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E-Reader Reviews

We’ll always love a good paperback or hardcover book, but let’s be honest: e-readers have changed everything. Perfect for when you’re reading something you’d… rather people not know about, or just want to pack in a 10-part ebook series for vacation, there’s no easier, suitcase-friendly way to do it than with an e-reader. You’ll find the latest from Amazon’s Kindle lineup below, along with key competitors like Kobo and Nook.

The best ereader to buy right now

Whether you want to read in the bath or scribble notes in the margin, there’s an e-reader for just about everyone.

Sheena Vasani
Kindle Scribe (2024) review: nothing to write home about

Amazon’s finally added a key feature to the Scribe, but it has a long way to go before it’s actually useful.

Sheena Vasani

Latest In E-Reader Reviews

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Sheena Vasani
Rakuten is selling its Kobo e-readers on Amazon.

Americans can now order Kobo e-readers and accessories from Amazon via Rakuten Kobo’s new storefront. Rakuten’s Amazon online store includes all of the current e-readers in its official lineup, including two of our favorite ebook readers: the Kobo Libra Colour and Elipsa 2E.

Two Kobo e-readers side by side
Image: Rakuten
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Sheena Vasani
International Kindle Scribe customers can now directly jot notes onto ebook pages

Amazon’s now rolling out all the latest Kindle Scribe AI features to 2024 and 2022 Scribe owners in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. As I wrote in my review, the AI features are the 2024 Scribe’s most notable upgrade as they let you directly annotate a wider range of Kindle ebook pages.

The news comes a couple of weeks after Amazon also started letting users scribble down notes in expandable margins.

The Kindle Scribe in front of a bunch of books sitting on a shelf.
Photo: Sheena Vasani / The Verge
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: slightly larger, slightly faster, slightly better

8

Verge Score

Performance upgrades and screen improvements make the new Paperwhite’s minor updates feel more substantial.

Andrew LiszewskiCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review: good color is a good start

7

Verge Score

The Colorsoft is essentially a Paperwhite with a color screen. It might be worth waiting for a color Kindle Scribe instead.

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Boox Palma 2 review: ain’t broke, not fixed0

There are so many things about the Palma 2 that could be better. But it’s still great at what it does.

David PierceCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Kobo’s great color e-readers are held back by lock-in

They’re more colorful than anything Amazon offers and have built-in support for Overdrive, but the UI feels more focused on selling books than reading them.

Alex CranzCommentsComment Icon Bubble
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Sheena Vasani
You can now adjust the sleep timer settings on your Kindle.

Amazon’s latest software update lets Kindle users adjust the lock screen timeout interval — previously set to 10 minutes — so you don’t have to keep waking up your Kindle if you need to take a longer break.

The update also gives the ability to filter the content of Kindle libraries by subscription type and reading format.

Neck lamps are a bookworm’s best friendNeck lamps are a bookworm’s best friend
E-Reader Reviews
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Dan Seifert
The dream of the E Ink phone is alive in the Boox Palma.

Jason Snell over at Six Colors has a review of the Boox Palma, a strange E Ink device that straddles the line between a phone and an e-reader.

The $280 Palma is not a phone, per se, as it doesn’t have any cellular connectivity. But it’s a six-inch, phone shaped thing that runs Android 11 and comes with an E Ink screen.

Snell notes that it works better than prior Boox devices because of some new software tweaks from Boox and the fact that Android apps still run best on a phone-shaped screen as opposed to a tablet. Still, I think I’ll wait for Boox to put these features on a larger screen.

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Sheena Vasani
Barnes and Noble’s forthcoming e-reader: a new Kindle alternative?

It’s always refreshing when a promising new product enters an Amazon-dominated market, which is why I’m excited about Barnes and Noble’s Nook Glowlight 4 Plus. Available on September 6th, it seems to share much in common with the best e-readers, like waterproofing, a sharp display, and page-turning buttons. We’ll likely be testing it soon, so stay tuned.

Amazon Kindle Scribe review: absolutely adequate

6

Verge Score

Amazon’s biggest Kindle ever is also the first to let you pair it with a stylus for note-taking. But crummy document syncing and lackluster software hold this E Ink device back.

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Onyx Boox Leaf 2 review: ebook freedom

An Android E Ink tablet isn’t for people looking for a smooth and seamless experience, but if you’re reading across a wide variety of apps, its flexibility is unparalleled.

Alex CranzCommentsComment Icon Bubble
The new entry-level Kindle is the one to buyThe new entry-level Kindle is the one to buy
E-Reader Reviews
Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight 4e review: budget e-reader with buttons

The buttons are nice, but the trade-offs are hard to ignore

Sheena VasaniCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Color E Ink and Android are an exciting, excruciating pairing

Torn between being a souped-up e-reader and a stripped-down tablet

Jon PorterCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: a bigger and better book

The most popular Kindle gets its biggest update in nearly a decade

Chaim GartenbergCommentsComment Icon Bubble
PocketBook Color review: is color E Ink finally ready?

E Ink Kaleido is the best screen tech yet for color e-readers

Sam ByfordCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Amazon Kindle Oasis review

The Kindle you want, but not the one you buy

Katherine BoehretCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Review: the new Kindle Paperwhite is the best e-reader

It’s a Kindle. It does Kindle things

Dieter BohnCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Amazon Kindle Voyage review

The best e-reader gets better — for a price

Chris ZieglerCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite review (2013)

The best ebook reader becomes both bookstore and library

David PierceCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ review

The bookseller-turned-manufacturer takes on the tablet goliaths

David PierceCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Barnes & Noble Nook HD review

In an ultra-competitive 7-inch tablet market, is there room for one more?

David PierceCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Kindle Paperwhite review

Amazon’s fastest, most feature-packed e-reader hits a crowded market with a few new moves under its belt

Joshua TopolskyCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Sony Reader PRS-T2 review

An ebook reader for the note-taking set

David PierceCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight review

An ebook reader you can read in the sun — and in the dark

David PierceCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Kobo Vox review

Can Kobo jump into the cheap e-reader / tablet game and catch up to the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet?

Joanna SternCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Nook Tablet review

Does the Nook Tablet have what it takes to extinguish the Kindle Fire?

Joanna SternCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Kindle Touch review

Amazon reinvents the Kindle with the all-new Kindle Touch. But how far have we really come?

Paul MillerCommentsComment Icon Bubble
Kindle (2011) review

Amazon’s latest Kindle isn’t just affordable — it’s good, too

Chris ZieglerCommentsComment Icon Bubble
iriver Story HD reviewiriver Story HD review
E-Reader Reviews
E-Reader Reviews
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Barnes & Noble Nook review (2011)

Barnes & Noble is going all-in with a touchscreen UI -- can it pull it off?

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