When I first got an eReader in August 2010, I went for the Sony eReader Touch (a PRS-600, if we’re being super accurate). I didn’t make the decision because of any moral aversion to buying a Kindle but I liked the idea of a touch screen (which was pretty unique at the time and came accompanied with a little stylus for easy note-taking) and the fact that I could buy eBooks from more or less anywhere I wanted. Except Amazon, obviously.
Alternative: The Kindle Paperwhite apparently isn’t the only eReader available in the UK that glows. If lighting up your surroundings is your idea of fun, you could also try the Nook Simple Touch GlowLight for a quite frankly bargainous price of £49.99. Kobo also have one that I’ve mentioned below.
Alternatives:
Still want to be your own bargain hunter? The newer Reader from Sony has Wi-Fi capability and still gives you the freedom to shop ‘til you drop all over the internet. If it’s diversity of opportunity when it comes to your eBooks, this reader still seems to be a solid bet.
UPDATE (with thanks to Ellie): The Kobo Glo also gives you freedom with easy access to Kobo, which I actually used to buy a lot of eBooks from because their prices were pretty reasonable so this is a good alternative to a Kindle Paperwhite from what I can tell from a bit of a nosey around the internet. I thought that the Nook was exclusively for Barnes and Noble (and I don’t know what the prices are like in the UK so have no idea what that really means for readers) but I am most reliably informed that you can use it for whatever epubs you can get your hands on!
Alternatives: Pretty much any of the other eReaders in the market, I’d guess.
4. SO CLEAR: I always thought that my previous eReader had a good screen. I was a fool. The Kindle Paperwhite is like the HD upgrade to the standard definition I was reading before. The screen really is very clear. I haven’t tried it in super bright sunshine yet (I live in Yorkshire, England – sunshine is rare…)
Alternatives: This is another of those things that I think all eReaders offer these days and I haven’t seen enough eReaders “in real life” to make any real judgement on their prowess in this area. I was going to write “sorry” but seeing as I am in no way actually a technology buff, I feel as though that lack of knowledge is kind of ok.
5. All the rest… It’s super quick. There’s a nifty dictionary thing so I can hold on a word and it’ll define it for me. Apparently, I can also press on a character’s name and it will tell me about that particular character (I haven’t tried that properly yet!). I charged it on Boxing Day and I haven’t had to charge it since, despite having messed about on it pretty much daily. It has a magical case that turns it on when I open it (because turning things on actively is for chumps, obviously).
