Amazon Kindle or Kobo Libra 2? How to pick the best e-book reader in 2024

If you are planning to buy an e-reader and don’t know where to start, here are some important things to consider while buying the e-reader best suited for your reading requirements.

Brand matters

For anyone investing in a new e-book reader, it is important to know that picking up a reliable brand is important. Unlike smartphones or laptops, there are only a handful of companies in the world that make e-readers. Over the years, these brands have mastered the art of making the perfect e-book readers. It is not just about the hardware, but what they offer in their catalogue is equally important. In our opinion, a good e-book reader should be ideally paired with an excellent catalogue of books. Notable brands such as Amazon offer subscription services that come with an assortment of books for a fixed price. Also, an e-book reader from a reputed brand is likely to last longer with all its features intact.

Most popular among e-book readers is Amazon’s Kindle which comes with a range of options. Kindle starts in the budget segment and goes up to ultra-high-end devices. Similarly, Rakuten has also started selling e-book readers in India, and then we have reMarkable, which is clearly one of the biggest ebook readers (in screen size) that one can buy in the market.

E-book readers based on display

Most e-book readers come with a monochrome e-ink display that offers the look and feel of books and has features like fine sunlight readability, and extended battery life. There are also e-book readers that come with coloured e-ink displays. These are costlier than the monochrome displays. Another distinguishing feature is the pixel density. An e-reader with higher pixel density will look a lot sharper. Some e-books also come with backlight support offering comfortable nighttime reading.

When it comes to inputs, most e-readers come with a touchscreen that helps in navigating catalogues, looking up terms, and even highlighting text by simply swiping across the screen. Storage and connectivity options are also crucial for e-readers.. As most devices don’t support storage expansion. However, depending on the usage, it is best to pick a device with a higher storage limit.

Other important things to consider

Most modern ebook readers offer at least 8 GB of internal storage, which should be good enough to store over 6,000 books at once. There are also some e-book readers which support audiobooks. It is to be noted that an audiobook will take up more space compared to an e-book.

In terms of connectivity, most e-book readers offer WiFi connectivity, while some offer cellular connectivity. If you tend to browse through the catalogue while travelling, getting a reader with cellular connectivity makes a lot of sense. There are also e-book readers with ingress protection, which will protect the device from water and dust. Look for this feature, especially if you tend to read while relaxing at a pool or a beach. Lastly, look for a device with excellent battery life and possibly a USB-C port, as one doesn’t want to charge an e-book reader quite often.

Here is a list of some popular e-book readers:

Kindle Paperwhite

One of the most affordable and practical readers (Image credit: Amazon)

There is no better entry-level e-book reader than the Kindle. Priced at Rs 13,999, the device has the dimensions of a typical book and it features a 6.8-inch display with a higher 300 ppi and 8 GB of storage, which can help you store 1000 books. The reader is also IPX8-rated for water resistance and it comes with a USB-C port and can be charged using most smartphone chargers. On a single charge, this device can last up to 10 weeks with moderate usage, and with the Kindle Unlimited, it gives access to over 2 million books.

Kindle Oasis (10th Gen)

Premium device with 4G connectivity (Image credit: Amazon)

This is one of the most cutting-edge ebook readers which offers free 4G access to download books on the go. With its premium finish and slim profile, this is also one of the best-looking ebook readers in the market, which retails for Rs 28,999. This reader has an improved e-ink display, which allows users to adjust warm light, and it also comes with physical buttons on the right side, which makes turning the page a lot easier. On top of that, with a whopping 32 GB of internal storage, this device can store over 20,000 books, and it is also IPX8 rated for water resistance.

Kobo Libra 2

This one can play audiobooks (Image credit: Rakuten)

Another product that’s quite similar to the Kindle Oasis is the Rakuten Kobo Libra 2. This device is priced at Rs 19,999 and comes with a 7-inch anti-glare display along with 32 GB of internal storage. Apart from being an e-reader, this one can also play audiobooks, available on the Kobo store. It is also IPX8-rated, and there are dedicated buttons to turn the page.

reMarkable 2

A large device with stylus input (Image credit: remarkable)

Compared to other options, this one is on the expensive side and costs Rs 43,999. However, unlike most ebook readers, this also allows users to take notes with the help of a stylus and it comes with a massive 10.3-inch display, where the notes will automatically sync with the cloud, which makes them easy to access from other devices such as smartphones and laptops. Unlike Rakuten and Kindle, reMarkable 2 does not have a digital book library of its own, but one can load an ebook that’s either in PDF or EPUB format
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Reinkstone R1 Colour e-reader

A reader with a coloured display (Image credit: Amazon)

If you are looking for an e-reader with a coloured e-ink display, then consider the R1 colour e-reader. Priced at Rs 47,189, this device comes with a 6-inch display, which brings comics to life, and unlike the other options, this device is based on Android OS, allowing users to download apps and games directly from the Google Play Store. It offers 32 GB of internal storage and has 300 ppi in black and white mode and 100 ppi in colour mode.