When eBook readers were first introduced, they were revolutionary. However, over the last few years, tablets have become much more popular and cheaper. In addition, tablets can do many things that eBook readers cannot do and with many apps available for reading, tablets can be used as great eBook readers.
Even the most basic tablets have more advanced features than eBook readers. All tablets will allow users to change the background, play music, videos, and do many other things that cannot be done with an eBook reader.
What eBook readers lack
Even though eBook readers and tablets look similar, there are some fundamental differences between the two. None of the popular eBook readers that are available in the market these days offer the below features.
- Apps and Games
Even though some of the eBook readers support simple apps and games, these devices are specifically designed for eBook reading. eBook readers are not compatible with most of the iOS or Android apps that can be used in tablets. Most of the e-readers are simple and support note taking apps, calculator, and other basic things. They do not support Evernote, Skype, etc.
- Internet Surfing
It is true that some of the eBook readers like Kindles have a built-in browser, but their performance is slow and these browsers are not fully featured. If web surfing is your prime aim, then you should go for tablets.
- Large Screen
All the popular eBook readers available these days offer a screen size of about six inches, which offers great portability and is good for reading eBooks. Nevertheless, if you need wider displays, then you should opt for tablets.
- Audio
Even though earlier Kindle models had experimental text to speech and MP3 player capabilities, the features have been left off of the later models. If you would like to like to listen to audiobooks or music, other than reading eBooks, then you should go for tablets.
- Performance and Color
Tablets offer great performance when compared to eBook readers. You might know that turning pages in e-readers is slower than turning pages in tablets. In addition, a majority of the eBook readers uses black ink on a white screen and do not offer color screens. Moreover, these devices are not designed to play or stream videos.