface Pro
PRICE:$899
SCREEN:high-res 10.6-in. HD touchscreen
OPERATING SYSTEM:Windows 8
PROCESSOR: dual-core 1.7 GHz Intel Core i5
CAMERA: front and rear facing cameras are both 1.2MP.
TITLES/APPS: millions of for-pay and free e-books via Window 8 apps; about 120,000 apps via the Windows store.
BATTERY LIFE: estimates range from 6 hours (Surface RT) to 7.5 hours (Surface Pro)
STORAGE: Surface (32GB, 65GB); Surface Pro (64GB, 128 GB) expandable
CONNECTIVITY: Wi-Fi
HYPE: Microsoft gets in the hardware business with two cleverly designed tablets (running two different OS): the Surface RT, released in 2012, runs a scaled-down version of Windows 8; the Surface Pro, released in February 2013, runs the full Windows 8 OS.
Archos Titanium Line
PRICE:Archos 97 Titanium ($250), Archos 101 Titanium ($200), Archos 80 Titanium ($170)
SCREEN:10.1-in., 9.7-in., and 8-in. high-res IPS touchscreens
OPERATING SYSTEM:Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
CAMERA: front (2MP) and back (5MP) facing
TITLES/APPS: millions of for-pay titles and 700,000 apps via Google Play and e-book retailer apps, as well as music and millions of free e-books
PROCESSOR: 1.6 GHz dual core processor
BATTERY LIFE: 5–10 hours
STORAGE: 8GB internal plus expandable micro SD card
CONNECTIVITY: Wi-Fi
HYPE: While they may not be built like an iPad, the Archos Titanium line of tablets offers three high-performance devices (there’s a fourth device that’s not on sale in the U.S.) in a range of sizes at startlingly reasonable prices.
Acer Iconia A1
PRICE: $169 (8GB), $199 (16GB)
SCREEN: 7.9-in. IPS touchscreen
OPERATING SYSTEM: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
CAMERA: front (0.3 MP) and rear (5MP) facing cameras
TITLES/APPS: millions of for-pay titles and 700,000 apps via Google Play and e-book retailer apps as well as music and millions of free e-books
PROCESSOR: 1.2 GHz dual core Mediatek Processor
BATTERY LIFE: 7 hours
STORAGE: 8GB; 16GB
CONNECTIVITY: Wi-Fi
HYPE: Coming to the U.S. market in June, the Iconia A1 is yet another “budget” tablet, a solidly produced device likely to compete with Google’s Nexus 7 tablet.
Phablets
Samsung Galaxy S4 Smartphone
PRICE: $600 (unlocked), $150 (contract)
SCREEN: 5-in., super HD AMOLED high-res touchscreen
OPERATING SYSTEM: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
CAMERA: front (2MP) and rear (13MP) facing
TITLES/APPS: millions of for-pay titles and 700,000 apps via Google Play and e-book retailer apps as well as music and millions of free e-books
PROCESSOR: 1.9 GHz quad core
BATTERY LIFE: 8–14 hours
STORAGE: 16GB internal, expandable micro SD
CONNECTIVITY: 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi
HYPE: Hot, hot, hot, this is Samsung’s “it” phone of the moment with enough cool features—a screen the size of a small TV, eye-tracking, and air gesture functionality that lets users scroll content without touching the screen—to make even Apple’s Tim Cook a little jealous.
HTC One Smartphone
PRICE: $550 (unlocked), $100 (with contract)
SCREEN: 4.7-in. Super LCD 3 high-res touchscreen
OPERATING SYSTEM: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
CAMERA: front and rear facing
TITLES/APPS: millions of for-pay titles and 700,000 apps via Google Play and e-book retailer apps as well as music and millions of free e-books
PROCESSOR: Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.7 GHz quad-core processor
BATTERY LIFE: 9 hours
STORAGE: 32GB; 64GB, non-expandable
CONNECTIVITY: 3G; 4G, Wi-Fi
HYPE: Wildly praised by the technorati for its big brilliant screen, fast processor, and slick design, the HTC One joins the Galaxy S4 as a major Android competitor to the iPhone as both a phone and a digital reader.
E Ink Digital Readers
Amazon Paperwhite
PRICE: $119 (with ads) $134 (no ads)
SCREEN: 6-in. 16-level grayscale touchscreen with built-in light
TITLES: millions of for-pay and free e-books as well as lendable titles via Amazon
BATTERY LIFE: 8 weeks
STORAGE: 1,100 books plus cloud storage
CONNECTIVITY: Wi-Fi
HYPE: Amazon now offers a higher resolution and higher contrast screen and a built-in light source that allows this e-ink device to compete with backlit tablets in the all-important read-unobtrusively-in-bed category.
Nook Simple Touch Glowlight
PRICE: $119 (no ads)
SCREEN: 6-in. touchscreen with adjustable Glowlight technology that illuminates the screen
TITLES: three million e-books via Barnes & Noble
BATTERY LIFE: a month using Glowlight
STORAGE: 1,000 books expandable with micro SD card
CONNECTIVITY: Wi-Fi
HYPE: B&N’s newest entrant in the illuminated e-reader race is an upgraded Nook Simple Touch.
Kobo Aura
PRICE: $170
SCREEN: 6.8-in. high-res Pearl E Ink touchscreen
TITLES: two million for-pay e-books, one million free e-books via Kobo
BATTERY LIFE: 2 months
STORAGE: 3,000 e-books plus expandable micro SD card
CONNECTIVITY: Wi-Fi
HYPE: Not to be left out, Kobo offers its own self-lit EInk device with a faster processor and higher price aimed at hardcore book readers.
Sony PRS-T2
PRICE: $129
SCREEN: 6-in. 16-level grayscale Pearl E Ink touchscreen
TITLES: several hundred thousand for-pay e-books and millions of free e-books via Sony eBookstore
BATTERY LIFE: 2 months
STORAGE: 1,200 e-books plus expandable micro SD card
CONNECTIVITY: Wi-Fi
HYPE: Despite pioneering the digital e-reader field, Sony often disappears from view, only to resurface from time to time with upgraded devices that often offer too little too late in a super competitive market.
Txtr Beagle
PRICE: $70 est.
SCREEN: 5-in. Vizplex e-ink screen
TITLES: see Hype
BATTERY LIFE: AAA batteries
STORAGE: five books at a time which can be replaced by owner
CONNECTIVITY: linked by Bluetooth to the consumer’s smartphone
HYPE: Tied to the e-books on a consumer’s smartphone, the Beagle is a dedicated e-reader that allows you to read previously purchased e-books. It launched to be a subsidized device (like a phone) offered via a new channel (mobile carriers); though originally projected to cost less than $20, it is rumored now to likely be about $70 when officially released in the U.S.