Here it is, the detailed guide to buying an Ebook Reader. A close up on all of the cool new features now available in your Ereaders. We will cover the inside, the outside and all those little electronic bits in between, as well as some ideas of what Ereaders you might find these features in. So, let’s get down and dirty with Ereader Features.

The first feature we’ll be focusing on is the outside of the Ereader: Size, weight and colour. There are many different sized Ereaders, but which one is right for you? The first thing you need to decide on is the size of the Ereader you want. For instance, my preferred size is small enough to fit in my pocket, whereas others may want something larger, with more screen, to view larger text or images. A smaller one would be more effective if you were looking mainly for portability, an Ereader you could carry with you and read anywhere.

While not normally given thought, weight is also an important feature although with progressing technology, it is becoming less so. It may be that an Ereader with a nice big screen and lots of bits n bobs will be much heavier than you might have expected. This wont be a problem, of course, if you don’t intend to carry it around with you a lot.

Some may deem the colour of an Ereader as trivial, but to some people a particular colour helps express the individualism of their Ereader. A black Kindle won’t garner much notice, but a vibrant metallic purple one will. It all comes down to taste, its no good getting an Ereader you don’t like to look at, but you don’t want it to distract you when your reading. It is all a matter of personal choice.

Next on the list is the screen and the features concerning it such as the size, the type, pixels, shades, and brightness capabilities. There are several available sizes for your Ereaders screen, these are measured in inches diagonally across the screen from 5 – 11 inches. Each screen utilizes a different kind of technology. Most Ereaders use eInk to read, although it can also be an LCD screen, both of these have their own advantages and disadvantages (more on this later).

Now you may be concerned with the quality of the picture, you may want to choose a screen that has more pixels than less. This is also helpful if you need to zoom in on the print to read clearly you will find it easier with a higher pixel ratio. For instance, the Amazon Kindle generally has a 600x800 pixel ratio, but the new Kindle DX has a pixel ratio of 825x1200. Some Ereaders have an even higher pixel ratio.

The shades that you see on a screen can vary from 4 shades, 8 shades to 16 different shades, most of the recent Ereaders have 16 shades, whereas some of the older or cheaper versions just use 4, again it is entirely up to you how many shades you require, but bear in mind it doesn’t really affect the overall performance of the Ereader. Brightness settings do, however, depending on where you use your Ereader, inside or outside, and your battery life, you might want greater flexibility in the brightness capabilities.

That’s all for this article, but keep an eye out for Ereader Features – Part Two, where we will continue to have a look at all the features that you might find in your Ereader. Don’t forget to rate and comment!