E-Readers: Advantages and Disadvantages

An electronic reader ("e-reader") is a device that aids a person or persons to view or read the contents of published material through the use of itself. In November 2007, Amazon released the first generation Kindle. It was equipped with a small, portable screen, programmed with e-ink. This new way of reading intrigued the public, and it sold out in less than six hours of its release (Patel, 2007). This was a jump into the future of reading books. After a couple years went by, a new creation had been made. In November 2010, Barns and Noble released its Nook Color  (Miller, 2010).

So... Take a look at some of the pros and cons of e-readers...

Advantages of an E-Reader:

• While traveling, the load is lighter on the hands; carrying one e-reader is far easier than carrying five different physical books.
• There is easy accessibility to e-books; instead of having to walk to the store to purchase a book or ordering a book online, . Once bought, the book chosen is instantly readable.
• E-books is effortless to share it. (Example - Barns and Noble's Nook offers a "lend-me" feature.
• Buying electronical books is often cheaper than buying printed books (no money needs to be spent on pages of paper).
• E-readers are completely user-friendly. That is to say, while reading one of those, one immersed in a story's plot could forget that the book he or she is holding is not actually a physical book!

Disadvantages of an E-Reader

• Some e-readers are equipped with an LCD screen; a screen made of LCD makes it very difficult to read outside in bright sun-light.
• If one forgets to charge the battery, every single book inside the e-reader is inaccessible.
• E-readers are expensive to purchase and if broken, one has to purchase a new one in order to read any e-books bought.
• Reading on the screen can possibly pead to strained eyes more so than reading a printed book.
• If one wants to share a book purchased on an e-reader with a friend who does not own an e-reader, he or she may have to lend the whole library of books (the whole e-reader) to the friend discussed.