Convenience is an interesting thing, because it exists just when you don't notice something. Having comfortable shoes means not noticing them on your feet; a comfortable chair means not feeling like you are sitting in it when you are concentrating on reading your favorite book. That is why choosing a good reading room is a guarantee of complete immersion in history and a pleasant pastime.
I tried a couple of popular e-readers and decided to compare them according to several important criteria, so that it would be easier for you to choose the appropriate option if you are just switching to e-books or want to try something new.
So, meet the participants in our book race: Pocketbook reader , Amazon Kindle and Cool Reader, who will compete in five categories - available book formats, ecosystem, store, interface optimization and reading settings.
Book Formats
If you are a longtime fan of e-books and used some of the early models, you probably remember the pain of finding a book in the correct file resolution. Fortunately, most modern applications and devices are capable of opening and reading files in various formats. Let's see how this is true for the participants of the "race":
Pocketbook Reader
Pocketbook supports all popular e-book formats, including EPUB, FB2, FB2.zip, MOBI, PDF, DJVU, DOCX, RTF, TXT, CHM, CBT, HTML and others, for a total of 19 formats. The application can also open files in CBR and CBZ formats, which are used for comics, and audio in MP3 and MP4 formats.
In total, the application is able to interact with 26 file formats, minimizing the energy consumption for finding the right one.
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle TXT, PDF, AZW, MOBI, PRC, JPEG BMP. EPUB FB2 . , .
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Cool Reader
Cool Reader , 12 : EPUB (non-DRM), FB2, DOC, TXT, RTF, HTML, CHM, TCR, PDB, PRC, MOBI (non-DRM) PML.
DRM, , EPUB MOBI
. AppStore, Google Play. , iOS , Store . Pocketbook Reader Amazon Kindle Google Play, AppStore.
Pocketbook Reader
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, – Pocketbook Cloud , , , Dropbox Google Books.
Amazon Kindle
In this functionality, Amazon is absolutely not inferior to Pocketbook, and perhaps even ahead of it in some places. The application allows in a couple of clicks to ensure the synchronization of all files on different platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows and, of course, physical Kindle readers.
However, it will not work out so easily to upload the content of a competing organization - Google Books, and users often mark bugs on lower-priority versions of the application. A feature unique to Amazon (among the participants in this comparison) is that Alex's personalized assistant will be able to read any book from your application.
Cool Reader
There is no synchronization here. In fact, the application works in isolation on one device, and if you want to install it on, say, a tablet, then all your bookmarks, books and files will have to be transferred manually. Most likely, the best solution would be to use Cool REader on only one device, so install it there than you objectively use more often.
Score
Amazon Kindle
It is even a little pointless to compete with Amazon in this category, since the victory is unconditionally behind him. The online store will allow you to access millions of titles directly from the application, and the Amazon Prime subscription will also open access to video and audio streaming, and all sorts of goodies when shopping on the Amazon website.
Not all books available on the site are included in the subscription, but even with this limitation, literally a million options open to you.
Pocketbook Reader
Let's be honest, BookLand (the official Pocketbook Reader store) isn't nearly as good as we'd like it to be. And I'm not comparing it to a multi-billion dollar Amazon store, but simply to a regular online bookstore.
The design has crossed the line of minimalism, and has almost gone beyond the limits of aesthetic simplicity, and the presented set of books is unlikely to impress even a person who first learned that books can be read on the screen. It saves that books can be bought anywhere and in any format and uploaded to your Pocketbook Reader, but these are far from two clicks, which Amazon beckons us with.
Restyling and working on the number of available books is what Bookland needs now.
Cool Reader
Since Cool Reader is free and open source software, there is no store here. The application provides access to the popular Liters resource, as well as OPDS online catalogs that store and distribute free electronic publications.
Convenience of the interface and reading settings
A short disclaimer - for me this comparison point is more a matter of personal preference, and the choice will more depend on what you want to do with your reader (just highlight the quote, or highlight it in different colors, etc.).
I also combined the two points into one, because for me the application interface, if it does not actively interfere and does not resist interaction with the text, plays a less important role.
Amazon Kindle
Kindle has everything you need for comfortable reading. An application with a simple and straightforward interface that includes the store, your library and the books themselves.
As for the reading settings, all the standards of the sphere are here: you can change the size and position of the text, select a different font and orientation of the text (portrait or landscape), and also change the brightness and color of the background for reading at night. The standard functions of any reader are also in place. The application will allow you to bookmark, Google or translate obscure words, and quickly flip with the Page Flip function.
The Amazon Kindle will be able to read to you at night, as there are many audiobooks available in the application, and you can easily go from reading a book to listening when your eyes are tired.
Pocketbook Reader
Pocketbook in this case is an option with "additional topping". The application offers many additional features that give many options when choosing a design.
In addition to standard text and font settings, the application offers eight themes, two night modes, and customizable page turning animations! The application also allows you to create widgets both for the application itself and for the phone's home screen to speed up access to books.
For ease of reading, Pocketbook offers to change the side margins and lock the screen orientation. Of course, there are word search and translation functions, and the application also allows you to download your dictionaries and even font sets.
The app will also be able to read to you, but users have noted that some improvements would be useful here, such as better chapter recognition and bookmarking. However, this freedom of choice and a ton of chips can be overwhelming. I just want to read!
Cool Reader
Despite its apparent simplicity, Cool Reader has most of the same personalization features as its competitors. Here you can change fonts, brightness, page animation, translate words using existing dictionaries, as well as download new ones. A big plus for the developers who have added all this to a completely free open source application!
The reader also allows you to customize the menu area in the reading format for yourself (the menu that appears when you click on the edge of the page), and add additional styles. However, the latter will require a minimum of coding and CSS styling knowledge.
Cool Reader can also read the downloaded books, but there have been complaints about bugs and uneven text to voice (TTS) conversion for some works, although the conversion worked perfectly for other books.
Amazon Kindle |
Pocketbook Reader |
Cool Reader |
7
-
(TTS) |
19
-
(TTS) , |
12
(TTS) , |
Final Considerations
Each of these readers have their own strengths, and the choice will depend on your capabilities and goals. If you're willing to pay for a subscription (and sometimes additionally for individual works), then the Amazon Kindle will open access to millions of titles, including hard-to-find professional literature, and the latest novelties, just from the presentation.
Pocketbook Reader cannot boast of such a great store, but it will easily “eat” a file of almost any format that you find and download on the Internet. The app also offers many personalization settings to make the reading experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
Cool Reader can be safely considered a "novice" application - it doesn't have a huge load of additional functions, but it has everything you need to enjoy your favorite work. You may need to take a little time to figure out how to download books.
Choose one reader now, try all three or search for more - the main thing is to find the application with which you will be comfortable traveling through fictional worlds and text labyrinths.