We live in a digital era where industries are undergoing a lot of big changes. That goes for every kind of industry, including leisure, entertainment, and education. The latter is always open to new ideas in order to evolve. There have been several tech-friendly means of learning and teaching, with eReaders jumping to the forefront.
There’s no chance you haven’t heard about eReaders. They’ve caused quite a heated screen vs. paper debate over a decade ago when the first devices were released. In that time, eReaders have evolved further, without completely replacing paper. In fact, they’re inspiring a new era of education and leisure, providing readers with a host of benefits.
A Digital Revolution
It’s not just eReaders – the entertainment industry and many others have switched to on-the-go formats in the past few years. Take online gaming, for example. We use our mobile devices to play casino games on platforms such as 777 slots online more frequently than our PCs or laptops. Mobile devices are lightweight and allow us to carry thousands of games in our pockets while travelling.
Mobile devices have also allowed players to watch live streams of games they’re betting on. We use them daily to learn casino game strategies and interact with every feature a casino or website offers. They play a crucial role in the further digitalization of the online gaming industry, and it’s the same with eReaders, regardless of whether you’re using them for leisure or learning.
When the first eReaders came out, people hated them. The technology simply wasn’t there in the 1990s. Devices such as Rocket eBook and Sony Data Discman provided a glimpse into the new era of leisure and book reading. But it was the introduction of the ePaper technology that finally moved things forward.
E Ink Corporation developed the ePaper technology in 1997. The display of this device reflected light naturally, resembling the look of paper and ink. A new generation of devices, such as the Sony Librie, followed, before Amazon took things to a new level with the Kindle in 2007.
This was the first eReader that sold in hours, and it’s still a trend-setter decades later. The Kindle is nearly indistinguishable from paper, and the latest devices have only perfected the technology. These devices have revolutionized the way we read books and materials, allowing us to carry hundreds of books around without dragging a big suitcase.
How eReaders Are Changing Our Reading Habits
eReaders have played a key role in changing our reading habits. While paperbacks still live on, their popularity is fading. It’s easy to spot the advantages of eReaders that go beyond the fact that we’re able to carry around thousands of books in a lightweight package.
Instead of going to a library and sifting through a ton of content, eReaders allow us to quickly find eBooks across various subject matters. Looking for learning? You’ll find plenty of eBooks on this subject, separated into different categories such as medicine, technology, math, etc. Looking for your next Agatha Christie mystery for the beach this summer? You’ll find all of her books in one spot, which is neatly convenient if you want to switch it up to a new book.
Another big advantage of eReaders is that they allow us to customize our reading experience. Is the font too small so you’re squinting your eyes? You can change the font size in seconds. The contrast ratio, background light, and even background colour are all customizable on devices such as the Amazon Kindle.
Other features include text highlighting, which is especially neat for students and researchers, in-built dictionaries, and a search tool. Other elements such as audio and video enhance the reading experience, so it’s no wonder that digital book readers have become so popular.
Digital First Leisure
eReaders are used to their potential for leisure and education. Leisure reading allows people to scroll through a collection of popular authors and their books and releases. If you’re an avid book reader, eReaders are a more suitable choice. Regardless of who your favourite author is, you have numerous websites where you can go through their releases and buy them at a cheap price.
With the exception of the latest books, digital books are much cheaper. You’ll also find full libraries on sale and download it to the device. In that way, you can enjoy any books you might have missed from your favourite authors.
With audio and video element enhancements, reading books on digital devices is an exquisite experience. The E Ink technology has been perfected and works better than ever, emulating the reading choice of paper and ink. It only lacks the smell of paper, but considering the other advantages, most people are happy with the tradeoff.
The Role of eReaders in Education
While they’re mostly used for leisure, eReaders play a crucial role in education, too. More schools and universities are joining the digital era, allowing students and professionals to access large libraries for all kinds of guides and course materials. It’s not just eBooks – in a professional and educational setting, eReaders can also be used to access journals, research papers, and more.
Moreover, with their abilities to highlight text, search for specific parts of the text, and make and share notes, it’s easy to see how eReaders enhance education. People with disabilities can also learn with ease, thanks to the various accessibility features the best eReaders offer.
Future Trends
A notable trend that should enhance eReaders in the future is the addition of social features. These devices will help people connect over books or learning material, in that way becoming more interactive.
While battery life has been great so far, companies are always trying to push it further. New devices will arrive with even better screens and longer battery life. Customization is another popular trend for eReaders, which will almost certainly use AI to a big extent. In short, AI-powered analytics will tell readers a lot about their reading behaviour, effectively improving the reading experience.
Love them or hate them, eReaders are here to stay. They’ve certainly got a solid foundation to build on, and the future of these devices is looking real bright.
Markus lives in San Francisco, California and is the video game and audio expert on Good e-Reader! He has a huge interest in new e-readers and tablets, and gaming.