If you’re buying for someone who loves to read, but also loves tech, consider an eReader or something from this reading-focused gift guide.
Reading is one of those things not everyone get enough time to do, or even has the capacity to carry all the books they’d like to read. Fortunately, that is where technology can help, potentially with a gift designed to let more reading get done in a way where it can be handled anywhere.
Kindle
Price: $199
The basic baby of the Kindle range, Amazon’s Kindle is still a compact 6 inch model made to let someone bring books with them, but now comes with a front light alongside a good six week battery life.
While designed to be small and friendly, the standard Kindle only works with books from the Kindle store, making it handy if you also bundle the gadget with an Amazon gift card or a subscription to the Kindle Unlimited service, because the person getting it will clearly need something to read.
Onyx Book Go 6
Price: $279
Next up is an eReader from a brand you’ve probably never heard of, but has been around for a while, Onyx. Its “Boox” range of readers is a little like the up-and-coming assortment taking on the big boys, and the Boox Go 6 takes the familiar 6 inch size and pairs it with Android 11.
While the Go 6 is clearly an eReader, the fact that it runs Android means it can also run pretty much any other compatible Android app, and even includes light and dark modes, plus should cover a long battery life because of the screen.
In many ways, it’s the anti-tablet, because it’s an eReader that just so happens to run one of the biggest operating systems in the world.
Kobo Libra Colour
Price: $380
Easily one of our favourite eReaders from the past couple of years, the Kobo Libra Colour takes everything we’ve loved about previous Kobo models, and adds a colour screen without a hefty price.
The result is a compact 7 inch model colour eReader compatible with the Kobo Stylus that supports days to weeks of battery life, Bluetooth earphones for audiobooks, and support for local libraries in Australia thanks to the Overdrive and Libby connections. It’s even a little bit water resistant, making it handy for the pool or the beach, provided you don’t go swimming with it.
Remarkable Paper Pro
Price: $929
A serious bit of eReading kit, the ReMarkable Paper Pro is an 11.8 inch (read as 12 inch) eReader that also works as a tablet of sorts. The focus here isn’t just on reading, but also on writing, on drawing, on taking notes, and in general, complete with one of those fancy colour eInk screens.
Remarkable’s take on an eReader really goes beyond what the basic Kobo or Kindle is meant to do, and appears more as a replacement for paper for someone who writes a lot of notes and looks at a lot of documents.
If you know someone like this and are happy to spend nearly $1K on them, this is one gadget that matches a vibe.
Apple iPad Air
Price: from $999
A rather extreme approach for eReading, the iPad Air is basically Apple’s second-in-line premium tablet that can also cover eBook reading.
Like all other iPad models, the iPad can run any app made for iPadOS and iOS, which basically means it’ll read eBooks from Amazon, eBooks from Kobo, eBooks from your local library, and eBooks you might have bought from somewhere else.
The iPad is clearly more than just an eReader, and is basically a computer made to take with you, letting you get stuff done and read. You know, when you have time.
